TACOMA — The Quilcene Rangers got 201 yards rushing and three touchdowns from eighth-grader Jayden Love en route to a 59-12 romp over Sound Christian (formerly known as Tacoma Baptist) on Saturday, setting up a stage for a huge championship battle next weekend against undefeated Evergreen Christian.
Love had touchdown runs of 88, 66 and 48 yards. He ran the ball only six times for an average of 33.5 yards per carry.
The Rangers had 377 yards of total offense.
Love was just one eighth-grader who contributed big in this game (Eighth-graders are allowed to play in high school eight-man football.). Robert Evans led the team in tackles with eight, and had a sack and an interception.
“He had a really great game at defensive back,” said coach Trey Beathard.
Quarterback Nathan Kieffer had a 45-yard touchdown pass to Deakon Budnek, while Kevin Alejo had a 22-yard touchdown run and Bishop Budnek a 10-yard run for a score.
Isaiah Reimann had a 6-yard run for a touchdown and also threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to Ashton Johnston. Reimann also converted 7-of-8 extra points. His one miss was on a bad snap.
Quilcene also had two safeties. Deakon Budneck made a tackle in the end zone for one safety, while Jaxon Taylor and Jeremy Allen combined to make a tackle for the other.
On defense, James Miller had seven tackles and a fumble recovery while Maxx Budnek had 5½ tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery.
The victory sets up a big road game at 1 p.m. Saturday on the road in Tacoma for the SeaTac 1B title. Evergreen Lutheran is 7-0 and has scored more than 60 points in the each of the team’s last six games.
“They’re a good team. They throw the ball really well,” Beathard said. He said Quilcene is used to defending teams that mostly run, so the Eagles will be a big challenge. Quilcene is 6-1 with the one loss, 28-22, to unbeaten No. 2-ranked Lummi.
Quilcene did play Evergreen Lutheran twice during the shortened season a few months ago this spring, beating them 41-20 and 46-34. In that second game, the Rangers got down 28-6 and roared back in the second half to win the SeaTac 1B championship.
Quilcene 59, Sound Christian 12
Quilcene 30 14 0 15— 59
Sound Chr. 0 0 0 12— 12
First Quarter
Q — D. Budnek 45 pass from Kieffer (Reimann kick)
Q — Alejo 22 run (Reimann kick)
Q — B. Budnek 10 run (Reimann kick)
Q — D. Budnek safety
Q — Love 88 run (Reimann kick)
Second Quarter
Q — Love 48 run (Reimann kick)
Q — Johnston 49 pass from Reimann (Reimann kick)
Fourth Quarter
Q — Love 66 run (Reimann kick)
Q — Reimann 6 run (PAT no good)
Q — Taylor, Allen safety
