Cruiser football team shuts out Cardinals

This past Friday night, the Eatonville football team experienced a true “Friday Night Lights” as the Cruisers traveled to Franklin Pierce High School to take on the Cardinals under the lights.

While there were no home fans in attendance, the Cruisers brought the energy and shut out the Cardinals, 48-0.

The Cruiser defense shined by dominating at the line of scrimmage throughout the game and held the Cardinals to 107 yards of offense.

Head coach Gavin Kralik was happy with the way his defense played.

“Our defense has continued to improve throughout the season,” Kralik said. “Coach Rex Norris and the rest of the defensive staff have done a great job all year.”

Offensively, the Cruisers were running on all cylinders and amassed a total of 434 all-purpose yards for the game.

They started their scoring when senior Caden Jumper connected with sophomore Wyatt Hotz for a 22-yard score. It was Hotz’s first career touchdown for the Cruisers. That gave the Cruisers an early 7-0 lead, and they never looked back.

Jumper kept the ball for a 1-yard score to extend the lead to 14-0 late in the first quarter.

Midway through the second quarter, senior running back Nic Bond took a Jumper hand off and scampered 78 yards for the score. That was the longest Cruiser touchdown run of the season and increased Eatonville's lead to 21-0.

With the Cruiser ground attack running at full steam, Jumper handed off this time to receiver Job Kralik on a jet sweep-type play, and Kralik wove his way through the Cardinal defense 41 yards for the score to put the Cruisers up 28-0.

Just before halftime, with the Cardinals pinned deep in their own territory, Cruiser senior Justus Roulst broke through the line and blocked their punt attempt. Nic Bond recovered the ball in the end zone for his second touchdown on the night to extend the Cruiser lead to 35-0 just before halftime.

Bond opened up the second half by scoring his third touchdown of the night on a 20-yard run. The extra-point attempt was unsuccessful as the Cruisers went on top 41-0.

“Nic had a really great game for us, impacting all three phases of the game,” Kralik said. “He is a great player that has worked so hard this off season.”

Bond finished with 149 yards rushing on four carries and two scores. He added a fumble recovery for a touchdown to his stat line, as well.

Eatonville finished off scoring when Walker Bruun picked off an errant pass and outran the Cardinal defenders for a 58-yard interception return for a touchdown, his first career score, to put the Cruisers up 48-0.

With this victory, the Cruisers sit at 4-1 overall, and they have now outscored their opponents 240-60.

The Cruisers play their last game of the season against the Enumclaw Hornets Saturday at Art Crate Stadium at Bethel High School. Kick off will be at 1 p.m.

This will be the first game of this COVID-shortened season where Cruiser fans may attend the game.  Tickets can be purchased at the game, cash only, or ahead of time at the Eatonville High School main office.

All game attendees will be required to wear a mask, and mandatory temperature checks will be done upon entering the stadium. Attendees will also be required to fill out a COVID-19 screening form before entering — only one form per household. If everyone lives in the same house, they only need to complete one form.

Also, once fans have entered the stadium, there is no reentry. People are advised to bring in everything they will need upon arriving.