W.F. West swamps Centralia to retain the Cup, 49-14, behind freshman QB
What a difference a week makes.
Seven days before, W.F West freshman quarterback Gavin Fugate was standing on the sidelines, cheering on starting senior Josiah Johnson in a scoreless tie with top-ranked Tumwater. Then, late in the first half, Johnson was sacked and suffered a concussion.
Fugate was suddenly on the field in a battle of unbeatens in front of a sold out stadium, a rookie dropback passer trying to run a game plan designed for the veteran Johnson, as much a runner as he is a thrower.
Things didn’t go well. He completed just two of six passes for six yards, threw an interception and piled up some negative rushing yardage. Tumwater won, 34-0.
“Gavin got thrown into a storm there,” W.F. West coach Dan Hill said. “We had a game plan for that game no other quarterback on our team but Josiah could run.”
With Johnson still going through the concussion protocol process, Fugate knew he would get the start in the Bearcats most emotional game, the annual Swamp Cup with visiting Centralia with second place in the 2A Evergreen Conference at stake.
Fugate was ready. He threw a touchdown pass on his first attempt, completed his first five and finished 9-of-10 for 140 yards with three total TDs as the Bearcats turned away the Tigers, 49-14, at W.F. West’s stadium on Friday night.
“He stepped up big,” said another player put in an unfamiliar role, Leandre Gaines. “We couldn’t ask anymore of him, he was almost perfect.”
Hill, who surprised Fugate by bringing him up to varsity as a freshman, wasn’t surprised.
“He ran our offense all spring and summer,” Hill said. “He knows his stuff and we had a really good week of practice.”
Gaines moved to running back from wide receiver and proved almost impossible for Centralia to tackle, gaining 178 yards on 14 carries and scoring three long touchdowns. A fourth Gaines score was called back because of a penalty.
The Bearcats (7-1, 3-1 in the 2A EvCo) took control of the game early, leading 28-0 before the first quarter was over.
They struck first on the game’s fourth play from scrimmage when Fugate threw a touchdown pass to Max Taylor, who sprinted up the left sideline and into the end zone.
“That was really important. It help me set the tone and get going,” Fugate said. “I was pretty nervous but once I got that first drive in I settled in.”
Fugate credited Johnson for working with him during the week’s practices and on the sidelines Friday while the defense was on the field.
The Leandre Gaines Show followed as the 6-foot-2, 220-pound senior acclimated to his new role – forced on him by an ankle injury that kept Jaiyden Camoza on the Bearcat sideline – by rushing for three consecutive touchdowns of 32, 57 and 44 yards.
“Jaiyden helped me in practice, getting my reads down,” Gaines said. “I had to be more patient. At the beginning I was rushing a little bit, so I slowed it down, let my blockers block a little longer and starting hitting the holes hard.”
“Our O line did a great job blocking for Leandre,” Hill said.
W.F. West got up 35-0 before Centralia (5-3, 2-2) could get on the scoreboard when Taylor caught a 67-yard scoring pass from Fugate early in the second half.
The Tigers finally put together a nine-play scoring drive that ended with a 42-yard touchdown pass from Cameron Erickson to Chase Sobolesky-Reynolds midway through the third quarter.
Centralia scored again early in the fourth when Andrew Mitchell ran a Bearcats’ fumble back 23 yards for a touchdown. But Kayden Kelly ran the ensuing kickoff back 75 yards for a score and any hope of miracle Tiger comeback was quashed.
“This was big,” said Gaines. “We were looking forward to this game a lot. We’ve got a lot of friends on Centralia. We also had a chip on our shoulder from losing to Tumwater. We wanted to prove we could come back after a downfall.”
BOX SCORE
Centralia 0 0 7 7 - 14
No. 8 W.F. West 28 7 0 14 - 49
W – Max Taylor 26-yard pass from Gavin Fugate (Bryce Laufenberg kick)
W – Leandre Gaines 32 run (Laufenberg kick)
W – Gaines 57 run (Laufenberg kick)
W – Gaines 44 run (Laufenberg kick)
W – Taylor 67 pass from Fugate (Laufenberg kick)
C – Chase Sobolesky-Reynolds pass from Cameron Erickson (Andrew Mitchell kick)
C – Mitchell 23 fumble return (Mitchell kick)
W – Kayden Kelly 75 kickoff return (Laufenberg kick)
W – Carter McCoy 7 pass from Fugate (Laufenberg kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
PASSING
C – Erickson 5-16-2-121.
W – Gavin Fugate 9-10-0-140.
RUSHING
C – Braidyn Hoyt 9-17, Sobolesky-Reynolds 11-18, Blaine Wass 3-8, Erickson 12-36, Kyler Lavato 1-1.
W–Gaines 14-178, Fugate 5-(-23), Luke Wichert 4-41, Taylor 5-4, Logan Moore 1-(-1).
RECEIVING
C – Wass 1-36, Sobolesky-Reynolds 3-48, Derek Beairsto 1-37
W – Taylor 3-99, Gaines 1-3, Brit Lusk 2-27, Cade Haller 2-4, McCoy 1-7.
This story was originally published October 26, 2019 at 12:04 AM.