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Again Thursday night against Yelm, the Blazers’ high-powered offense didn’t get clicking until the second quarter before breaking away for a 35-0 Narrows League 3A victory at South Sound Stadium.
Timberline has now won four straight games since starting the season winless in its first two games against Camas and North Thurston.
The Blazers look ahead to their final regular-season games against Lincoln, Foss and Capital. The big showdown with the Cougars is Oct. 22 at South Sound Stadium.
The Blazers (4-2 overall, 2-0 league) were dealing with a few injuries from last week’s 17-9 victory over Wilson. Speedster Quinton Sison was not in uniform after suffering a game-ending leg injury last week.
In Sison’s place was Spencer Crump, who rushed for 48 yards on 10 carries and scored the team’s second touchdown. Then there was sophomore Mitchell Cone, who dazzled with 62 rushing yards, including a 33-yard run that set up his 1-yard touchdown.
“We have lots of kids who can play,” Timberline coach Nick Mullen said. “These kids are getting a chance, and we can see what they can do.”
With Timberline leading 7-0 after the first quarter, the Blazers put up 14 second-quarter points to take a 21-0 lead over Yelm (1-5, 0-2). Timberline’s stingy defense held the Tornados to 92 yards in the first half.
The backfield tandem of Alex Almeida and Jacob Swilley combined for 78 of those first-half yards, with the longest being a 16-yard run on the Tornados’ second offensive series of the game.
It was Buddy MacNeil’s 13-yard touchdown catch in the back of the end zone with 22.5 seconds that capped a first half of 227 yards total offense for Timberline. On the previous play, the Blazers got a first down that set up the eventual touchdown, on a 26-yard pass from Kevin Russell to MacNeil.
Russell was 11-for-16 passing for 151 yards and two touchdowns. He exited the game after leading the Blazers to their fifth touchdown, connecting with Junior Chaney for a 42-yard score that increased the lead to 35-0. Ruben Gutierrez took over at quarterback the rest of the way.
The defense again was a strong point for the Blazers, only allowing 34 yards of offense in the second half, including 10 in the third quarter.
Meg Wochnick: 360-754-5473 mwochnick@theolympian.com
