White River High posted its first victory of the Watt Evenson era, crushing the Foss Falcons the evening of Sept. 21. Twenty-four hours later, the powerful Enumclaw Hornets continued to rack up lopsided wins under coach Mark Gunderson.
In Buckley, first-year coach Evenson had watched his Hornets drop their first three games of the season. That slide came to an abrupt end on a Thursday evening in Tacoma when White River demolished the Falcons 47-7. The contest was staged at Mount Tahoma High School, where Foss plays its home games.
Something had to give in Tacoma, as both clubs stepped onto the Mount Tahoma turf winless. While things improved for White River, it only got worse for the Falcons who have now given up 198 points in four games.
The Hornets scored early and often to secure the win, building a four-touchdown lead before halftime.
Things didn’t start great, however. The Falcons scored on a 63-yard pass play and, in response, White River was forced to punt. But, from that point on, it was all Hornets, who found numerous ways to put points on the scoreboard.
The barrage began when quarterback Aaden Rathbun found Tate Bowen on a 4-yard scoring pass and continued when Blake Bargelt scooped up a loose ball in the end zone for another score. Following a Falcon fumble, Rathbun scored from two yards out; then, following a Kouri Lewis interception, Bowen scored on a 10-yard run. Bargelt was again part of the scoring action, blocking a Falcon punt that turned into a short TD run by Landon Mollett.
With White River’s defense keeping Foss throttled, Rathbun found Bowen on a 33-yard scoring strike. The Hornets’ final TD came when QB Tristan Waterman connected with Blake Toles for a 12-yard TD.
Enumclaw stays unbeaten: The situation was reversed the following evening, when Enumclaw High traveled to Orting for a matchup of 3-0 teams. After 48 minutes of play the Hornets showed why they’re the No. 1 program in the state’s Class 2A ranks (according to the WIAA’s Ratings Percentage Index formula and the latest Associated Press poll), walking off the Cardinal Stadium turf on the victorious end of a 37-7 score.
All five of Enumclaw’s touchdowns came on the ground, with Gunnar Trachte, Seamus Twohey (twice) and Cooper Rodarte all scoring on 1-yard bursts. Wyatt Neu added to the total with a 25-yard TD run. The scoring was capped by a 26-yard field goal by Riley Rutledge.
