Eatonville Stays Unbeaten With 38-20 Win
In front of a packed house at B.W. Lyon Stadium this past Friday evening, quarterback Job Kralik would account for four Cruiser touchdowns, Dylan Norman rushed for triple-digits for the second straight game, and the Eatonville "bend don't break" defense limited Bellevue Christian to 20 points as the Cruisers downed the Vikings 38-20.
Job Kralik (#15) leads the Eatonville Cruisers out on the field to take on the Bellevue Christian Vikings this past Friday night. Eatonville would secure a 38-20 victory. Photo: Trinity Potter
Kralik was again very efficient on offense in this game, going 6/8 passing for 87 yards and a touchdown while carrying the ball 8 times for 88 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Running back Dylan Norman had to pony up some more donuts for his offensive line as he went over the century mark for the second straight game, carrying the ball 17 times for 109 yards and a touchdown.
Eatonville would strike first midway through the first quarter when Kralik would score from 15-yards out on a designed keeper to give the Cruisers an early 7-0 lead.
After a great defensive stand that forced the Vikings to turn the ball over on downs at midfield, the Cruisers would march 45 yards and add to that lead to start the second quarter when Kralik's number was called again. He would take the shotgun snap 8 yards while eluding two Viking tacklers and walk into the end zone to give Eatonville a 14-0 lead.
Another great defensive stand by the Cruisers would force another turnover on downs. This time at the Eatonville 42-yard line. The Cruiser drive would stall at the 15-yard line where Kralik would send a 32-yard field goal through the uprights to increase the Cruiser lead to 17-0 with 6 minutes left in the half
A little trickery would give the Cruisers the ball back when kicker Job Kralik recovered his own onside kick to set Eatonville up at the Viking 42-yard line.
The first play of the possession following the onside kick recovery saw Kralik float a beautiful pass over the defensive back to Ky Nation for another Cruiser touchdown to make it 23-0 as the ensuing extra point attempt was unsuccessful.
The Vikings would finally get on the board with 4 minutes left in the half when quarterback Isaac Britton carried the ball in from the 5-yard line for the score. The 2-point conversion attempt would be snuffed out by the Cruiser defense to make it 23-6.
Following the kickoff, Eatonville would start from their 48-yard line and march to the 14-yard line, which was set up by a Nation 43-yard scamper. Immediately following Nation's big run, Kralik was flushed from the pocket and eluded three Viking defenders before diving over one for the score to cap off the drive. After a botched snap on the extra-point attempt, Nation would pick up the ball and outrun the Viking defenders to the end zone for the 2-point conversion to increase the Cruiser lead to 31-6 to finish out the scoring in the first half.
Bellevue Christian would find the end zone again after putting together a 12-play, 63-yard drive on the first possession of the second half that culminated in quarterback Isaac Britton running it in from 8 yards out. The 2-point conversion attempt would fail again and they would cut into the Cruiser lead at 31-12.
Eatonville would respond with a 17-play drive from their 45-yard line that would see running back Dylan Norman punch it in from 2-yards out for the score to give the Cruisers a 38-12 lead and finish out the Cruiser scoring for the night.
Following a Cruiser turnover on downs at the Viking 43-yard line, Bellevue Christian would hit paydirt one final time with about 20 seconds left in the game when Britton connected with Cash Erdman from 26-yards out. The 2-point conversion would be successful to make the final score 38-20, a Cruiser victory.
Ky Nation would lead the receiving corps with 2 catches for 49 yards and a touchdown.
With the win, Eatonville improves to 4-0 on the season. They will now prepare to pack up and hit the road as they will head to Tenino to take on the #5 ranked Beavers (4-0) in a 1A Evergreen League matchup that could very well decide the league championship, as both teams are considered the front-runners for the title.
The Cruisers were plagued by penalties on both sides of the ball in their last two games and will need to clean things up and play some stellar defense against the Beaver rushing attack.
