Gig Harbor tips Eastlake, 40-6, in one-sided rout

Already up 26-0 with under a minute to go in the first half, No. 3 Gig Harbor was looking for one more score before the break against visiting No. 7 Eastlake at Roy Anderson Field. So Tides senior quarterback Davis Alexander threw a dart to 2014 Narrows 4A MVP Noah Samsen. It bounced off his hands, floated into the air — and then, touchdown, right into teammate Cory Condon’s hands.

“Just how we drew it up,” Gig Harbor coach Aaron Chantler chuckled.

It was that kind of night for Gig Harbor (3-0), which imposed its will on the overmatched Eastlake Wolves (2-1), running away with a blowout 40-6 victory. It was a statement win for the highly touted Tides, although Chantler didn’t have any interest in putting that sort of label on the win.

“We came out and executed well,” Chantler said. “We’re not concerned about ‘statement win’ or not. We’re just concerned about doing our job and executing it to the best of our ability and making sure we’re taking care of our responsibilities. We did that tonight and came out with a big win.”

Condon, a senior wide receiver, led the Tides with 102 yards receiving and a pair of touchdowns, including the fluky score before the half.

“Coming in we thought it’d be a big test, and it was,” Condon said. “We’re happy with our performance, but we definitely have a lot of work to do. We’re trying to make a run.”

Last year, Eastlake beat Gig Harbor on a late touchdown. It was the Tides’ turn to return the favor.

“Losing last year — all offseason, we wanted to go back and fly around against them,” Condon said. “They hit us in the mouth last year.”

The defense was once again dominant for the Tides, nearly pitching a shutout against a top-ten ranked team.

“The defense is really, really fast,” Chantler said. “We’re big up front, which is nice, and the linebacking corps and the secondary, they fly around back there. That QB is a really good runner, and he didn’t have a lot of room to run because we did a really good job of staying on his back hip, making sure we kept him in the pocket as much as possible.”

Senior QB Alexander finished 14 for 30 for 225 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also added 106 yards and a touchdown rushing. The Tides, favorites to win the Narrows 4A, open league play next Friday at Stadium.

No. 8 Curtis 50, at Spanaway Lake 6: In his first 4A SPSL game as the Vikings’ coach, Chris Paulson’s team won its third consecutive game to start the season behind a pair of first-quarter touchdown runs from senior running back Donnell Diego, who finished with 13 carries for 92 yards.

Spanaway Lake (1-2, 0-1 4A SPSL South) got its lone score on Marvin Williams’ touchdown run in the second quarter.

At Kentwood 17, Thomas Jefferson 16: Interceptions by Rey Sekona and Isaiah Williams lifted the Conquerors despite Kenneth Turner’s big night for the Raiders.

Turner had 179 rushing yards and a touchdown, 74 receiving yards and threw a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Sonny Fuavai.

His throwing TD cut Jefferson’s (1-2) deficit to 17-16 after a two-point conversion. Kentwood (2-1) got its scores on Andre Slyter’s field goal, Sekona’s 44-yard interception return and Chevy Kalua Fuimaono’s five-yard TD run before Williams’ late interception on Jefferson’s final drive.

At No. 3 Auburn Mountainview 48, Bonney Lake 21: The Lions scored four touchdowns in the first quarter and led 41-7 at halftime for their third consecutive victory to start the season and their first in 3A SPSL play.

Auburn Mountainview (3-0, 1-0 3A SPSL) quarterback Gresch Jensen accounted for five touchdowns in the first half — three passing, two rushing.

This story was originally published September 17, 2015 at 11:20 PM with the headline "Gig Harbor tips Eastlake, 40-6, in one-sided rout."