Job Kralik, top-ranked Eatonville survive another close call with No. 6 Tenino, 27-22
TENINO, Wash. - The drive kept coming. The clock kept ticking. And the fourth quarter seemed to just disappear behind the inextricable march that the Tenino Beavers were putting together Friday night.
But still, for the second consecutive season, Eatonville did enough to deny their hosts a 1A Evergreen conference upset in the Cruisers 27-22 victory at Tenino Beaver Stadium.
Top-ranked Eatonville had to come from behind – twice – to remain unbeaten and begin league play with a win. Quarterback Job Kralik, running back Dylan Norman and the offensive line overcame 8-0 and 22-21 deficits to keep the Cruisers undefeated.
"Great game," Eatonville coach Gavin Kralik said. "I think we’re going to have multiple teams coming out of our league. Montesano is doing really well, too, and our league was 15-5 in non-league games through the first four weeks."
Eatonville stayed unbeaten by scoring on the second of just two second-half possessions. Two plays after Norman’s night came to an end on a 2-yard run with 8 minutes, 57 seconds to go in the game, Kralik jumped over the scrum at the line of scrimmage for a 2-yard touchdown that put the Cruisers in front, 27-22.
The clock read 8:12 when Kralik hit the turf in the end zone. The sixth-ranked Beavers then proceeded to drive from their own 35-yard line to the Eatonville 27 in 13 plays.
Tenino’s drive ate up all but 29 seconds of that remaining game time. But in the end, faced with a fourth and 9, quarterback Cody Strawn was forced to try and throw for a first down. Ky Nation batted the ball down, and Eatonville survived.
The pass was the only one Tenino threw the entire game.
"We actually had a special pass play that we’d been working on for this game ready for the previous play," Tenino coach Cary Nagel said. "But we had a missed assignment and our quarterback was forced to run with it. We had a guy wide open in the end zone for a touchdown. But that’s the way it goes. You miss an assignment against a really good team, you lose 27-22."
Dylan Spicer had a big rushing game for the Beavers - 252 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 22 carries.
