There were happy Hornets in both Enumclaw and Buckley following Friday night’s football games, as both the Plateau squads picked up league victories.
ENUMCLAW TOPS TAHOMA BEARS
Homecoming is always a happier event when the football team comes out on top and the Hornets certainly obliged. At The Enumclaw Expo Center, the EHS crew crushed the Tahoma Bears 28-3 in their regular-season finale.
With a 3-2 mark in North Puget Sound League 4A play (6-2 overall) Enumclaw will host a crossover game against Mount Rainier High. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday, again at the Expo Center. That contest will set the stage for “Week 10” playoff games that allow the winners to continue their seasons while the losers pack away the pads until next fall.
Last Friday, Enumclaw fell behind Tahoma 3-0, then posted four touchdowns to cruise to the win. The first score came in the opening quarter on a 26-yard run by Jackson McCann and the Hornets went up 14-0 in the second period thanks to a short TD burst by Ben Pozun.
The same two added touchdowns in the third period, while Fulton Gunderson was a perfect 4-for-4 on extra-point kicks. Pozun’s second TD was from six yards out and McCann’s was from the three-yard line.
Enumclaw’s win came courtesy of its ground game. The Hornets finished with 258 rushing yards on 46 attempts. McCann was again the workhorse, carrying 26 times and gaining 151 yards. Pozun added 73 yards on a dozen carries.
WHITE RIVER RUNS PAST FOSTER HIGH
With a playoff spot on the line, White River hosted the Foster Bulldogs and rolled to a 28-7 victory.
The win brought an end to a regular season that saw the Hornets finish 2-2 in South Puget Sound League 2A play and 3-5 overall.
The victory also set up a league crossover contest at the Washington Patriots. The teams will square off at 7 p.m. Friday at Franklin Pierce Stadium in south Tacoma.
Franklin Pierce heads into the game after finishing second in the SPSL’s Valley Division with a 3-1 record (6-2 overall).
The regular-season finale saw Foster crack the scoreboard first but, after that, it was all Hornets.
White River displayed a new triple-option offense with wide receiver Mason Donovan moving to quarterback, replacing the injured TJ Stroschein. The Hornets did their damage on the ground, primarily with fullback Jay Selander busting up the middle, but also getting contributions from a fleet of running backs that included Payne Plaster, Klein Carter, Jared Rodarte, Hunter Smith and Josh Polin.
Selander finished with 12 carries, good for 63 yards, and Donovan ran 16 times for 62 yards. Overall, eight Hornets combined for 201 rushing yards.
A turning point came in the third quarter when Plaster blocked a Foster punt, scooped up the loose ball and ran the final 15 yards for a touchdown.
That made the game 21-7 for the Hornets. They had scored earlier on a five-yard TD run by Selander and a 25-yard run by Donovan. The game’s final touchdown came on a short Donovan run. Ryan Firle was perfect on four extra—point attempts to polish off the scoring.
