Top-ranked Eatonville Survives Close Call, Defeats Tenino To Stay Undefeated

Struggling to stop the Beaver run game at times, the Eatonville Cruiser defense stopped it when it counted and that helped the top-ranked Cruisers to a 27-22 victory over the #6 Tenino Beavers this past Friday night at Beaver Stadium in Tenino.

"Tenino's system presents challenges for an opposing defense. They are really good at it and it is a unique system to prepare for" said Eatonville's Head Coach Gavin Kralik.

After receiving the opening kickoff, the Cruisers would turn the ball over right away as Tenino's Kaden Sayamnet picked off quarterback Job Kralik's first pass at the Beaver 35-yard line.

Tenino would then drive the length of the field and cap the drive with a Randy Marti 1-yard touchdown plunge. The two-point conversion would be successful and Tenino would take an early 8-0 lead.

Eatonville would answer back with a four-play, 56-yard drive that would end with Kralik keeping the ball for a 25-yard scoring run to pull Eatonville to within one at 8-7.

After forcing a Tenino punt, the Cruisers would set up shop at their 28-yard line. They would then drive to the Beaver 35-yard line. Facing a 4th and inches, Kralik would keep the ball and take it to the house for another Cruiser score to put Eatonville on top 14-8.

Tenino would answer back with a Dylan Spicer 82-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion would be stopped by the Cruisers and the ball game would be tied up at 14 a piece.

After falling on the squib kick, Eatonville would start 1st and 10 at their 43-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Kralik would hand the ball off to Dylan Norman and he was off to the races. Norman would outrun the Beaver defense for a 57-yard score to put the Cruisers up 21-14 and that score would hold into halftime.

Eatonville's Dylan Norman runs through a huge hole opened by his offensive line on his way for a long run for the Cruisers. Norman would finish with 145 yards and a touchdown in the Cruisers 27-22 win. Photo - Timothy Rogers Photography

After returning the second-half kickoff to midfield, Tenino would drive to the goal line and then be faced with a 4th and goal. The Cruiser defense would flex their muscles and deny a touchdown and they would take over at the Beaver 6-yard line.

The Cruiser offense would stall out and punt the ball back to the Beavers, who would take over at their 20-yard line. Dylan Spicer would strike again with an 80-yard touchdown run. After a successful two-point conversion, the Beavers would be back on top 22-21.

After starting at their 46-yard line, Eatonville would face a crucial 4th and one at the Tenino 34-yard line. Dylan Norman would get the call and pick up the first down on a long run to put the Cruisers in the red zone. Kralik would cap the drive a few plays later when he would leap into the endzone for the score. The two-point conversion would fail and Eatonville would steal the lead back at 27-22 with 8 minutes left in the game.

Employing the same tactic they used the last time these two teams met, Tenino would run the play clock down to 1 second on every snap of the game to limit Eatonville's offensive plays.

That tactic would set Tenino up just where Head Coach Cary Nagel wanted them, with the ball and about a minute left in the game.

Facing a 3rd and 11 at the Cruiser 29-yard line, the Eatonville defense would take down quarterback Cody Strawn for minimal gain after he was flushed from the pocket. That would force the Beavers into a 4th and 9 situation with 37 seconds left in the game.

The Beavers would then be faced with having to do something they don't often do…throw a pass. Strawn would drop back and let one fly and that pass would be batted down to the black turf by Cruiser defender Ky Nation, allowing the Cruisers to take over on downs and go into victory formation with 29 seconds remaining to end the game.

"We actually had a special pass play that we'd been working on for this game ready for the previous play," Tenino coach Cary Nagel said to Scorebook Live's Doug Drowley. "But we had a missed assignment and our quarterback was forced to run with it. We had a guy wide open in the end zone for a touchdown. But that's the way it goes. You miss an assignment against a really good team, you lose 27-22."

With the exception of a few long touchdown runs, the Eatonville defense did a good job of containing the Beavers' running game.

Coach Kralik said the goal-line stand by the defense and another key defensive stop late in the game were critical. "Our defense battled and without the goal line stand and the stop at the end of the game we do not win this game."

"Tenino also played great defense. We were limited in possessions in the second half (due to Tenino using up most of the play clock as mentioned earlier) which made it more challenging to get into much of a rhythm. We were proud of how our kids battled on the road against a very good opponent and found a way to win in the end."

Eatonville's defense held a Tenino team that averages 425 yards of total offense per game to 313 yards on the night.

"It was a total defensive effort. We had 18 players record a tackle. Most notably was Payton Hanly who had 14 tackles and 1st-year player in the program Evan Wimbles who had 3 1/2 tackles for loss. Wimbles' big moment was stopping Tenino's first drive of the second half by tackling their QB for a 2-yard loss to give the ball back to the Cruisers on their own 6-yard line," added Defensive Coordinator Rex Norris.

Norris also added that "Other big contributors in the game included Max Henley with 7 tackles as well as Captains Tristan Lewis and Kyle Cox who made several key stops. Although Tenino broke off the largest touchdown runs of the season, without those two plays happening, Eatonville was on its way to posting its best overall defensive performance of the season against a top contender.

"Tenino also played great defense. We were limited in possessions in the second half (due to Tenino using up most of the play clock as mentioned earlier) which made it more challenging to get into much of a rhythm. We were proud of how our kids battled on the road against a very good opponent and found a way to win in the end," Kralik added.

Eatonville's Dylan Norman would go over 100 yards rushing for the third straight game ensuring his offensive linemen donuts on Monday. He would lead the Cruisers with 145 yards rushing on 21 carries and a touchdown. Job Kralik would carry the ball 18 times for the Cruisers on the night for 135 yards and three scores.

The Cruisers improve to 5-0 (1-0 in league play) and will host the #10 ranked Montesano Bulldogs (4-1, 0-0) on Friday, October 7th for Eatonville's Homecoming game. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 pm.