Tumwater’s offense steals headlines, but its defense has been just as dominant

Watching Tumwater High School’s offense can be mesmerizing.

The Thunderbirds’ side of the scoreboard can flash from 0 to near 60 in little more than half a football game. The internet features highlight clips of Tumwater’s running backs every weekend.

The defensive side of the scoreboard is also remarkable, though less lauded. It seldom moves.

All-2A Evergreen Conference linebackers Caleb Sadlemyer and Bennett Ferris don’t mind interacting with reporters, but don’t crave the fame showered on the offense.

Except for games against large school powers Central Catholic and Camas as well as two playoff games they won easily, the T-Birds’ defense hasn’t allowed more than a single score in a game. They’ve shut out three opponents, including a high-octane W.F. West offense. During the current seniors’ high school careers, Tumwater has recorded 12 shutouts and limited 25 foes to a single touchdown or less.

Sadlemyer and Ferris call defensive coordinator Tim Otton, twice the Olympian All-Area defensive coordinator of the year, a “genius.” They praise the preparation of their position coach, Matt Beattie, and Tumwater’s scouting specialist William Garrow, the one-time head coach at North Thurston.

“It’s not a huge deal to me if we get a lot of attention,” said Ferris, a 6-foot, 210-pound senior. “It shows in our play how we handle the opponents. Recognition is cool but we know how hard everyone works and how we dedicate ourselves to the game.”

Sadlemyer, a 6-1, 215-pound senior who leads the T-Birds with 62 tackles, nine for lost yardage, got a bit of publicity as The Olympian’s athlete of the week after Tumwater blanked Capital in mid-September. He and Ferris were listed among the 50 best linebackers in Washington by Scorebook Live.

But recognition from coaches and teammates means more.

“In my opinion, Caleb’s our most outstanding defensive player,” said head coach Bill Beattie. “He’s kind of that old school football middle linebacker/offensive guard.”

“They’re the two hardest working and most aggressive linebackers we’ve had since I’ve been here,” said linebackers’ coach Matt Beattie, who moved with his dad from Olympia prior to the 2017 season.

A third all-conference caliber senior linebacker, Trent Roy, suffered a knee injury two weeks ago, leading Carlos Matheney, the T-Birds’ second-leading rusher to begin playing significant snaps both ways. Matt Beattie says his transition has been “seamless,” but Tumwater still relies on Ferris, Sadlemyer and its defensive line to halt opponents’ run offenses.

Up front, senior two-way ends Austin Terry and Ryan Otton were named the 2A Evergreen Conference’s co-players of the year. Seniors Nick Cairns and Aidan Aguero earned all-league honors.

“Caleb and Bennett are able to be aggressive because of our defense line. It also takes a certain mentality and a wherewithal to know where the ball is going to hit those gaps with confidence,” said Matt Beattie.

Sadlemyer admires Ferris’ ability to know what’s coming.

“Bennett’s good at predicting the play ahead of time,” he said. “He likes calling out plays. He’ll be like ‘hey, jet sweep, jet sweep’ during a game.”

Bill Beattie agreed.

“Bennett’s football intellect is very high, he does a good job of recognizing what’s going on and getting to the football,” he said.

Both players say the other is a hard hitter.

“Caleb is kind of a meathead,” Ferris said. “He puts his body on the line for the team. He knows how to come downhill, knows how to tackle. He really dedicates himself to watching film and learning the opponent’s offense. He really cares about the game. It shows on the field.”

Though tasked with bottling up the run, Sadlemyer can read opposing quarterbacks. He helped break open the T-Birds’ 62-14 rout of Columbia River in the playoff opener with a 50-yard interception return.

“They’re very good athletes,” said Matt Beattie. “They’ve spent a lot of time in the weight room preparing. They spend a lot of time watching film. Two very coachable kids.”

Togetherness can be a cliché when athletes are asked why their team succeeds, but in Tumwater’s case, with a long-established youth program bringing kids into contact from a young age, it’s often true.

“We’ve been playing together since the beginning of our days,” said Sadlemyer, who started playing tackle football in second grade and welcomed Ferris as a teammate for the first time in fourth grade.

“Having grown up playing together, we have trust in each other. We dedicate ourselves to the game. We watch a lot of film, we all practice super hard,” said Ferris, who also points to Tumwater’s ongoing strength as something that builds on itself.

“When we were freshmen and sophomores, we were blowing out teams, so we would get playing time in the second half. We were already getting experience when we were really young.”

Though most T-Birds come up through the youth program, Tumwater has benefitted from newcomers. This season’s top two running backs, Payton Hoyt (1,069 yards and 25 touchdowns on 117 carries) and Matheney (955 yards and 15 TDs on 122 carries), transferred from Black Hills and Olympia, respectively.

“We’re a tight group,” said Ferris, “But when people do come from other schools, like Payton and Carlos, we welcome them with open arms and make them a part of the program.”

Tumwater hosts Squalicum in a 2A state semi-final Saturday at 4 p.m. The Storm, led by two Washington State commits – dual threat quarterback Leyton Smithson and 1,089-yard rusher Djouvensky “Ben” Schlenbaker – likes to include what Bill Beattie calls “funky” wrinkles into its offense, including lots of shifts and quarterback reads.

Matt Beattie says his linebackers will be ready.

“We’ve spent a lot of time over the last five years getting better against the pass,” he said. “But against a team like Squalicum, we’ve got to have our eyes glued on the backfield.”

This story was originally published November 26, 2021 at 5:00 AM.