EVCO 2A Football: Tumwater Continues to Roll, Aberdeen-WF West Set for Big Showdown, Black Hills Gets in Win Column

10/13/23

Tumwater 60, Shelton 0

The first place Tumwater Thunderbirds continued to roll as they have throughout the entire season as they shutout the Shelton Highclimbers. Tumwater scored 20 points in each of the first two quarters before adding 20 more in the second half. Kooper Clark led the way with two rushing touchdowns and another one on a reception. That passing touchdown came from Ethan Kastner who had two passing touchdowns in the game. Logan Cole added two touchdowns while the other T-Birds to score were Brady Bryant, Jaylin Nixon, Tyler Briscoe, and Jaxon Budd.

Kooper Clark took home the Thorbeckes MVP for this game with a dynamic performance. Clark rushed nine times for 99 yards for 11 yards per carry. Clark is the latest Tumwater running back to thrive in the run heavy attack. While a new staff has taken over, Tumwater has continued to roll as the T-Birds sit at 7-0 and 4-0 in league play as they will host Rochester next Friday. Shelton drops to 2-5 and 1-3 in EvCo 2A play and will try to rebound on Friday when they host Black Hills as both teams try to make a late push for the playoffs.

You can check out the entire replay of the game in the link below on the NFHS Network.

Tumwater vs Shelton – Boys Varsity Football 10/13/2023 | Live & On Demand (nfhsnetwork.com)

ESN Postgame Show

Highlight

Kooper Clark Long Touchdown

Aberdeen 20, Rochester 8

With WF West coming up on the schedule, the Aberdeen Bobcats had to take care of the Rochester Warriors to make that game the following week vastly important. Led by the defense, Aberdeen took care of business on the road to set up one of the biggest games of the year in the EvCo 2A next week after a 20-8 win over Rochester. With the Bobcats win, they move to 5-2 and 3-1 in league play with their home game against WF West on Friday likely deciding who finishes in 2nd place in the EvCo 2A. Rochester drops to 4-3 and 3-2 in league play. The Warriors still have the inside track to take the 4th and final playoff spot with their final league game coming on Friday night at Tumwater.

For more on this game, you can click this link and visit the story by Ryan Sparks of The Daily World.

Black Hills 34, Centralia 21

Only two teams entered week 7 without a league win and those two teams met on Friday night when the Centralia Tigers hosted the Black Hills Wolves on senior night. A year after pulling off an upset in the crossover round to get into the field of 16 for the 2A state tournament, the Wolves have had to rebuild a little bit while Centralia showed promise under first year head coach Jon Rooklidge. A big first half for Black Hills turned out to be the difference maker as the Tigers late rally wasn’t enough to stop Black Hills from earning their first win, 34-21.

Centralia turned the ball over on their first possession as Jack Ellison picked off the first pass attempt of the game. After starting with the ball in Tiger territory, Ellison would capitalize on the takeaway with a 17-yard touchdown run to give the Wolves a 7-0 lead. Things only built for Black Hills as returning quarterback Jaxsen Beck added two touchdown passes with a five-yard toss to Anthony Estrada and a 62-yarder to Jack Ellison as the Wolves built a substantial 21-0 lead.

Black Hills got the ball back immediately as Centralia fumbled the snap on the first play of their drive, giving the ball to the Wolves at the Tiger 17-yard line. A touchdown was called back due to a hold and Centralia then got pressure on Beck and sacked him to knock Black Hills out of field goal range. A touchback on the punt gave Centralia the ball at their own 20 and they put together a strong drive. A 27-yard run by Roman Cando helped the Tigers convert on a 3rd down and a Black Hills penalty kept the drive alive once again. Donovon Galloway would finish off the drive with a five-yard score to get the Tigers on the board with just under two minutes left in the first half. That was enough time for the Wolves as they marched down the field with a couple of passes to Jack Ellison and Maddox Hodge before Jacob Weller finished off the two-minute drill with a one yard score. At halftime, Black Hills had a 27-6 lead.

Not only did Black Hills have a 21-point lead at the break, but the Wolves also got the ball to start the second half. Looking for a dagger to the Tigers, the Wolves tried to air it out but the first play of the half for the Wolves was an interception as Roman Cando sparked the home team with the takeaway. He would be rewarded for his efforts as the senior would turn around and score a three-yard touchdown to cut the Centralia deficit down to 27-14 after a successful two-point conversion.

The biggest issue for Centralia’s defense was the Black Hills screen game. Beck did a great job of buying time for blockers to get in position for Jack Ellison. While the second half was not the best half of football Black Hills has played this season, they came up with a necessary answer after the Tiger touchdown. Another screen pass from Beck found Ellison and he was gone for a 56-yard touchdown. The Wolves lead was quickly inflated back up to 34-14.

Time was too much of a problem for Centralia to overcome. While they were able to move the ball in the second half, the drives just took too long. There was one explosive play where Terrell Sanders dropped an absolute dime to Landon Jenkins for a 71-yard completion for the Better Homes and Gardens Takin’ it to the House Play of the Game. It set up another Centralia touchdown as Cando scored another one from three yards out to make it 34-21. That would be the final as Black Hills was able to eat enough clock and get one stop on defense to finalize their first win of the season over Centralia.

Our Thorbeckes MVP of the game was Jack Ellison for the Black Hills Wolves. Ellison had a strong performance on both sides of the ball. Defensively, Ellison made numerous tackles with some of them coming in open space. The senior recorded an interception early in the game to jumpstart the Wolves offense. On that side of the ball, Ellison tallied seven carries for 37 yards and a touchdown but did most of his damage in the pass game. Ellison caught five passes for 178 yards and two more touchdowns. Over 200 yards and three touchdowns plus a takeaway made this an easy call to name Jack Ellison the MVP of this one.

Also for the Wolves, Jaxsen Beck went 15/22 passing for 322 yards and three touchdowns and a seven yard carry. Jacob Weller tallied 10 carries for 17 yards and a touchdown and Destin Heck added three carries for 16 yards. Maddox Hodge caught four passes for 104 yards, Bereket Lester caught four passes for 19 yards, and Anthony Estrada caught two passes for 21 yards and a touchdown.

Meanwhile for Centralia, Roman Cando led the way with 23 carries for 113 yards and two touchdowns plus an interception on defense. Donovon Galloway added seven carries for 55 yards and a touchdown and two catches for 16 yards. Quarterback Terrell Sanders went 8/11 passing for 123 yards and had six carries as well. The start receiver for Centralia was Landen Jenkins who caught three passes for 89 yards. Dustin Ingles had two catches for nine yards and Roberto Rosales had a ten yard reception as well. Jack Pendleton had a sack on defense as well for the Tigers.

The win moves Black Hills to 1-6 overall and 1-3 in EvCo 2A play. The Wolves will try to build a winning streak on Friday night at 7pm when they visit the Shelton Highclimbers. Centralia drops to 0-7 and 0-5 in league play. The Tigers will next have their final nonleague game of the season on Friday at 7pm when they visit EvCo 1A foe, Hoquiam.

To watch the entire event replay on-demand, click the link below.

Centralia vs Black Hills – Boys Varsity Football 10/13/2023 | Live & On Demand (nfhsnetwork.com)

ESN Postgame Show

Highlights

Black Hills Screen Goes for Six

Centralia Scores After Interception

Ellison Scores Another Long Touchdown

BHG Takin’ it to the House Play of the Game

WF West 26, Prairie 8

In the lone non-league game featuring an EvCo 2A team, the WF West Bearcats celebrated homecoming with a win over 3A Prairie with the defense leading the charge. WF West moves to 4-3 while remaining 3-1 in EvCo 2A play. WF West will get back into league play on Friday with a trip to Aberdeen in a game that will decide who hosts a playoff game in the crossover round.

For more on this nonleague matchup, you can check out this article by The Chronicle Staff.