TUMWATER — With over 800 yards of total offense, a slew of big plays and 11 touchdowns scored, Tumwater’s first loss of the season, a 42-35 overtime loss to Oregon 6A juggernaut Central Catholic, was a doozy.
Back and forth the whole way, with no team leading by more than eight points at any time, the Rams (3-0) found magic late, running for an easy first down before quarterback Cru Newman found Jordan King for a 15-yard touchdown to put them ahead in the first overtime period.
After answering the call all night, the Thunderbirds (2-1) just couldn’t muster enough to get it done, with quarterback Brady Prothero throwing an interception on fourth and long to ice the game for the Rams.
“Awesome game,” Tumwater coach Bill Beattie said. “That’s our philosophy, in our nonleague, we want to play tough teams. That tells us a lot about us. I’m so proud of the way our kids battled tonight. That’s the top 6A team in Oregon right there. It took them overtime. We learned a lot about ourselves, and we learned we got some battling kids. It’s going to fun the rest of the year.”
It was a game of highlights, with response after response after either team assumed momentum. The reigning Washington 2A champs came out firing first, going 80 yards in four plays, capped by a 40 yard touchdown run from Payton Hoyt. The speedy tailback found the end zone twice more in the first half, scoring from 32 yards out and then from a yard out to pace the Thunderbird attack in the first half.
But the Oregon champs had some fireworks of their own. After the Rams first drive netted them a score from Newman to tight end Riley Williams, they used two explosive one-play drives to force a tie ball game at the half.
The second half got going with a bang from the T-Birds, when defensive end Ryan Otton forced a Newman fumble right out of the gate, and then caught a 22-yard touchdown to put them ahead early.
But as was the theme of the game, Central Catholic went the length of the field two drives later, and after a missed PAT, were behind just one point in the third quarter.
After another strong drive from Tumwater, Prothero found tight end Austin Terry for a 15-yard score to put them ahead 35-27 with 11:24 to play in the game. It would be the Thunderbirds’ last score of the game. The Rams would come right back and score on another long touchdown drive, and after a successful two-point try, the game was tied once again. Neither team scored in the rest of regulation.
In another standout game from Hoyt, the senior rushed for 131 yards with three first half scores. Prothero finished 9 for 14 with two touchdowns, two interceptions and 166 yards.
“(Hoyt) is having a great season so far, he’s been fun to watch,” Beattie said.
The Thunderbirds will look to respond next week when they host league rival W.F. West on Friday.
