Cruisers’ defense dominates in 22-13 win over Black Hills

Eatonville turned four first-half takeaways into an early cushion, and then leaned on its defense to withstand a second-half surge from Black Hills and secure a 22-13 nonleague victory Friday night at Tumwater District Stadium.

The Cruisers (1-1) forced three fumbles and an interception before halftime, twice recovering the ball inside the Wolves’ 5-yard line. Quarterback Cole Fowler scored on a 1-yard keeper and kicker Benjamin Bernt added two field goals, sending Eatonville into the locker room up 13-0.

“The defense played great,” Eatonville head coach Gavin Kralik said. “So many kids played at such a high level. I’m very proud of the performance of that unit.”

Black Hills (1-1) opened with a defensive stand, holding Eatonville to a punt on its first drive. But the Wolves’ offense never settled in, hampered by turnovers and the Cruisers’ defensive line.

“I felt like our defensive line created a lot of problems for the Black Hills offense,” Kralik said.

Eatonville’s Jarrin Ragazzo scoops up one of his two fumble recoveries against Black Hills, each of which set up a Cruiser touchdown drive. Photo: Heather Quirie

Momentum swung late in the first quarter when Eatonville’s Jarrin Ragazzo pounced on a fumble and returned it to the Wolves 1-yard line, setting up Fowler’s short plunge with 3:47 left. Minutes later, another Wolves fumble led to a 28-yard Bernt field goal, making it 10-0. Bernt added a 21-yarder in the second quarter to extend the advantage to 13-0.

Eatonville’s defense opened the second half with more pressure. Ragazzo recovered his second fumble of the game to set up the Cruisers at the Wolves’ 45. Fowler capped the drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Amari Samuel, stretching the margin to 20-0 with 8:33 left in the third.

Black Hills finally broke through late in the quarter. After intercepting Fowler, the Wolves marched and scored on a 19-yard run. Another Fowler interception set up a second score on a 1-yard quarterback sneak early in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to 20-13 with 8:56 remaining. The Wolves attempted a fake extra point, but Eatonville’s defense stuffed the try.

Despite the miscues on offense, Kralik praised his players’ resilience while taking accountability for the uneven showing.

“The inconsistency of the offense starts with me,” he said. “We have very coachable kids and I need to do a better job coaching on the offensive side of the ball.”

The Cruisers regained breathing room when Black Hills fumbled a snap at its own 4-yard line and the ball rolled out of the end zone for a safety, making it 22-13 with 5:54 left. Eatonville’s defense handled the rest, forcing two late turnovers on downs to seal the win.

While the offense sputtered at times, Kralik said he saw progress when the Cruisers leaned on the ground game in the second half.

“We found a little run game late,” he said. “But it really puts a lot of pressure on the offensive line and quarterback when an offense is one-dimensional.”

Eatonville now turns its attention to 2A SPSL league play. The Cruisers will face Clover Park on Thursday, Sept. 18, at Yelm Stadium with kickoff set for 7 p.m.