By Pierre LaBossiere
Peninsula Daily News
JOYCE — In a wild, back-and-forth affair that left both teams and likely the scoreboard operator exhausted in sweltering heat, the Crescent Loggers showed that they will be a force to be reckoned with in a 78-64 loss to 1B juggernaut Tacoma Baptist.
The Loggers generated 597 yards of offense and were within a touchdown of the Crusaders in the fourth quarter. But, the game came down to one poor quarter — the second — in which the Loggers were outscored 22-6. In the rest of the game, Crescent outscored Tacoma Baptist 58-56.
Coach Brian Shimko said the Loggers’ star running back Noah Leonard couldn’t go in that second quarter because he was simply exhausted. “That was the game changer right there,” Shimko said.
You couldn’t blame Leonard. For the game, he had 17 carries for 206 yards (and added a 9-yard TD reception and a two-point conversion). He scored five touchdowns, four of them rushing.
The Crusaders are consistently one of the top teams in 1B. Last year, they won the Sea-Tac 1B League and made it to the state quarterfinals (they were beaten by eventual state champion Neah Bay). Shimko said the Crusaders relied heavily on two players — running back Titus Von Barnau Sythoff and quarterback P.J. Talen, who scored all but one of their touchdowns.
“It was an awesome game,” Brian Shimko. “I was really impressed with our kids. It was a great way to start the season.”
The two teams had well over 1,000 yards (Tacoma Baptist’s stats were not available) and combined for 20 touchdowns. Shimko said the game took over four hours to play because of all the offense.
In temperatures hovering near 90, “both teams were dying,” Shimko said.
The Loggers gained 420 yards on the ground while quarterback KC Spencer threw for 165 yards on 10-for-17 passing with four touchdown passes. Eric Emery ran for 96 yards on 14 carries while Spencer had 80 yards on nine carries. Spencer even caught a pass for 12 yards.
Robert Cox had a big day, as well. He had five catches for 104 yards and two TDs. He also had an 80-yard kickoff return to begin the game. Kyle Buchanan also had a 35-yard TD catch.
Crescent (0-1, 0-0) next plays Mary M. Knight in Elma at 1 p.m. Saturday. Quilcene just beat Mary Knight 62-28.
Tacoma Baptist 78, Crescent 64
Tacoma Bapt. 12 22 20 24 — 78
Crescent 12 6 22 24 — 64
First Quarter
C—Leonard 9 yard pass from Spencer (XP failed)
TB — Talen 21 run (XP failed)
TB — Von Barnau Sythoff 20 run (XP failed)
C — Buchanan 35 pass from Spencer (XP failed)
Second Quarter
TB — Von Barnau 24 run (XP failed)
TB — Tangen 18 run (Talen run)
C — Spencer 5 run (XP failed)
Third Quarter
TB — Talen 20 run (XP failed)
C — Leonard 26 run (XP failed)
TB — Talen 55 run (XP good)
C — Cox 29 pass from Spencer (Buchanan run)
TB — Talen 40 run (XP good)
C — Cox 45 pass from Spencer (XP good)
Fourth Quarter
C — Leonard 15 run (Cox from Spencer)
TB — Von Barnau Sythoff 50 run (Talen run)
TB — Talen 19 run (Lynn run)
C — Leonard 58 run (Emery pass from Spencer)
C — Leonard 15 run (Leonard run)
TB — Von Barnau Sythoff 25 run (Talen run)
Individual Stats
Rushing—Crescent: Leonard 17-206, Buchanan 5-27, Eric Emery 14-96, Cox 2-11, Spencer 9-80.
Passing—Crescent: Spencer 10-17-165, 4TDs; Emery 1-2-12.
Receiving—Crescent: Leonard 1-9, Buchanan 1-35, Cox 5-104, Spencer 1-12, Eric Emery 3-17.
Quilcene 62, Mary M. Knight 28
ELMA — The Rangers got off to a fast start with 24 points in the first quarter and cruised the rest of the way for a 62-28 season-opening win over Mary M. Knight in ferociously hot conditions.
Quilcene got good balance with four players combining for 275 yards rushing on only 29 rushes (an average of 9.5 yards per carry) and quarterback Andy Johnston passing for another 131 yards on 9-for-13 passing with a touchdown.
Coach Trey Beathard said the game in Elma was “super hot.”
“Both teams had kids feeling the effects,” he said.
With the Rangers nursing a big lead late, Beathard was able to get some eighth-graders in the game to give his starters a breather and get them some valuable playing time.
Beathard felt the Rangers’ senior experience showed in this game. He liked the team’s balance, with four rushers getting over 40 yards and the Rangers doing damage both on the ground and in the air.
“We try to be a little more balanced. A lot of teams dare us to throw it,” he said.
Johnston ran 11 times for 121 yards with two TDs, including one that came on a 54-yard run, while Bishop Budnek gained 60 yards on six carries with TD runs of 25 and 26 yards. Olin Reynolds ran four times for 50 yards with a TD and Eli Mahan gained 42 yards on seven carries with two TD runs.
“I like to spread it around. I like to use as many backs as possible,” Beathard said.
Reynolds also had a 36-yard touchdown reception, while Holdem Elkins passed for two two-point conversions.
Defensively, Zach Budnek led the team with 13 tackles from the linebacker position, while Robert Comstock III had nine tackles at defensive end, including two sacks and Dustin Hughes had seven tackles from the linebacker spot.
Quilcene (1-0, 0-0) should see better conditions next week as the Rangers will next play at home against Oakville at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Quilcene 62, Mary M. Knight 28
Quilcene 24 16 16 6 — 62
Mary Knight 6 6 0 16 — 28
Individual Stats
Rushing—Quilcene: Johnston 11-121, Reynolds 4-50, Mahan 4-50, Bishop 6-60, Elkins 1-(-5), Hughes 1-2.
Passing—Quilcene: Johnston 9-13-131, 1TD.
Receiving—Quilcene: Reynolds 5-93, Mahan 4-38.
Crescent’s Eric Emery runs the ball against Tacoma Baptist on Saturday in Joyce. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
