Plateau junior football kicked off Saturday with a series of games between the Enumclaw Junior Hornets and a new addition to the area league, the White River Raptors.
Playing in front of a good crowd at Pete’s Pool, the Junior Hornets fourth-grade team started the day with a solid performance, shutting out the Raptors 18-0. Tailback Keegan Sutter ran wild on sweep plays and scored on a long touchdown run. Fullback Joseph Hansen and quarterback Charlie Fisher also scored touchdowns. The offensive line did a great job up front, protecting the QB and opening up running lanes. On the defensive side, Tyler Feddema had an interception and a fumble recovery while Dane Johnson also recovered a fumble.
In the fifth-grade game, the Raptors managed to execute a couple of huge plays en route to a 20-0 win. The Junior Hornets’ Wyatt Ward had three sacks to lead the defensive charge, while the Raptors’ offense stayed on the field for the majority of the second half.
In the sixth-grade contest, both teams found themselves in a battle. Thanks to a goal-line stand at the end of the third quarter, the Junior Hornets managed to pull off a victory 14-7. Jett VanHoof scored one touchdown and Kameron McKee added the go-ahead touchdown on a interception with less than three minutes to play.
In the seventh-grade game, the Junior Hornets took the opening kickoff, drove down the field and Mason Fend punched it into the end zone on the fifth play of the drive. The Raptors responded in the second quarter with a 60-yard touchdown pass to knot the halftime score at 6-6. The Raptors took the lead in the fourth quarter, 12-6, but the Junior Hornets fought back and tied the game with a dramatic 65-yard, zig-zag touchdown run by Mason Fend. They captured the lead 13-12 after a 3-yard extra point run conversion and had to hold the Raptors’ frantic passing attack to close out the game with a victory. Casey Fairburn and Travis Baxter had fumble recoveries and Bear Kuro added an interception. Jake Gehri deflected three passes and Kione Gill had a sack and a slew of tackles.
In the eighth-grade game, played under the lights, the Junior Hornets outdueled the Raptors in a very physical first half, taking an 18-13 lead. The Raptors responded with some hard-nosed defensive play in the second half, managing a touchdown in the fourth quarter to hang on for a 19-18 win. Taylor Beaird racked up two touchdowns,while Zak Carroll added another. Jacob Revell had a key interception on the defensive side.
