Community Sports

High school football: Yelm storms past Peninsula, GH blanks CK

A tornado touched down Friday night at Roy Anderson Field and did major damage.

One of the most dominant high school football teams in recent memory came ripping and roaring through town.

The Yelm Tornados (8-0, 6-0 South Sound Conference) won the league showdown over the Peninsula Seahawks (6-2, 5-1), 58-14, to secure their third straight South Sound Conference championship on Friday, Oct. 21. Yelm is ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll of Washington state high school sports writers.

The Tornados and Seahawks shared the title last year after COVID-19 infections forced cancellation of the game between conference foes.

Yelm overwhelmed with its massive lines

Like the storm from which they draw their nickname, the Tornados win with a blend of speed and power.

A Yelm running back slips away for a touchdown behind the massive offensive line that controlled the line of scrimmage. Bryce Carithers

Yelm’s power comes from its offensive and defensive lines, which are about the same size as a Division I college team. Yelm left guard William Snodgrass is 6-foot-7 and 320 pounds, and the Tornados’ other linemen are not much smaller.

They were relentless on Friday, hitting hard and offering no mercy. The linemen opened holes to allow Yelm’s running backs to gain 362 yards on 31 carries — a staggering 11.6 yards per carry.

Their speed comes from everywhere … tailback, quarterback, linebackers, defensive ends, kickoff returners. They are all fast, and it showed.

When they wanted some balance to their attack they let quarterback Damian Aalona throw it. He was solid, too, completing 9 of 10 passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns.

Yelm won despite missing star running back Brayden Platt, who was out with an injured ankle.

The Tornados have outscored their opponents 461-55 this year. The Seahawks are one of only two teams to score two touchdowns on their defense.

Peninsula highlights

Peninsula fought hard despite giving up about 40 pounds per position.

It was 51-0 in the fourth quarter, but the Seahawks refused to be shut out in front of their home fans.

The offensive line executed a perfect trap block and senior Aiden Lester busted through the middle, sprinting 61 yards to the goal line with one man to beat. A defender dove and swiped at Lester’s feet. He tripped but didn’t fall, maintaining his balance to stride into the end zone as the Peninsula faithful cheered.

Seahawk safety Henry Ganisin reaches but cant stop a Yelm runner flying down the sideline for a touchdown. Bryce Carithers

The upset Tornados answered on the ensuing kickoff, when the deep returner pitched the ball to Kyler Ronquillo on a reverse. Ronquillo took it the rest of the way for a perfectly executed kickoff return.

The Seahawks kept fighting. Quarterback Payton Knowles found Jones Stalker in the left flat and he sprinted 50 yards through traffic for a touchdown, making the final score 58-14.

Peninsula got a fine performance from running back Brady Laybourn against Yelm. He had 124 all-purpose yards and ran hard all night.

After the Seahawks lost athletic tailback Issac Smith to injury, Lester came through with 5 rushes for 70 yards and a touchdown. Receiver Dane Meddaugh was doubled for most of the night, but Stalker found some space and caught four balls for 65 yards and a touchdown.

What’s next

Peninsula still has a lot to look forward to. An important final South Sound Conference game at Timberline looms at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 27. That game will decide who places second in the conference, which is critical to playoff positioning. Timberline lost to Yelm by a similar score of 56-14.

Physical Seahawk lineman Grady Johnson battled the Yelm lineman all night long. Bryce Carithers

Gig Harbor 42, Central Kitsap 0

Gig Harbor (6-2, 4-2) beat winless Central Kitsap (0-8, 0-6) 42-0 on Friday. The Tides’ offense amassed 383 yards while their talented defense gave up only 24 yards and two first downs.

Tight end Benji Park opened the scoring on a 5-yard pass from Will Landram. Ayden Fink scored the first of his two touchdowns on a 49-yard run through the Cougar defense to make the score 14-0 to end the first quarter.

Landram scored on a 5-yard run, then found wide receiver Carson Griffin behind the defense for a 25-yard touchdown to stretch the lead to 28-0 at halftime.

Coach Darrin Reeves went to his substitutes to finish the game but did implore his defense to preserve the shut out. Twenty Tides registered at least one tackle and eight  players registered a tackle for loss. The Tides held the Cougars to negative-9 yards rushing and only 33 yards in the air.

Landram led the Tides in passing and rushing. He was 19-25 for 184 yards and two touchdowns passing and also ran for 76 yards and a score. Tides do-it-all running back Blaze Herbert has been out with an injury, so Landram has picked up the slack.

Griffin led the Tides in receiving with 5 catches for 97 yards and a touchdown.

Unfortunately another tornado warning may be in effect this Thursday night, when Yelm comes back to Roy Anderson Field to play the Tides at 7 p.m.