Enumclaw finishes off Highline in WIAA 2A football quarterfinals, 41-30

ENUMCLAW, Wash. - At least in one half of the Class 2A football bracket, the WIAA seeding committee seems to have gotten it right.

The Enumclaw Hornets, the No. 3 seed, earned their way into the state semifinals for the second consecutive year with a 41-30 quarterfinal victory over Highline on Friday night at Pete’s Pool.

Enumclaw will face second-seeded Anacortes, who handled Orting, 42-0, in another 2A quarterfinal.

“We didn’t want this to end,” Enumclaw coach Mark Gunderson said. “And I think that’s going to be the same theme next week. Anacortes has a great group. We have a great group. Should be a tremendous high school football game.”

Tristan Donovan carried the ball 19 times for 176 yards and two touchdowns, Alec Johnson got an early interception of Highline quarterback Roman Rasmussen to set up the short-field touchdown that separated the Hornets for good as Enumclaw built a late 41-18 lead to earn its spot in the semis.

Here are three takeaways from the game:

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HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF

The Hornets matched on Friday the feat they accomplished for the first time in school history a year ago, advancing to the 2A semifinals. The Hornets will be looking for a little more when they face second-seeded Anacortes, likely up north at the Seahawks on Nov. 25.

“Man, I hope so,” Gunderson said. “We felt like we had a great group last year. We went the farthest this school’s program has ever been, then did some things (in the semifinal) that weren’t very characteristic of us. We’re excited to be back here and have another chance. Somebody’s gonna go to the championship and we’re excited about the opportunity.”

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AH, THAT DEFENSE

When it counted most, the Enumclaw defense continued to do what it has done against opponents all season – shut them down.

The Pirates got one meaningful explosive play late in the first quarter when Rasmussen hit Adam Estrada-Valera for 64 yards and a touchdown that brought Highline within a single point, 7-6, with 1:44 remaining in the first quarter.

Outside of that, all of the Pirates' offensive numbers mostly came long after this one had been decided.

“The point totals weren’t exactly what we like to see,” Gunderson said. “But if they wanted to run down the field at the end there, that’s okay. We just wanted to limit and disrupt them a little bit. That was the game plan and the kids did a great job executing.”

Highline running back Jamaine Matthews eventually got to 100 yards rushing, but 58 of those yards came on Highline’s last two drives with the Hornets already up big and in control. The big plays defensively came from the Hornets, including the Johnson interception.

Enumclaw had just pushed back out to a 14-6 lead. Three plays into the Pirates' next possession, Johnson stepped into the throwing lane and picked off a Rasmussen pass to set the Hornets up at the Highline 33-yard line.

Enumclaw scored seven plays later to create a two-score advantage it would maintain the rest of the game.

“I saw the receiver, one, kind of coming in the middle,” Johnson said. “I kind of read the quarterback. I just trusted my instincts and my technique, did what my coaches taught me, and I just made a play on the ball.”

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GRIND IT OUT UNTIL THE EXPLOSION COMES

Most of Donovan’s 176 yards were from grind-it-out plays that kept Highline’s big-play offense off the field. Donovan ran for 117 of those yards on 18 carries.

He did have carry No. 19, though, on the Hornets first offensive play of the third quarter. It began simply enough as another potential time-eating decent gain. Donovan turned it into a 59-yard scoring scamper.

“I saw a cutback lane and immediately saw that green grass,” Donovan said. “I knew somebody was coming up behind me, I felt that ankle bite, but got right through it and got to the end zone.”

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(All photos by Vince Miller)