HS Football: Yelm Begins SPSL Foray with Dominant Win Over Spanaway Lake

9/27/24

Yelm 52, Spanaway Lake 14

(Spanaway, WA) Both the Yelm Tornados and Spanaway Lake spent a lot of time in the 3A classification before the latest enrollment numbers bumped both up to 4A. The two teams joined the 4A SPSL and as fate would have it they would play their first league game in their new league against one another at Art Crate Field on Friday night.

The two teams were in the same district in 3A as Yelm moved up from the South Sound Conference while Spanaway Lake made the transition out of the Pierce County League. Yelm rolled into Friday night’s showdown with a perfect record of 3-0, coming off a high-scoring shootout win over Kamiakin last week. For Spanaway Lake, they began their season 2-0 before falling last week against a very good Federal Way team but would look to bounce back and send a message to the rest of the league and classification against the team that played in the last two 3A state championship games.

Yelm would begin the game with the ball and their star junior quarterback Parker Myers started off the game looking poised thanks to a standout offensive line. A three-pronged rushing attack for Yelm moved the ball right down the field for the Tornados as Parker Myers, Jacob Ford, and Marcus Ronquillo all found success on the ground. Yelm would then find the endzone through the air as Myers found Ethan Owens for a 12-yard score. The two-point attempt would be shut down by Spanaway Lake so Yelm would settle for the 6-0 lead.

The Sentinels had a great response on their opening drive of the game. Aided by some penalties on Yelm, Spanaway Lake moved the ball into Tornado territory before facing a 4th down just past midfield. Head coach Cameron Robak left the offense out on the field and it paid off as his senior quarterback got the job done. Chase Best took a shot on the near side and found De’Arius Hawkins who made a great catch for a 34-yard gain to set up 1st and goal. A few plays later, Best found Malik Burns on a slant for a five-yard score to give Spanaway Lake a 7-6 lead.

Once again Yelm just seemed unstoppable on offense led by their dual-threat quarterback. Myers got some chunk plays through the air with passes of over 10 yards to Jay Sumich and Jacob Ford. Also getting the job done with his legs, Myers moved the ball right down the field and inside the ten. This time Myers would hand it off to Marcus Ronquillo who had a crease and found it for a four-yard score. A successful two-point try would put Yelm back out in front 14-7.

From there on the Yelm defensive line dominated the rest of the game. Bol Bol, Jonah Smith, Chris Hauss, and Tyeyo Larson overwhelmed Spanaway Lake’s o-line and put constant pressure on Best on nearly every drop back. Yelm would get the ball back and once again marched down the field to score on another Ronquillo touchdown run to extend the lead out to 21-7.

After shutting down Spanaway Lake’s offense again, Yelm took no time at all to find the endzone. At their own 18-yard line, Parker Myers made his best throw of the game, dropping a dime to Jay Sumich who was off to the races for an 82-yard touchdown. That really got Yelm rolling as on the very next play from scrimmage, Jacob Ford jumped a slant route for a pick six to open the flood gates. Yelm very rapidly blew things open to take a 35-7 lead into halftime.

The 3rd quarter dragged along as their were as many flags thrown as there were plays run. Yelm found six more points on a 28-yard screen from Myers to Ronquillo to make it 42-7. They would tack on a 24-yard field goal as well by Samuel DeJiacomo to make it 45-7.

D’Aryhian Clemons would respond by giving the Sentinel fans something to cheer for. After the field goal, Clemons finally got an opportunity to return a kick and he made the most of it. Running by his blockers, Clemons found a crease and was long gone. The explosive speed of the Spanaway Lake star was too much as Yelm could only bring him down as he crossed the goal line. The kick return for a touchdown fired up the home crowd for a bit as they cut it down to 45-14.

Unfortunately that was the last bit of excitement for Spanaway Lake. Both teams brought in the young guys and let them get some Friday night lights experience in week 4. Hunter Owens would be the star of the 4th quarter as he added on one final score for Yelm on the ground. It was a happy SPSL league opener for the Yelm Tornados as they got the job done, defeating Spanaway Lake 52-14.

Our Elisportsnetwork.com MVP of the game went to quarterback Parker Myers for Yelm. The junior was doing it all for Yelm in the game as passing he went 11-13 for 262 yards and three touchdowns without any turnovers. On top of that, Myers ran the ball four times for 15 yards as well. It always helps to have a good offensive line which allowed Myers plenty of time to survey his options and he seemed to make the right decision every single play. In only his fourth game as the starter, Myers continues to improve each and every week and his still just scratching the surface of what he can be for the next couple seasons.

Also for Yelm statistically, Jacob Ford had a big game with five carries for 39 yards and five catches for 42 yards plus a pick six in the game. Marcus Ronquillo carried the ball 10 times for 29 yards and had two catches for 30 yards and three total touchdowns for Yelm. Ethan Owens would also tally four carries for 13 yards and a 12-yard touchdown reception. Jay Sumich was the leading receiver with three catches for 103 yards and a score. Jameson Patin notched two catches for 72 yards and Aaron Culler had a 26-yard catch. We also saw Sinjay Colston under center and he completed 7 out of 11 passes for 85 yards. Samuel DeJiacomo went 5-5 on PATs and hit a 24-yard field goal as well.

For Spanaway Lake, Chase Best would get a lot of the work offensively, going 8-23 for 91 yards and a score. D’Aryhian Clemons had eight carries for 11 yards and two catches for 19 yards with a kickoff return for a touchdown and an interception on defense. Peyton Martin added four carries for 11 yards to cap off the rushing attack. Receiving wise, De’Arius Hawkins caught three passes for 47 yards while Raymond Kunimoto caught two passes for 20 yards. Malik Burns also added a five-yard touchdown reception.

With the league opening win for Yelm, they move to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in SPSL play. The Tornados will get back to work next week with a big challenge at home on Friday night at 7pm when they host Graham-Kapowsin. Spanaway Lake drops to 2-2 and 0-1 in league play. The Sentinels will try to snag their first SPSL 4A win next week when they take on the Bethel Bison also at 7pm on Friday.

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