Cruisers Shutout Leopards, Advance To Quarterfinals

The Cruisers' "bend don't break" defense stopped Zillah at the goal line three times on the night and the offense exploded for 28 points as Eatonville records its first shut out of the season by defeating the Zillah Leopards 28-0 to advance to the quarterfinals of the WIAA 1A State Playoffs.

Eatonville’s Max Henley sacks Zillah quarterback Jayden Salme during the third quarter of a State 1A first-round game on Friday, Nov. 11, 2022, at Art Crate Field in Spanaway, Wash. Photo: Pete Caster / The News Tribune

The Cruiser defense set the tone early in this one and really never let up. They would limit the Leopards to only 181 yards of total offense — 70 on the ground and 111 through the air — including just 58 in the second half.

"Super proud of our defense," Eatonville Head 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."

Eatonville would receive the opening kickoff and would shoot themselves in the foot so to speak with penalties on their first drive and punt the ball to Zillah.

Zillah would drive all the way to the Cruiser 7-yard line where they were faced with a 4th down and 5 yards to go. The Eatonville defense stood strong and denied the Leopards.

Eatonville would then put together a 10-play, 93-yard drive that ended with a Ky Nation 59-yard touchdown run to give Eatonville a 7-0 lead just two minutes into the 2nd quarter.

After the kick return, Zillah would drive into the red zone again and face a 4th down at the 15-yard line where the Eatonville defense would keep them out of the endzone and they would turn the ball over on downs.

Starting at the 15-yard line, it would take the Cruisers only 8 plays to go 85-yards to find the endzone. Quarterback Job Kralik would hit Ky Nation in stride and Nation would go 70-yards for the score to put Eatonville up 14-0 with 5:10 left in the half.

Nine plays later, Zillah would find themselves back in the red zone facing a 4th and Goal at the 1-yard line. For the third time on the night, the Leopard offense would be denied the end zone by the mighty Cruiser defense and Eatonville would take over at the 1 with 2 minutes until half. A few plays later, the game clock would hit zeros and both teams would head to the locker room with Eatonville leading 14-0.

Hoping the adjustments they made during halftime would play in their favor, the Leopards would receive the kickoff to start the second half and the Cruiser defense would immediately force a 3 and out and Zillah would punt.

After both teams traded punts, Eatonville would find the endzone again.

Starting at their 21-yard line, the Cruisers would march 79-yards on 11 plays where Dylan Norman would cap the drive with a 7-yard scoring run to put Eatonville up 21-0 with just over a minute left in the 3rd quarter.

The Cruiser defense would again come up big on Zillah's next possession. Facing a 4th and 10, Eatonville's Max Henley would get to the Leopard's quarterback and sack him for a huge 9-yard loss and force Zillah to punt the ball back to the Cruisers.

The Cruisers would finish up their scoring on the night when Kralik hit tight end R.J. Schrimpsher for a 13-yard score to put the Cruisers up 28-0 with just under 3 minutes to play.

On their final possession of the night, Zillah would turn it over on downs again, this time at midfield with 2 minutes to play. Eatonville would go into the coveted victory formation and knee the ball to run the clock out and seal a 28-0 victory.

Eatonville piled up 451 yards of total offense, including averaging 7.4 yards per carry on 45 attempts. Norman led the Cruisers on the ground with 27 carries for 171 yards and one touchdown, while Nation had five carries for 95 yards and one rushing touchdown. He would also go catch two passes for 100 yards and a score.

With that win, the Cruiser advance to the quarterfinals of the state playoffs and will host the #12 Freeman Scotties on Saturday, November 19th at Art Crate Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 pm.

EATONVILLE 28, ZILLAH 0

Second quarter

E — Ky Nation 59-yard run (Kralik kick)

E — Nation 70-yard pass from Kralik (Kralik kick)

Third quarter

E — Dylan Norman 7-yard run (Kralik kick)

Fourth quarter

E — RJ Schrimpsher 12-yard pass from Kralik (Kralik kick)