TUMWATER — Six minutes into the first quarter, the Tumwater offense left the field in an unfamiliar position. Two drives in, the T-Birds had not put any points on the board.
“We were not good the first two series,” Tumwater coach William Garrow said. “We didn’t do what we were supposed to do.”
While the defense went to work on getting the ball back, the offensive coaching staff preached making the “simple fixes” on the sideline.
The T-Birds made those fixes and never looked back, running away with a 44-0 win over Cedarcrest in the first round of the 2B State Tournament.
“The kids did a nice job responding after the fact,” Garrow said.
Cash Short got the offense going on the third drive of the game, taking the second play of that drive 35 yards to the house to open the scoring.
After a Cedarcrest three-and-out, Short took the first play of the following drive 58 yards for another touchdown. Two drives later, Jaylin Nixon took the second play of a drive for a 41-yard score.
Tumwater’s first three scoring drives combined to take just over a minute off the clock.
While the Tumwater offense had to overcome a slow start, the defense was at its best from the first drive of the game.
Cedarcrest got a first down on its second play of the day, but after that, the Tumwater defense forced four straight three-and-outs before the end of the first half.
The defensive line had its way throughout, as the T-Birds sacked Cedarcrest’s Connor Altmyer four times and held their lead back Luke Thompson to -2 yards on eight carries.
Between sacks, bad snaps, and tackles for loss, the Red Wolves finished with -53 rushing yards on the night.
It’s the fifth time in the last six weeks that the T-Birds have held a team scoreless, the lone exception being a late fourth-quarter touchdown from Renton last week.
“They were incredible all night,” Garrow said. “(DC Tony Prentice) has got the kids playing incredibly well right now … The kids are flying around on defense, it’s awesome to see.”
Tumwater also dominated the third phase of the game. Up 28-0 in the third quarter, Mehki Richardson blocked a punt. It bounced into the end zone, but nobody could corral it before it bounced out of the back for a safety.
That was initially frustrating for Garrow and his assistant coaches, but they were all smiles seconds later when David Malroy returned the free kick for a touchdown to make it 37-0.
“It’s great for our kids to have some success with that,” Garrow said. “We work on those returns after safeties … It’s a lot of fun to watch them go score.”
Short finished with 134 yards and three touchdowns, while Nixon added 56 yards and his score. Tyler Briscoe also scored a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
Up next for the top-seeded Thunderbirds (11-0) is a state quarterfinal against either No. 8 Othello or No. 9 Sehome. That game will most likely be next Saturday, Nov. 23 at Tumwater District Stadium.
“Two different challenges,” Garrow said. “We’ll see who shows up.”
