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A devestating 46-0 loss to the host and second-ranked Bulldogs at Jack Rottle Field on Friday night put a damper on that dream, but it doesn’t diminish what the Beavers have accomplished midway through the 2011 season.
Prior to Friday, Tenino was undefeated, racking up four straight victories over Stevenson, Northwest Christian, Rainier and Elma.
This is a school where football victories haven’t come easily – nine of the past 15 seasons have ended in winless or one-win season.
In coach Jeff Zenisek’s second year, the Beavers have been the surprise team in South Sound.
Not even Tenino’s state semifinal team of 1986 won its first four games; the 1992 team won its first three games before finishing 4-5. At 4-1, the current Beavers have matched the 2007 team that advanced to the first round of the 1A state playoffs.
Montesano (5-0 overall, 3-0 SWW 1A) is well on its way to winning its eight straight league title. The Bulldogs have not lost a league contest since 2005 – a streak of 38 straight games – and has either won or shared every league title since 2004. Its last league loss came Oct. 28, 2005, against Elma (14-6).
The Beavers (4-1, 2-1), who came in averaging 38 points per game, faced a powerful Bulldogs team, the likes of which they probably won’t see again during the regular season. Montesano put up its fourth straight shutout and has allowed only one touchdown all season – a fourth-quarter score in a 60-7 victory over Black Hills in its season opener. Since then, it has shut out Castle Rock (45-0), Rochester (55-0), Hoquiam (34-0) and now Tenino.
Led by senior Evan Truax’s four-touchdown performance, the Bulldogs raced out to a 40-0 halftime lead, which called for enforcement of the 40-point mercy rule, meaning the clock didn’t stop in the second half.
Truax racked up 152 of Montesano’s 329 yards of total offense in the first half and scored TDs on runs of 3, 28, 9 and 9 yards. He added a 9-yard TD run on his team’s first possession of the second half before he and the rest of the starters left.
Montesano scored on all but one of its first-half possessions.
Tenino junior quarterback Devante Harris, one of the most explosive players in the area, was tamed by the Bulldogs’ defense. Harris came into Friday’s game with an eye-popping 715 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, but was limited to 87 yards rushing. He also threw four interceptions.
Tenino’s best shot at the end zone came on its final possession before halftime. Harris led Tenino 57 yards downfield, including a 27-yard run to set up a first-and -10 from the 13 with seconds remaining, but the field-goal unit could not get a kick off in time before the halftime horn sounded.
Meg Wochnick: 360-754-5473 mwochnick@theolympian.com www.theolympian.com/southsoundsports
