Enumclaw High’s 42-7 homecoming victory over Decatur was the jewel of the big dance’s gala atmosphere Friday evening at Pete’s Pool Field.
In their first South Puget Sound League 3A action of the season, the Hornets went over, under, around and through the league’s newcomer to sting the bewildered Gators into submission.
“I know it sounds kind of trite and shop worn, but tonight was all about us and how we performed,” EHS mentor Don Bartel said of his troops, who are now 1-0 in league action and 1-4 overall. “I knew if we came out here and played the kind of football we know how to play, we would come away with the win. Everyone put in a huge effort and played great tonight, especially our senior quarterback Dylan Podolak. I want that guy in our huddle every time. He’s a warrior.”
Podolak, who went 10-for-15 passing for 105 yards and three touchdowns, went Gator hunting from the start.
On Enumclaw’s first possession, Podolak got the homecoming festivities under way with a 7-yard laser beam to reliable tight end Tyler Carlson, who has scored at least one touchdown in each of the Hornets’ five games.
Running back Andy Holdener, who toted the pigskin 20 times for 165 yards, scored the first of his tandem of rushing touchdowns just into the second stanza, scoring from 1 yard out.
Already ahead 14-0 as the game entered the midway point of the third quarter, Enumclaw was on the threshold of the Gators’ end zone again, and for the second time, Holdener bashed the door down, this time from 2 yards out.
“It was no accident that we scored so many points in our first league outing,” Holdener said, adding that it felt great to be back in shoulder pads after a two week ordeal in street clothes with a concussion. “The linemen did all the work, creating huge holes for us running backs.”
Podolak fired two more six-point torpedoes to Hornet senior wideouts Terenn Houk and Jason Greer and Marcus Joshlin administered the final nail into the Decatur coffin on a 16-yard scoring gallop. Kicker Matthew Wasisco booted his sixth consecutive successful PAT through the uprights to make it 42-0.
Decatur finally erased the zero on its side of the docket against Enumclaw’s second string defense.
