HS Football: Sumner survives late surge from Curtis to pull out slim victory

10/18/2024

Sumner 14, Curtis 12

(University Place, WA) On a rainy night that just got wetter as the game went on certainly impacted the game somewhat with some passes through the hands of receivers, fumbles and slips on the wet turf but none of that trumped the physicality or intensity of this SPSL 4A showdown. It was a huge game for both teams as Sumner was 3-0 in league play and Curtis at 2-1. The Vikings were also coming off a tough 7-0 loss to Emerald Ridge. On this night the defenses were in the spotlight with each defense coming up with spectacular plays and toughness when their backs were against the wall.

Curtis began with the ball after a nice kick-off return by Parker Mady they began on their own 44. Facing a 4th and 6 Sophomore QB Cooper Hordyk scrambled for 7 yards to pick up a key 1st down. This run would be a foreshadowing to later in the game. But Sumner’s defense would stiffen and the 1st of 4 sacks from Will Maxwell for a 12 yard loss knocked Curtis out of field goal range and they would end up turning it over on downs on the Spartan 29. The 13 play drive took off nearly 7 minutes of the 1st quarter.

Vikings score 1st, Spartans answer and add to their lead

On the next drive Sumner’s QB Nate Donovan was trying to hit a receiver over the middle when the Viks safety Xavier Ahrens stepped in front and picked the pass returning it to the Sumner 7. A false start pushed them back to the 12 and 3 plays later they only got to the 5 yard line so on 4th and 5 Ethan Bell came on and booted a 22 yard field to put the Vikings on the board 3-0 with 2:03 to play in the 1st.

Sumner would go 3 and out and Curtis would have to punt after sack #2 by Maxwell and on the Spartans 3rd possession they would take over on their own 27. The Spartan offense worked the ball out to their own 47 when they handed it off to Steele Isaacs who burst over the left side and went 63 yards for the touchdown. But there was a yellow hanky downfield for an illegal block but Isaacs still got the 1st down and was credited with a 13 yard run.

After another holding call the ball on their own 41 Donovan dropped back and found Praylon Pope about 8 yards down the field on a hook pattern. Pope then spun around avoided a would be tackler and was gone down the near sideline for the 59-yard touchdown pass-catch-run score with 9:43 to play in the half. Austin Ferencz added the PAT and Sumner led 7-3.

After a 3 and out, the Spartans got the ball back on their own 43 and worked it down to the Curtis 23. Donovan dropped back and found his tightend Carter Cocke` around the 15 yard line and Cocke` would break 3 tackles and get into the endzone for the score and with 6:29 to play. Ferencz added the PAT to give Sumner the 14-3 lead.

No more offense for Sumner, Crazy scramble at the end of 1st half

No one would guess that the PAT by Ferencz would have been the last point the Spartans scored and if you did guess that no way you could have guessed Curtis couldn’t overcome that.

In the final 6:29 of the 1st half there were 4 more possessions including a 4th and long for Sumner and the ball being snapped over the head of sophomore punter Santos Hernandez-Ruiz and into the endzone where Hernandez-Ruiz circled back picked up the loose ball, juked 2 or 3 defenders and got the ball out to the 16 avoiding giving any points to Curtis.

The Vikings would get the ball on the 16 but have to settle for a 31 yard field goal attempt but the 30 yard attempt was wide for Bell and it remained 14-3 with 1:38 to play. Sumner stayed aggressive and even though Curtis did not have any time-outs decided to go for it on 4th down on their own 38 only to be stuffed and miraculously giving the Vikings 1 more shot with 35-seconds to play.

After a big completion and another completion the ball was down to the 14 with just seconds to play and ticking when they spiked the ball to kill the clock. Curtis Head Coach Darren McKay then sent out freshman kicker Luca Niebergall to attempt a 31 yard field goal. As time expired in the half, the ball sailed through the goalposts and at halftime it was a 1 score game with Sumner leading 14-6.

2nd half Defensive Fan Dream

As the 2nd half began there were 11 straight scoreless possessions with a little bit of everything including another missed field goal by Curtis, a Sumner fumble recovered by Curtis’s Ahrens, and interception by Sumner’s Israel Nabors, 2 other fumbles, punts and turn over on downs.

Then on the 11th drive another big mistake with a fumble on the exchange for Sumner and the ball bounced around and was recovered by Curtis on the Spartan 14 with 6:42 to play. Still trailing 14-6 this was a must score opportunity the Vikings couldn’t afford to blow. Here’s where the foreshadow comes in as QB Cooper Hordyk kept the ball looking to go initially just off tackle but bounced to the outside turned the corner and just got in for the touchdown with 5:15 to play in the game.

Trailing 14-12, of course the Vikings were going for 2 and the tie. It was Senior night so coach McKay wanted the ball in his senior’s hands so Parker Mady lined up in the Wildcat while Hordyk split wide left. This did not fool the Spartans who swarmed Mady well behind the line of scrimmage. Mady threw the ball up for grabs and it ended up in an offensive lineman’s hands but the officials had blown the play dead long before because foward progress was clearly stopped. The Spartans held onto their slim 2 point lead and worked the ball down to the Curtis 11 and on 4th down Sprtan coach Keith Ross decided to try for the field goal with Ferencz to push the score to a 5 point lead with a little more than 90 seconds to play.

Final chance for Vikings

This is clearly well inside Ferencz’s range but at the snap of the ball Jayden Rice-Claiborne for the Vikings came flying from the Sumner right side and Ferencz seeing this knew he had to push it to the left side of the goalposts or would be blocked and he ended up pushing it a little too much so it was no good leaving it 14-12 and Curtis got the ball back on their own 20 with 1:36 to play and no time-outs. Unfortunately for the Vikings there was no magic left and after 4 downs they turned it over and Sumner kneed it twice to clinch this thrilling victory.

Stats and Numbers

Sumner finished the game with 324 total yards on offense with 114 on the ground led by Steele Isaacs who finished with 15 carries for 108 yards but also had 109 yards taken off the board and 2 TD’s from penalties. Nate Donovan went 17-29 with 2 touchdowns an interception and 210 total yards. Praylon Pope led the receivers with 6 catches for 90 yards and a TD. Carter Cocke` hauled in 3 for 44 yards and a score and Pono Borden had 5 catches for 28 yards.

Curtis finished with just 136 total yards but there were several big negative plays and the running game never got going in ernest. Tyce Kinley led the running attack with 14 carries for just 14 yards. Hordyk ran the ball 9 times for -18 yards including sack yardage and he scored the lone Curtis touchdown. Hordyk was 21 for 43 through the air for 122 yards and an interception. Xavier Ahrens caught 11 passes for 72 yards and Parker Mady had 8 for 38 yards.

Standings and Schedules

Sumner improves to 4-0 in SPSL 4A play with the win and 6-1 overall and are #2 in the RPI rankings behind Camas. The Spartans will host Emerald Ridge next Friday and will be a huge showdown.

Curtis falls to 2-2 in conference play and 4-3 overall. The Vikings will travel over to play Puyallup next Friday in another important game for both Vikings squads. The following week will be a crossover round with the SPSL divisions between the North and South. Those games are TBD.

Eli Sports dot Com MVP

Defense ruled the night and no one was better than the Spartans Will Maxwell with 4 sacks for -33 yards plus many other tackes for loss and big plays on the defensive line. Also in consideration were Shaun Griffith, Israel Nabors and Sikander Virk.

Had Curtis pulled out the win we would have had to put the young QB Cooper Hordyk right up there along with Xavier Ahrens and Ayo Phillips who had a big game and a couple of sacks on the Viks d-line.

Link to watch the full game replay on the NFHS Network (subscription required)

ESN Postgame Show