No Platt, no problem: Yelm wallops Peninsula to secure 3A SSC title

For the third season in a row, it looked like Yelm’s high school football matchup against the Peninsula Seahawks might be in jeopardy. Wildfire smoke hovered over the region all week, putting the status of Friday night’s game in question as high school athletics games and practices were being canceled left and right across the South Sound.

But then came the rain on Friday, washing the smoke away. And when the clock hit zero, the only thing that lingered in the air at Roy Anderson Field was a giant, violent Tornado courtesy of the visitors: Yelm 58, Peninsula 14.

Just how dominant are the Yelm Tornados this fall? Consider Yelm was without four-star running back and linebacker Brayden Platt (ankle) — the best player to come out of Thurston County since Jonathan Stewart walked the halls of Timberline — and it didn’t matter one bit.

Yelm racked up 453 yards of offense and before Yelm’s reserves entered the game, had held Peninsula to 112 yards of offense. The Tornados scored at will, leading 44-0 at the end of the third quarter. For the seventh consecutive game, the running clock rule went into effect for Yelm’s opponent. Yelm secured the 3A South Sound Conference title with the win.

“We just amped up the energy,” said Yelm senior receiver Kyler Ronquillo. “We’ve been waiting to play these guys for years. I played them when I was a freshman and haven’t played them since. We took this week very seriously because we know how much was on stake, league title.”

The meeting between the schools hasn’t been played since 2019. Peninsula played as a temporary member of the 4A South Puget Sound League during the covid-shortened 2021 spring season. Last fall, the game was canceled due to covid issues within the Peninsula program. Yelm has now won three league titles in a row, winning the Thurston-only 3A SSC in the 2021 spring season and was undefeated co-champion with Peninsula last season, since the game was unable to be played. This one, though, is the first outright league title in full 3A SSC.

“Feels great, three-peat,” Kyler Ronquillo said. “Peninsula’s kind of been ducking the smoke for a little while. Covid years, didn’t really get to play them, glad I got to play them for my senior year.”

NO PLATT, NO PROBLEM

Speaking of Ronquillo, Yelm’s Swiss Army Knife was a factor in every phase of the game. With Platt sidelined, Ronquillo took some snaps in the backfield, rushing eight times for 134 yards and a touchdown. He caught two passes for 21 yards and a touchdown, played on defense and on special teams, returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown.

“There’s a reason why teams gameplan for him,” said Yelm coach Jason Ronquillo, Kyler’s dad. “This entire season, we’ve kind of had him out on the edge, out at receiver. We finally put him in the backfield this game because it’s a big game, league title is on the line. … He did definitely show his versatility. He can run between the tackles, he can run in space really well, he can beat you down the field. The special teams play that he offers us is like icing on the cake.”

Yelm running back William Carreto rushed for 98 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Quarterback Damian Aalona threw for two touchdowns.

ISAIAH PATTERSON LIVED IN PENINSULA BACKFIELD

Defensively, Yelm three-star linebacker recruit Isaiah Patterson lived in the Peninsula backfield, sacking Peninsula quarterback Payton Knowles four times. Patterson, who transferred to Yelm from Skyview last winter, holds offers from Oregon and WSU. It’s his first season playing for the Tornados. With Yelm’s practice time limited this week because of the wildfire smoke, Patterson devoured all the film he could.

“Seeing the tackles, tendencies, seeing plays they like to run, seeing what goes away from me, what goes towards me, seeing the quarterback’s tendencies, and I just took advantage of it,” Patterson said. “I was hot, I was feeling myself. I’ve been banged up this season but today I felt like I was really healthy and ready to go and it showed. I was just feeling it.”

Yelm (8-0 overall, 6-0 3A SSC) has outscored its opponents 461-55 this season. Still, the Tornados have yet to be tested in any game. That figures to change when the 3A postseason rolls around, with at least five teams in legitimate contention for the state title.

“You have to stay focused at halftime, stay focused in the beginning no matter who the opponent is,” said Kyler Ronquillo. “We do a good job of having the leaders lock in the younger bucks and just keep everyone motivated and focused. We just want to keep our foot on their necks at all times, no mercy.”