HS Football: Sumner rolls at home over Rogers setting up big showdown with Curtis

10/10/2024

Sumner 57, Rogers 8

(Sumner, WA) The Sumner Spartans took on a much improved Rogers Rams team on a Thursday night game that got moved late due to a lack of officials. There were not enough officials to cover all the games on Friday night so some games had to be moved and this was one of those. Before we go any further let us say that the lack of Officials crisis remains a big problem. This has not gone away so we urge people to lay off the officials. If you can do better then go put on the stripes and be part of the solution.

Now back to the game. It isn’t often that a team can survive having 4 touchdowns taken off the board for penalties let alone win by a large margin. The Spartans did just that as they were coming off a tight win over Puyallup while Rogers came limping in with a ton of injuries and having to play a lot of subs including several freshmen and that lack of depth clearly hurt the Rams.

Spartans Offense gets Rolling

After a 3 and out for Rogers, Sumner began with the ball on their own 42. Sumner was also missing a couple of players including their starting running back in Steele Isaacs and all-around kicker Austin Ferencz. But on the 6th play from scrimmage Dillon Titialii who got the start at RB burst through the middle of the defense and into the endzone for the 1st 6. Without Ferencz, Sumner went for 2 and QB Nate Donavan connected with Pono Borden to make it 8-0 with 7:40 to go in the 1st.

After a 3 and out, Sumner would get the ball in great field position again on the Rams 45. This drive ended on a gorgeous 38 yard pass from Donavan to Braylen Pope. Donavan led Pope perfectly into the endzone for the score. Donavan and Pope teamed up again for the 2 point conversion and a 16-0 lead.

Rogers would respond with their best drive of the half a 16 play, 9-minute drive that began on their own 5 yard line. They ran the ball 14 times picked up 4 1st downs as they chipped away at the Sumner defense with several 3 and 4 yard runs but the drive would get stalled at the Sumner 25 where they turned it over on downs. Ja’Veon McCoy carried the for most part with QB Rashard Boone also scrambling for good gains but could not convert a 4th and short.

The Spartans would turn around and take 6 plays to find the endzone again on the 6th play Israel Nabors busted off a huge run for 53 yards to paydirt. The PAT failed and it was 22-0 with 5:54 to go in the half. Sumner would get 1 more score before half when they got the ball back on the Rogers 46. This was the Carter Cocke` drive as the big tight end hauled in 3 passes including a 5 yard TD pass from Donavan. Donavan then hit Che Molina for the 2-point PAT and it was 30-0 which held to the halftime break.

No Slowing down in the 2nd half

Sumner began with the ball in the 3rd quarter and drove down to the 9 but the Rogers defense held and got the ball back. The Spartan defense held and forced a punt giving the Sparts great field position on the Rams 41. 2 plays later and Titialii was gone again this time a 30 yard scamper for the score. Donavan then hit Che Molina for the 2 point PAT and pushed score to 38-0.

Sumner then kicked in the running clock after taking over on their own 14 with 6:15 to go in the 3rd. They worked it to the Rams 40 when Molina broke free and ran it in for the 40 yard score. The PAT failed and it was 44-0. After recovering a fumble on the Rogers 18 Sumner struck again when Donavan hit Kainoa Grounds on the 2nd play for the 18 yard strike. Juan Pablo Jacobo-Guzman then kicked the PAT through for a 51-0 lead.

Rogers would get on the board in the 4th when Rashard Boone hit Jaden Kiblinger on a 10-yard TD strike. Boone then found Martyn Hernandez for 2 and it was 51-8. The Spartans got one more when back-up QB Brennan Abbott hit Chase Borgomainerio for an 11 yard connection, the PAT was not good and the final score was 57-8.

Records, What’s next?

Sumner imprioves to 3-0 in league play and 5-1 overall. The Spartans have a huge showdown at Curtis next Friday at 7pm. Rogers drops to 2-4 overall and 0-3 in league play. They will host crosstown Puyallup next Friday with a 7p kick-off.

Eli Sports Network dot com MVP

It was unanimous for Sumner’s Nate Donavan who 20 for 32 for 277 yards and 3 touchdowns along with 4 2-point conversions.

Stats and Numbers

Sumner racked up 518 yards of total offense led by the passing attack that cranked out 331 total yards with 277 of those to starter Nate Donavan with 20 completions, 3 TD’s and 4 2-point conversions. Brennan Abbott got in the 4th quarter and threw for 54 yards going for 3 for 5 and a touchdown. Carter Cocke` hauled in 6 passes for 113 yards with a score, Braylen Pope had 112 yards on 7 catches with a touchdown as they led the receivers. Dillon Titialii ran the ball 6 times for 72 yards and 2 TDs, Israel Nabors 1 run for 53 and a score and Che Molina 2 for 49 a touchdown and 2 2-point conversions.

For Rogers, Rashard Boone was 27 for 34 for 131 yards a touchdown and 1 int. Jaden Kiblinger led the receivers with 5 catches for 65 yards and touchdown, Martyn Hernandez had 9 catches for 34 yards and a 2-point conversion. Ja’Veon McCoy led the ground game with 17 carries for 50 yards.

Link to watch full broadcast on the NFHS Network (Subscription required)

ESN Postgame Show