Harn throws for 300 yards in North Thurston’s victory

Jake Harn had just been sacked for a 10-yard loss midway through the second quarter.

This was exactly the type of play that would have got inside the quarterback’s head last year. He would have dwelled and second-guessed himself the remainder of the game.

This isn’t 2014 though, and Harn responded on the next play by hitting Brandon Morgan on an 83-yard touchdown pass. Plenty more would come.

Harn, North Thurston’s senior signal called, opened up his second season as a starter in a big way, throwing for a school-record 300 yards and four touchdowns to power the Rams to a 38-32 non-league victory over rival Timberline at South Sound Stadium on Friday.

Harn’s performance marked the first time in North Thurston’s 61-year history someone passed for 300 yards in a game.

The Rams (1-0) snapped a three-game losing streak to the Blazers (0-1) and now lead the all-time series, 28-23.

Darren Sroor, the Rams’ 6-foot-5 senior tight end, caught TD passes of 31, 20 and 10 yards, while Morgan finished with eight receptions for 192 yards.

On the defensive side, North Thurston got a pair of sacks from senior defensive tackle Michael Crook, who also registered a safety late in the third quarter when he knocked the ball out of Timberline quarterback Jacob Henning’s hand before it bounced out of the back of the end zone.

Eli Allen had seven catches for 100 yards and a touchdown, while Uli Maae scored three TDs on the ground for the Blazers.

Harn’s fourth touchdown pass pushed North Thurston’s advantage to 32-12 with 2 minutes left in the third quarter.

Timberline sophomore Michael Barnes returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a score to keep the Blazers within striking distance before Maae punched it in from a yard out with 8:52 to play, cutting the deficit to 32-26.

North Thurston, however, sealed the contest after a Zach Sibley interception set up Anthony Salazar-Williams’ 9-yard touchdown run with 2:30 to play.

The teams battled a scoreless first quarter, but North Thurston needed a key defensive stand to keep Timberline off the scoreboard early.

Gavin Hasler recovered a muffed punt by Sibley at the Rams 29. The Blazers managed to move the ball down to the 15 before North Thurston ended the threat by blocking Collin Tate’s 32-yard field goal attempt.

The Rams weren’t as fortunate the second time they turned the ball over. Tariq Romain picked off a Harn pass at the Blazers 39.

Three plays later Maae went untouched up the middle on a 50-yard scoring scamper, giving Timberline a 6-0 lead a minute into the quarter second.

Harn tried to force the ball through a trio of defenders during the interception, a common occurrence during his junior campaign, but unlike last year the senior responded with poise, leading the Rams down to the Timberline 5 before Wesley Krall booted a 22-yard field goal to cut the Blazers lead in half at 6-3.

The series seemed to ignite Harn’s confidence as he tossed two touchdown passes on North Thurston’s next two possession, helping the Rams scored 17 unanswered points.

Henning shook off a difficult first half by marching the Blazers on a 65-yard scoring drive in just 45 seconds at the end of the first half, hitting Eli Allen on a 35-yard touchdown pass to trim the Timberline deficit to 17-12 at the intermission.

This story was originally published September 4, 2015 at 10:23 PM with the headline "Harn throws for 300 yards in North Thurston’s victory."