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In a span of 57 seconds in the fourth quarter, visiting Tumwater scored a game-tying touchdown, had a fumble recovery, and scored the go-ahead touchdown in the Thunderbirds’ 43-36 victory over the Rams on Friday night at South Sound Stadium.
In a battle of two top 5-ranked teams, it was Tumwater that gained control again after a lackluster third quarter, scoring three fourth-quarter touchdowns to seal the victory.
The T-Birds (3-1 overall, 2-0 EvCo) led at halftime, 21-13, only to have a less-than-stellar third quarter. They had two bad snaps on fourth down that led to North Thurston points – a safety and a touchdown – as the Rams (3-1, 1-1) took the lead.
North Thurston outscored Tumwater in the third, 16-0, to grab a 29-21 lead going into the fourth quarter.
But Tumwater, with its flush-it attitude, wasn’t done yet.
“It drove us to keep a positive attitude, no matter what,” said senior Ronnie Hastie, who rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns.
To start the fourth, Tumwater tied the game at 29 following Andrew Brown’s 4-yard touchdown run with a successful two-point conversion on a catch by Jaimie Bryant.
Then, on the ensuing possession for the Rams, Zach Wimberly recovered a fumble by Matt Reid to give Tumwater the ball deep in North Thurston territory. On the first play, Riley Prentice scored on a 23-yard run to give the T-Birds the lead for good, 35-27, with 8:02 left in the game.
The Rams’ running attack took a hit when junior Brandon Belisario suffered a serious right knee injury with 4:18 left in the first half. While he walked off the field with limited assistance, he was on the trainer’s table for about 10 minutes before being placed on crutches with an ice pack and went to the locker room. He did not return.
“It didn’t look good,” Rams coach Rocky Patchin said.
The Rams already were shorthanded in the running game with Mo Manning out with a concussion, but they got big production from Ande Grantham and Hayden Maliska, who scored on a 2-yard run in the third quarter. Grantham and Maliska combined for 58 yards.
North Thurston averaged 48.3 points through its first three games, but hadn’t faced a defense as quick and physical as Tumwater. The T-Birds got to Rams quarterback Ben Broeker twice in the first half. Broeker was 12-for-29 for 184 yards and three touchdowns. His longest pass of the night – a 42-yard strike to Landon Rushton – was part of a seven-play, 68-yard drive that pulled the Rams to 21-13 when Broeker found Josh Cahill for a 10-yard touchdown pass with 2:25 remaining before halftime.
“I told them they can play with anybody and we’re a better team after this game,” Patchin said.
Despite suffering what Tumwater coach Sid Otton called a bad contusion on his throwing shoulder in last week’s 42-7 victory over Chehalis, senior quarterback Daniel Hinkle did all his damage in the first half, completing 4-of-6 passes for 121 yards, including a 30-yard pass to a wide-open Wimberly that gave Tumwater a 21-7 lead.
Wimberly and Brown had two first-half catches apiece, with Brown’s catches totaling 79 yards in addition to his game-high 158 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
“I’m proud of my kids,” Otton said. “We started out with two big contenders (in league play) … and now we have that bye week.”
Tumwater won’t play next week after its opponent – Centennial Secondary School of Coquitlam, B.C. – backed out of the game.
