Payton Hoyt’s 4 TDs Pushes T-Birds Past Bearcats

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Tumwater senior Payton Hoyt busted out four rushing touchdowns to help the Thunderbirds deliver a 34-0 defeat to visiting W.F. West in 2A Evergreen Conference action Friday.

Hoyt rushed 13 times for 99 yards, Karson Schreiner led with 100 rushing yards on six carries, including a 75-yard TD scamper, as the T-Birds exploded for 271 total yards on the ground.

W.F. West held Tumwater to just one score in the first quarter, an 8-yard run by Hoyt, but the T-Birds scored three times in the second quarter to take a commanding 27-0 lead at the break.

“We shot ourselves in the foot in the first half,” W.F. West coach Dan Hill said. We had a chance to score in the second quarter.”

In the locker room, Hill preached the same mantra he always does: it’s zero to zero. The Bearcats’ defense answered the call.

The Bearcats held Tumwater scoreless in the second half until 2:56 left in the game when Hoyt scored his third touchdown of the night.

Gavin Fugate led the Bearcats’ offense with 11 of 21 passes for 61 yards, and had a team-high 29 yards rushing. W.F. West was held to 64 rushing yards and 127 total yards to Tumwater’s 363 total yards of offense.

Still, Hill is optimistic with how his team performed against the top-ranked 2A team in the state.

“We’re a good football team,” Hill said. “Our guys responded well and played their hearts out. These guys are hungry to get better.”

W.F. West (2-2 overall, 0-1 league) travels to Shelton on Friday. Tumwater (3-1) hosts Shelton on Oct. 8.