Yelm runs over, through, past Bellevue in semifinal thriller to advance to 3A championship
Facing 4th and goal from the Bellevue 1-yard line, everyone on both sidelines, the crowd — heck, everyone around the state following the game — thought the ball was going to Brayden Platt.
After all, Yelm’s four-star recruit had gashed Bellevue’s defense all game long, racking up 159 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, carrying Bellevue defenders on his back for extra yards. He was relentless, physically dominant, the best player on the field in a game with no shortage of talent in Yelm’s Class 3A state tournament semifinal game at Art Crate Field on Saturday.
It’s what made the play call — a quarterback sneak — risky, unexpected and ultimately, brilliant. Damian Aalona bowled into the end zone behind an offensive line that had imposed its will throughout the contest, putting Yelm in the lead late in the fourth quarter. Yelm hung on for the 28-27 win to advance to next weekend’s 3A state championship game.
“We just needed one yard to go,” Aalona said. “All of our coaches were thinking, we just needed one yard.”
Understandably, Bellevue was concerned about Platt potentially getting the ball in the short yardage situation. Platt was thrilled to see Aalona — who doesn’t always draw the headlines that he and some his teammates grab — have his number called with the game on the line.
“It was amazing to see,” Platt said. “I always love to see my brothers eat, so it was amazing to see him and the line working together, and all getting him in there together. … I knew he was going to get it. … When he got in the end zone, I was excited to see him go. They were stacking the box because they knew we ran the same play like 30 times. They thought that was coming.”
It was a wrinkle Yelm hadn’t yet used this season.
“We haven’t ran QB wedge at all this year,” said Yelm coach Jason Ronquillo. “Short-yardage situations, it was always give the ball to Brayden Platt or give the ball to Ray Wright. This was a situation where the entire crowd, the team, their team is thinking Brayden Platt is getting the ball.”
To that point, the game went as expected: Bellevue ripping off some big plays in its well-oiled Wing-T offense and Platt difficult to bring down in Yelm’s running game. It felt like the game might come down to whoever had the ball last. Indeed, after Bellevue scored on a Kaden Matsudaira four-yard run to take a 27-22 lead, five minutes remained on the clock.
Yelm mishandled the ensuing kickoff, giving the Tornados a 94-yard field to work with. Aalona completed three crucial throws on the drive and Platt continued finding success on the ground. Yelm put together an 18-play, 94-yard touchdown drive, draining most of the clock in the process.
“We got the ball with like five minutes left, we just had to punch it in,” Platt said. “We knew we had more heart than they did, we wanted it better. So we just had to keep going and keep going.”
Ronquillo has seen a lot of big games from Platt the past few years. While he’s racked up more yards in games before, Saturday’s effort may have been the most impressive.
“Warrior’s mentality, beast of a player,” Ronquillo said. “Everyone gets on his coattails and rides it. As a matter of fact, I do, too. I was like, ‘Let’s give the ball to our best players and let them win this game.’ It doesn’t come down to the coaching staff, it comes down to the guys playing the game on the field. Why don’t we just hand it to the best player on the field and let’s see what happens.”
Bellevue coach Michael Kneip tipped his cap to Platt and the Tornados after the loss.
“The clock just ran out on us,” he said. “But (Platt) is just a great player.”
Prior to the 2022 season, Yelm had never advanced past the quarterfinal round of the state playoffs. Yelm will play for the school’s first state championship, facing Eastside Catholic in the 3A state championship game next weekend at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup. Eastside Catholic defeated O’Dea in the other semifinal matchup.
