‘Defense wins games’ — Yelm shuts out Eastside Catholic, heads back to championship
It felt like the first team to score might advance to the state championship game when No. 4 Eastside Catholic and top-seeded Yelm met in the 3A state football semifinals at Art Crate Field on Saturday night.
A field-goal, maybe? Heck, even a safety felt like it might have been enough with the teams knotted in a scoreless tie at halftime.
Enter Brayden Platt. On 4th and 3 near midfield in the third quarter, Yelm went for it and the state’s top-ranked recruit made the gamble pay off, taking a direct snap to the edge and running untouched for a 54-yard touchdown. It gave Yelm a lead, which was all the Tornados’ defense needed, holding on for a 7-0 win to advance to the state championship game for the second straight year.
“I was so excited,” said Platt, who racked up 217 yards and the game’s lone score on the ground. “I saw the edge and knew I could get there. There were a few DB’s to beat that had a little bit of an angle, but I think I just got outside of that and was able to take the top off.”
Yelm held Eastside Catholic to 24 net yards of total offense, a complete and thorough beatdown on the defensive side of the football. Yelm’s front seven suffocated Eastside Catholic quarterback Jake Tiryakioglu, holding him to just 25 yards passing. Tiryakioglu is going to see Yelm defensive end Kenji Scanlan in his nightmares — Scanlan had nine tackles, three sacks and a tackle for loss and was in Tiryakioglu’s face all night.
“Kenji’s elite,” Platt said of his teammate. “His skillset is unbelievable what he can do. He gets after the quarterback so quick. It’s amazing.
Ronquillo echoed Platt’s praise.
“Kenji is so good,” Ronquillo said. “He’s an edge player, we’ve got him playing in a three technique every once in a while, but he plays like an edge inside the box. He had an outstanding game tonight.”
With Platt, an Oregon commit, and UCLA commit Isaiah Patterson at linebacker for the Tornados, Scanlan feels freed up to cut it loose and get after the quarterback.
“I feel really comfortable and really good,” he said. “To know that I have Isaiah Patterson, Brayden Platt to fill the gaps to do their jobs, I know I can do my job well.”
It was a rematch of last year’s 3A state championship game, which ended in unforgettable fashion when Kyler Ronquillo stole the ball out of an Eastside Catholic defender’s hands on what appeared to be an interception and ran it in for the game-winning touchdown. This year’s matchup could’ve been a revenge game for Eastside Catholic, but Yelm’s players had no intention of a letdown.
And while Yelm’s offense didn’t put many points on the board, the defense carried the day.
“Defense wins games,” Scanlan said.
Now the Tornados are headed back to the state championship game for the second straight season.
“Completely unique,” Ronquillo said. “Before we’re the underdog trying to chase a title. Now we have a target on our back so we have to play our best game at all times because we know we’re going to get everyone else’s best.
“Defending the title is just as tough. It’s a whole-nother journey, a whole-nother animal. The preparation mentally is a little bit different but we’re back in the same position we were last year and we’ve got one game to go.”
This story was originally published November 25, 2023 at 9:55 PM.
