TENINO — It’s said that rules are meant to be broken. For the Rochester Warriors, however, rules shape the structure in which they operate and succeed.
In the past, when the Warriors have struggled, coach A.J. Easley has said that if they stick to their rules on both sides of the ball, they will have more success.
On Friday in the Scatter Creek Showdown, the Warriors followed their rules to a tee, racing out to a 30-8 halftime lead and holding off a late Tenino rally for a 44-30 win.
“All of our rules depend on what we’re presented (with),” Easley said. “We stay on those rules. Tonight, we were able to just stay on track.”
While it is the first time that Rochester (5-4, 3-3 2A EvCo) has beaten Tenino (2-7, 2-2 1A Evergreen) since the 2019 season, it’s the fourth time in the team’s last six meetings that the Warriors have taken home the trophy.
“A really good job by our kids, a really good job by our coaches,” Easley said. “It’s good to bring that trophy back over where our kids and our fans think it belongs.”
As it has so often over the course of the season, the Warriors success came on the ground. Tate Quarnstrom and Palmer Watt each had over 100 yards, and Mason Armstrong ran for 98. As a team, they tallied 503 yards.
It began on the first drive of the game, as the Beavers struggled to match the Warriors’ physicality and slow down the misdirection-based attack.
On the opening possession of the game, the Warriors methodically worked their way down field, going 66 yards on nine plays to open the scoring. On that drive, eight plays went for 5 yards or more, but none went for more than 11.
As the first half wore on, the Warriors were able to get their share of big plays on the ground, including a 26-yard run from Quarnstrom and a 25-yard run from Watt that led to two touchdowns.
On their fourth drive of the game, they had three rushes of at least 15 yards, and they punched in another TD at the goal line to extend the lead to 30-8.
Armstrong broke off a 49-yard run on their first possession of the second half, and Watt plunged into the end zone to extend the lead to 30.
Easley noted that this was the first time since Week 1 that all of the Warriors ball carriers were healthy. That allowed them to sub them in and out often to keep them fresh throughout the game, which matched their vision for the offense coming into the season.
“It actually creates a little bit of a problem when you got that many guys you’re trying to get carries to, and they all want the ball,” Easley said. “It’s a good problem to have. They stayed fresh, ran the ball hard, and it was awesome.”
A running clock win seemed within reach, but the Beavers turned to a different approach on offense to get back within striking distance.
Tenino quarterback Cody Strawn had struggled in the first half throwing the ball, but found success by rolling out of the pocket and finding Jack Burkhardt in the intermediate part of the field.
The Rochester defense that had been slowing down the Beaver attack turned conservative, allowing the Tenino duo to connect for chunk plays and move the ball quickly down the field.
On two consecutive possessions, Strawn found Burkhardt in the end zone, and a 30-point lead had shrunk to 14.
“In the second half, we kinda got out to that big lead, and they kinda got out of our rules a little bit,” Easley said. “And we didn’t tackle well … Hopefully, it’s not the cold, because I don’t think it’s getting any warmer the rest of the way out.”
Rochester went right back to its bread and butter to push the lead back to 20, as they went 50 yards on eight plays.
But once again, the Beavers quickly made their way back down the field. This time, it was Austin Gonia hauling in a 22-yard touchdown pass to get back within two scores.
After an onside kick recovery, Strawn quickly led the Beavers into the red zone, but that’s as close as they would get. On fourth down, Ethan Rodriguez came down with his second interception of the day to end it.
Strawn finished 12 for 25 with 161 yards passing, with eight of his completions going to Burkhardt for 114 yards. Strawn also added 103 yards on the ground, though Lucas Watterson also had success for the Beavers on the ground, leading the team with 110.
The win, combined with an Aberdeen victory over Shelton, prevented the need for a three-team tiebreaker in the EvCo, giving Rochester the league’s final crossover spot.
Rochester will head to Woodland to take on the GSHL champion Beavers on Friday. Tenino will head to Seton Catholic for its crossover, and they will face the Cougars on Friday.
