When it was over, the Blazers claimed a 23-12 victory over the winless Olympia Bears in a nonconference football game at South Sound Stadium.
Timberline rose up at two critical points in the fourth quarter to deny points to the Bears. And Crump, who finished with 25 carries for 189 yards and three touchdowns, broke the Bears’ backs in the second half.
“We come dialed in every week on defense,” Timberline coach Nick Mullen said. “We take a lot of pride in knowing our opponent.”
The opponent, Bill Beattie’s Olympia team, finds itself in an unusual position at 0-3 to start the season.
“I was there last year,” said an empathetic Mullen, whose Blazers started 0-4 in 2011. “Bill’s kids didn’t quit. The kids play hard.”
Olympia scored first – it was the Bears’ first TD of the year – when quarterback Kaden Wilson threw an 11-yard scoring pass to Alex Johnson.
Timberline took a one-point lead to halftime at 7-6 after an 11-play drive that took up most of the period, capped by a 2-yard Crump run.
Timberline struck with big plays early in the second half, the first a 34-yard pass-and-run on a screen from Gabriel Gutierrez to tight end Malachi Jones. On the next play, Crump found a seam and rambled 43 yards for the touchdown that earned a 14-6 Blazer lead.
Olympia’s defense put the Bears in position to get close with a fumble recovery. Wilson connected with Johnson again, this time on a 32-yard pass play, to cut it to 14-12.
Yelm 45, at Stadium 6: Tornados running back Jacob Swilley became the school’s all-time leading rusher with his 245-yard peformance in Yelm’s win at Stadium Bowl.
Swilley, who scored four touchdowns on 19 carries, broke Keith Lazelle’s record of 2,603 yards with a 70-yard TD run in the fourth quarter. Lazelle graduated from Yelm in 1971. Swilley, with 36 career TDs to go with his 2,639 yards, is also closing in on Lazelle’s all-time scoring TD record of 42.
“He works really hard and he deserves it,” said Yelm coach Randy Swilley, who is Jacob’s father. “He would be the first guy to tell you it’s because of his teammates, and he’s right.”
Anthony Allred also had two touchdown runs for Yelm (3-0).
At Tumwater 31, Inglemoor 28: Gabe Gleizes’ interception in the end zone with 6 seconds left secured the Thunderbirds’ nonleague win.
Andrew Brown had 113 yards on 13 carries with two touchdowns, and also had a 96-yard punt return for a TD. In all, the T-Birds had 228 yards on the ground. Quarterback Jayden Croft also passed for 123 yards on 5 of 6 completions. In all, Tumwater tallied 351 yards of total offense. Inglemoor quarterback Hans Fortune was 25 of 47 for 313 yards and a touchdown.
At Tenino 50, Elma 22: The Beavers (3-0) opened SWW 1A Evergreen Division play with a win thanks to quarterback Mac Shaw’s big night. Shaw completed 20 of 31 passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 192 yards and three TDs on 19 carries.
Devante Harris had nine catches for 193 yards and two touchdowns.
Black Hills 34, at Bainbridge 20: The Wolves rallied form a 20-0 third-quarter defict, scoring 34 unanswered points to earn the nonleague win. Woves coach Jack Zilla noted a strong offensive effort in the second half, led by Conrad Nygren and Mitch Stone. “We took control of the game,” Zilla said. I think the boys really rew up and started believing in each other.”
Rochester 50, at Rainier 0: The Warriors’ (1-2) defense held Rainier (0-3) to 54 yards of total offense in their first victory. Tyler Yarber had a career-best 236 yards and five touchdowns on 15 carries, as part of Rochester’s 469 yards of total offense.
