Friday the 13th didn’t bring the Yelm High School football team any bad luck in the win column as the Tornados knocked off the Lincoln Abes, 26-13, in Tacoma on Friday, Sept. 13.
But the Tornados certainly were unlucky in terms of injuries, as starting running back/linebacker Nathan Ford and wide receiver/defensive back Maurice Williams both went down with upper-body injuries in the first half and did not return.
Despite the injuries and Yelm’s 13 penalties, the Tornados, led by junior quarterback Parker Myers, put together clutch drives on offense, and their defense locked the Abes down late to seal the victory.
The first half of the Tornados’ road opener was in stark contrast to its home-opening win over Mount Tahoma on Sept. 5, where Yelm faced a 21-7 halftime deficit and struggled to find much of a rhythm on offense until the second half. Against Lincoln, Ford and Myers quickly fueled the Tornados offense to a 66-yard opening-drive touchdown capped off by a 9-yard pass from Myers to Jameson Patin.
The extra point was missed, therefore giving Yelm a 6-0 lead. Ford ran the ball four times for 37 yards on the drive, but on his fourth carry, he injured his right clavicle and was carted off the sideline.
The Abes doomed themselves with three offensive penalties on their first drive, and then on a fourth-and-26 from their own 17-yard line, they botched a fake punt and Yelm took over deep in Lincoln territory.
Myers ran the ball twice to the left for minimal gain before making an adjustment and taking off to the right side to find paydirt from 11 yards out.
“Through watching film this week, I knew exactly what I was gonna get every play. I was ready to go the whole game,” Myers said.
The Tornados failed a two-point conversion, and Yelm led 12-0 with over a minute left in the first quarter.
Lincoln appeared to snatch the momentum right back as junior returner Ramon Jones took the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, but it was called back due to a hold on the Abes — the sixth first-quarter penalty on Lincoln.
Lincoln sophomore quarterback Sione Kaho led the Abes offense, with the help of three Yelm offsides penalties, down the field and connected with Kanoa Teplasy on a 30-yard touchdown pass. The extra point attempt was blocked by Gunner Westbrooks to make it 12-6.
To put salt on the wound for Yelm, Williams, who was covering Teplasy on the touchdown pass, injured his arm during the play and did not return to the game.
Both teams traded punts and penalties to close out the first half, which saw a total of 19 penalties and 18 points, with Yelm in front, 12-6.
“For us, we played really good defense if you minimize the penalties. The penalties gave them more than they deserved,” Yelm head coach Jason Ronquillo said. “We were our worst enemy at times.”
On the first play of the second half, the Abes fumbled the football, which was recovered by Yelm linebacker Ethan Owens at the Lincoln 27-yard line. As Myers looked for his second touchdown pass of the night, Teplasy stepped in front of his fourth-down throw in the end zone.
The Abes put together their best offensive drive of the night after the interception, as Kaho found Jones on a deep shot for 39 yards, and Yelm’s defense helped Lincoln once again with a 15-yard roughing the passer call.
Running back Jadeon Scranton gave Lincoln its first lead with a 6-yard score to make it 13-12 Abes with a hair under seven minutes left in the third quarter.
When one Ford goes down, another steps up. Jacob Ford, Nathan’s brother, made up for a first-half fumbled kickoff and caught a pass over the middle from Myers, zigzagging his way through the defense for an 80-yard touchdown on a third-and-17. Yelm led, 19-13, with under five minutes to go in the third.
After Lincoln’s second touchdown drive, the Tornados defense locked down the Abes offense as they moved the chains just four times on their final three drives combined.
In the fourth quarter, Myers powered the Yelm offense with his arm and his legs. The Tornados put together a commanding 13-play, 71-yard drive in which Myers converted a fourth down with his legs and fooled the defense once again with a 9-yard rushing touchdown to make it 26-13 with five minutes left in the fourth quarter. Myers finished the game with 145 passing yards and 68 rushing yards, scoring two passing touchdowns and adding two on the ground.
“We needed him [to step up]. He’s a dual-threat athlete, and we’re going to use him that way, too,” Ronquillo said. “We’re not afraid to use his legs.”
The Tornados defense put the finishing touches on the road win as 6-foot-6 defensive end Bol Bol swatted Kaho’s pass, which fell into the waiting arms of Owens for an interception. Bol finished with six tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss. Jonah Smith added seven tackles and two sacks.
“The pass rush was great. We knew they were going to pass a lot with that quarterback, so we wanted to shoot out there and get him, and we did that,” Bol said.
Ronquillo said the defense’s primary objective was to make Kaho uncomfortable with blitzes and stunt packages.
“We knew if we could get him on his toes and make him work a little bit harder than he’s used to working, then we’d have some chances,” he said. “There were times we went into cover zero and said, ‘Hey, let’s go get him.’ Our number one goal was to affect the quarterback and everything else would fall into place.”
While the 26-13 victory on the road was worth celebrating, it was bittersweet amid the injuries to Williams and to Nathan Ford, the latter of which returned to the sideline in the fourth quarter with a hospital gown draped over his football gear. Tornados players and fans erupted with applause upon seeing Ford, who hid a sling over his right shoulder under his gown.
“It was tough losing our captain and losing a defensive leader. It was tough on us mentally. But they ended up grinding out a very physical football game and came out with the win,” Ronquillo said.
The Tornados improve to 2-0 on the young season and will return home to face Kamiakin (1-1) of the 4A/3A Mid-Columbia Conference at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20.
