GRANDVIEW — The Quilcene football boys fell behind by 22 points, but their defense clamped down in the second half and they roared back behind 217 yards rushing from Ben Bruner to pull out a 54-50 win over Sunnyside Christian in the quarterfinals of the State 1B Football Playoffs.
The win sends the undefeated Rangers (11-0) into the final four of the state playoffs. Their next game will be at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Wenatchee Apple Bowl against No. 1 seed Odessa (12-0), also undefeated. Odessa beat Neah Bay 71-8 to get to the semifinal game.
The Rangers’ game against the Knights got off to a disastrous start, with Sunnyside Christian scoring two defensive touchdowns and getting ahead 44-22 late in the second quarter.
“We dug ourselves in a hole,” said coach Trey Beathard. “At the half, we talked to the kids and told them we didn’t feel like they were the better team. To come back like that was really impressive. It would’ve been understandable for them to say, ‘oh, well, things aren’t going our way’.”
Quilcene’s rally began when the Rangers were able to score a touchdown just before the half on a 20-yard pass from Holdem Elkins to Robert Comstock III to make it 44-28 going into the break.
Then, in the third, the Rangers took over. On defense, Quilcene held Sunnyside Christian scoreless and scored a pair of touchdowns on a two-yard run by Bruner and a 58-yard scamper from Olin Reynolds..
In the fourth quarter, Bruner added two more touchdowns, one on a 7-yard pass from Elkins and the other on a 34-yard run.
The Knights got the ball back late, but the Rangers’ defense held again. On their final possession, the Rangers made several first downs to run out the clock.
“We had a long spell [in the first half] where we weren’t moving the ball very well,” Beathard said. “All year long, we’ve done a good job of not making turnovers, but not this game.”
Even in that critical fourth quarter, the Rangers had a bad break go against them. On a 40-yard play late in the fourth quarter, the play was called back because of a holding penalty. It could have broken the Rangers’ backs, but they responded by going out and converting a first down to keep the ball and grind out the clock.
Bruner had a fantastic game with 19 carries for 217 yards and rushing TDs of 41, 35, 2 and 34 yards and a 7-yard touchdown reception. Bruner also had two point-after conversions for 34 total points. He added 12 tackles on defense, a fumble recovery and an interception.
“That was definitely the game of his career,” said Beathard.
Reynolds added 144 yards on 21 carries with a TD, while Comstock had two touchdowns on catches of 41 and 20 yards. Comstock had 10 tackles on top of that.
Elkins passed for 137 total yards on 7 for 19 passing with three touchdowns and an interception.
Zach Budneck at noseguard also had a total of 26 assisted and unassisted tackles.
“I don’t think there’s a better noseguard in 1B football in the state,” said Beathard.
Christian Mack also had a great game with a recovered fumble and a caused fumble.
Quilcene 54, Sunnyside Christian 50
Quilcene 14 14 14 12 — 54
Sunnyside Chr. 20 24 0 6 — 50
First Quarter
Q—Bruner 41 run (PAT failed)
Q—Bruner 35 run (Comstock pass from Elins)
Second Quarter
Q—Comstock 41 pass from Elkins (Bruner run)
Q—Comstrock 20 pass from Elins (PAT failed)
Third Quarter
Q—Bruner 2 run (PAT no good)
Q—Reynolds 58 run (Bruner run)
Fourth Quarter
Q—Bruner 7 pass from Elkins (PAT failed)
Q—Bruner 27 pass from Elkins (PAT failed)
Individual Stats
Rushing—Q: Bruner 19-217, Reynolds 21-144, Elkins 2-9, B. Budnek 1-1.
Passing—Q: Elkins 7-19-137, 3 TDs, INT.
Receiving—Q: Comstock 3-76; Bruner 3-34, Z. Budnek 1-27.
Amira/Coulee/Hartline 100, Crescent 16
MOSES LAKE — Going up against an experienced team that is likely to play for the state championship, Crescent was overwhelmed in a 100-16 loss to Amira/Coulee/Hartline in the quarterfinals of the state 1B football playoffs.
But, the future is bright for the young Loggers, who went 11-3 with a team mostly made up of freshmen and eighth-graders.
“Our goals every year is to go at lest one game further than the year before. We keep doing that,” said coach Brian Shimko. “I think great things are going to come. The kids have bought in.”
Shimko was proud that his kids kept fighting to the end despite the score. He said ACH, the defending state champion, started eight seniors. “They had five Eric Emerys and five Noah Leonards [Two of Crescent’s star veterans]. You can’t stop five of those guys,” he said.
Leonard finished the game, his final game for Crescent, gaining 136 yards on 28 carries for the Loggers. He also scored on a 12-yard run in the first quarter. Braden Emery scored the Loggers’ other TD on a 28-yard run. Eric Emery threw two point-after passes, one to Braden Emery and the other to Landon Buchanan.
The Loggers made the final eight in the state and won double digits despite having 12 sophomore, freshmen and eighth-graders on their roster.
Almira/Coulee/Hartline 100, Crescent 16
Crecent 8 0 0 8 — 16
A/C/H 38 22 24 16 — 100
Individual Stats
Rushing—C: Leonard 28-136, W. Lee 1-6, B. Emery 3-30, E. Emery 8-25.
Passing—C: Emery 5-13-61.
Receiving—C: Dalton 3-26, B. Emery 1-12, Buchanan 1-13.
