High school football roundup: Eatonville shuts out Zillah to advance to 1A quarterfinals
Eatonville High School was the first South Sound team to secure a trip to the state quarterfinals early Friday evening in Spanaway, as first round games kicked off around the state.
Facing visiting No. 13 Zillah in the state playoffs for the first time since the Class 1A championship game back in 1992 — which resulted in Eatonville’s most recent title win — the No. 4 Cruisers posted their first shutout of the season, and the offense added 400-plus yards and four touchdowns on the way to a 28-0 win at Art Crate Field.
“Super proud of our defense,” Eatonville coach Gavin Kralik said. “We got great performances from defensive linemen, linebackers, our secondary. It was a great game plan by our defensive staff, led by Rex Norris. So, real proud of how well they played tonight.”
The defense set the tone early. Zillah was quick to drive into Cruisers territory on its first possession, and reached the Eatonville 3 before eventually turning the ball over on downs at the 7.
That was the first of three red zone stops for the Cruisers in the first half. Zillah’s next drive stalled at the Eatonville 15. The Leopards’ third and final drive before the break ended at the Cruisers 1.
Zillah had first-and-goal from the 3, but was stopped for no gain on three attempts, and following an Eatonville penalty that moved the ball to the 1, the Cruisers’ defense stopped Zillah at the line of scrimmage again.
“It’s huge,” Kralik said of the early stops. “No question. Those stops turned it back over to our offense, and gave us multiple chances … and kind of helped us get in rhythm to get the ball moving there.”
Eatonville ended a scoreless tie with 10:42 left in the second quarter, when Ky Nation raced by Zillah’s defense for a 59-yard touchdown.
Five minutes later, the Cruisers added a second score on a 70-yard pass from quarterback Job Kralik to Nation to take a 14-0 lead into halftime.
Eatonville’s defense continued to limit Zillah in the second half, ending the Leopards’ first three drives in punts, and final two of the game in turnovers on downs.
Zillah finished with 181 yards of total offense — 70 on the ground and 111 through the air — including just 58 in the second half.
The Cruisers added two more touchdowns in the second half, on a 7-yard touchdown run by Dylan Norman late in the third, and a 12-yard pass from Job Kralik to RJ Schrimpsher late in the fourth.
Eatonville piled up 432 yards of total offense, including averaging 6.6 yards per carry on 48 attempts.
Norman led the Cruisers on the ground with 25 carries for 160 yards and the one touchdown, while Nation had six carries for 83 yards, the one rushing touchdown and 70-yard receiving score.
Job Kralik, an Army commit, finished 4-of-4 passing for 117 yards and the one passing touchdown, and added 62 yards on 11 carries.
Eatonville (9-2) moves on to next week’s quarterfinals, and will face No. 12 Freeman (8-2). Freeman upset No. 5 King’s, 28-13, in the first round Friday night in Shoreline.
“I feel like we have work to do, but where we’re at right now, I couldn’t be happier,” Job Kralik said.
CLASS 4A
NO. 3 SUMNER 31, NO. 14 WOODINVILLE 0
Sumner (10-1) will return to the 4A state quarterfinals for a second consecutive season.
The Spartans’ offense piled up four touchdowns, and the defense four interceptions in a convincing shut out win over a Falcons team that shocked Glacier Peak in the district round only last week.
“Defense played great tonight,” Sumner coach Keith Ross said. “To shut out a team like Woodinville in the playoffs is a big thing, and I’m really proud of them. We worked really hard on game-planning, and the kids executed great.”
Sumner held Woodinville to 217 yards of offense in the win, including just 95 on the ground and 122 through the air.
Brayden Adcox, Kade Jindra, Jay Mentink and Dylan Coffey each ended Falcons drives with interceptions.
“Our game plan was to stop their run and make them throw, and that’s what we did and it worked for us,” Ross said.
The Spartans took the lead for good in the first quarter on a 19-yard scoring run from quarterback Kayden Bodine.
Matthew Spurbeck added a 14-yard rushing score in the second, and Diego Collie tossed a 10-yard pass to Kaden Malesis late in the quarter to give Sumner a 21-0 lead by halftime.
Sumner added two more scores in the fourth, on a 25-yard field goal by Jesus Pineda and a 14-yard pass from Bodine to Kano Borden to run away with the win.
Spurbeck led the Spartans with 29 carries for 152 yards and the one touchdown.
Bodine finished finished 5-of-8 passing for 64 yards and the touchdown, and added 14 carries for 75 yards and a score. Collie was 4-of-7 for 14 yards and the one touchdown.
Borden led Sumner in receiving with three catches for 53 yards and the one score.
Sumner plays the winner of No. 11 Skyview (8-2) vs. No. 6 Graham-Kapowsin (8-2), which is set for 4 p.m. Saturday at Art Crate Field, next week.
This is the 10th time in program history the Spartans — who secured their first 4A SPSL title since 2016 two weeks ago — have advanced to the state quarterfinals.
“We’re playing well,” Ross said. “The kids are excited, coaches are excited, so it’s going to be really fun.”
CLASS 3A
NO. 3 O’DEA 42, NO. 14 PENINSULA 28
The Seahawks kept up with the Fighting Irish all the way until the end, but injuries and some costly mistakes on special teams ended Peninsula’s season.
Already trailing 14-7 entering the second quarter, the Seahawks lined up to drill a 35-yard field goal. The interior for the O’Dea defensive line broke through just enough to get hands on the kicked ball, allowing senior receiver Darien Maragh to scoop and score to give the Irish a 21-7 lead.
However, that did not deter Coach Ross Filkins or his squad as they came back out for another offensive drive.
“The scoreboard doesn’t reflect how hard our kids played in this game,” he said. “[O’Dea] is a high powered team and they look like they are a division-1 school. As a coach, I’ve never seen a team give such an effort as we did. If we don’t lose [senior receiver] Isaac Smith or give up that scoop and score, there’s no way they beat us.”
The Seahawks answered the Irish’s score with back-to-back drives where they kicked field goals. However they had to go without Smith, who was proving to be a big factor for Peninsula. Senior kicker Frankie Cross nailed both kicks from 35 and 29 yards to cut the lead to 21-13 heading into halftime.
After a turnover on downs, the Irish scored first in the second half as junior running back Sirkeenan Hart took the ball 51 yards for the score to go up 28-13. Barely a minute off the game clock later and senior quarterback Payton Knowles connected with senior receiver Dane Meddaugh for the 65-yard score touchdown. Peninsula converted the two-point conversion to make it 28-21 to keep within striking distance of O’Dea.
“It was a back and forth game. We had to adjust to them in the first quarter,” Filkins said. “All three phases were rolling in the second half; our offense made their plays, the defense got the stops and special teams did a much better job. We took a very aggressive approach to the game. Knowles saved his best game for his last as an incredibly talented defensive line kept pressuring him, and kept delivering the ball.”
After the lead was cut back to seven points to make it 35-28, O’Dea took the ball with two minutes left and again scored a big run by Hart for a touchdown. This time from 33 yards out, the Irish were able to put away Peninsula for good.
Even though the Seahawks’ season is over, there was fight in them until the last waning seconds of the game. They finish with a record of 8-3 on the year.
CLASS 2A
No. 1 LYNDEN 54, No. 16 BLACK HILLS 7
The top-seeded Lions built a 40-0 lead by the break to open the second half with a running clock Friday afternoon at Civic Stadium in Bellingham.
Lane Heeringa rushed for two touchdowns in the first half for the defending 2A state champions, and opened scoring in the first quarter from 1 yard out.
Isaiah Stanley also caught a touchdown from quarterback Brant Heppner for a 26-yard score, and Heppner added a rushing touchdown.
Lynden advances to next week’s state quarterfinals, and faces No. 8 Highline, which edged Washougal, 30-27, on Friday night in Burien.
CLASS 1A
No. 10 MOUNT BAKER 37, No. 7 TENINO 26
The Mountaineers held a two-score lead by halftime on Friday night and never looked back, outlasting Tenino in the first round.
Mount Baker built the lead as high as 19 points in the third quarter.
Tenino was without standout running back Dylan Spicer much of the way, per reports from The Chronicle.
Mount Baker advances to the 2A state quarterfinals, and plays the winner of Saturday’s first-round contest between No. 2 Lakeside of Nine Mile Falls and No. 15 Bellevue Christian next week.
SATURDAY’S GAMES
CLASS 3A
NO. 1 YELM 51, NO. 16 SOUTHRIDGE 7
It was the Kyler Ronquillo show for the Tornados as they steamrolled the Suns in their meeting for the 3A state playoffs.
There was nothing that Ronquillo couldn’t do on the field as he played a large factor in both running the ball and receiving it as well. Of the 447 total yards Yelm had, the senior receiver accounted for 269 of them.
“Kyler was spectacular, he just went off. Our kids are playing with confidence, the execution was clean, and the preparation and the amount of work put into this game was a program win,” said coach Jason Ronquillo. “We had our scout teams throughout the entire week hitting on all cylinders. Next week will be a whole new opponent. We have the understanding that ahead of us is higher competition every week. That’s why we have to take it one week at a time.”
Ronquillo on the field ran the ball seven times for 126 yards and scored two touchdowns, all while catching the ball five times for 143 yards and two touchdowns as well. He even had an interception on defense to boot.
Altogether, the defense held Southridge to seven points on 219 yards of total offense. With a win like this, the Tornados are feeling ready to take on their next opponent in Kennewick on Saturday, November 19.
NO. 2 EASTSIDE CATHOLIC 29, NO. 15 SPANAWAY LAKE 0
The Crusaders cruised past the Sentinels and into the next round of the 3A state playoffs thanks to early scoring and a suffocating defense.
Midway through the first quarter, Eastside Catholic jumped ahead to a 15-0 lead after the scored on a touchdown pass and a fumble return for a touchdown.
Although Spanaway Lake held the Crusaders scoreless for the next two and a half quarters, Eastside Catholic found their footing again and put up two more touchdowns. Senior quarterback Brady McKelheer scored on a one-yard run, and senior running back Richie Fotualii-Aliifua scored from five yards out with about a minute to go.
The Sentinels season is over, and they finish with a record of 7-3.
CLASS 2A
NO. 5 OTHELLO 49, NO. 12 WASHINGTON 12
The Patriots kept the game close in the first quarter, where at one point they were only down by a single point. However, the Huskies’ offensive floodgates opened up and put the game away early.
The scoring opened with senior fullback David Julian Alegria rushing for an 18-yard touchdown about midway through the first quarter. Washington answered with a scoring drive of their own that was capped by senior wide receiver Breydan Fisher catching an 18-yard pass from senior quarterback Luke Elliott to make it 7-6.
Unfortunately for the Patriots, Othello scored 42 unanswered points throughout the rest of the game until the fourth quarter. By then, junior defensive back Dan Novak caught a 21-yard pass from Elliott to make the score 49-12.
Washington’s season will end with a record of 7-4.
CLASS 1A
NO. 1 ROYAL 41, NO. 16 CASCADE CHRISTIAN 7
The scoring came early and often for the Knights as they put 41 points on the board before the Cougars scored their only touchdown in the fourth quarter.
With about 10 minutes left in the game, senior quarterback Cade Sando connected with senior running back Jake Mosby for 36 yards and a touchdown. The kick by junior linebacker Brayden Metcalfe was good, making it 41-7.
Unfortunately, that would remain the score for the rest of the game. With the loss, Cascade Christian is out of the 1A state playoffs and will finish with a record of 7-4.
CLASS 1B
NO. 5 LIBERTY BELL 62, NO. 12 MUCKLESHOOT TRIBAL 0
There was no answer for the Mountain Lions’ offense as they shut out the Kings and advanced in the 1B state playoffs.
Muckleshoot Tribal finishes with a record of 6-5.
