Eatonville Jr Cruisers finish undefeated season

In an intense championship showdown, the Eatonville Jr. Cruisers capped off an undefeated season with a hard-fought 22-14 victory over the Yelm Tornados, securing their first Thurston County Football League Championship in only their second season in the league. Eatonville claimed the victory with a fourth quarter drive. 

After receiving the opening kick, TJ Kralik would return the kick to the Cruiser 44 yard line, but a block in the back penalty would push them back to their 34 yard line. A few plays later, Kale Noble would take the Maddox Chopic hand off around the left side and ramble 52 yards up the sideline down to the Yelm 15 yard line. Two plays later, Chopic would connect with Kralik from 12 yards out for the first score of the game.  Noble would put the extra point attempt through the uprights and the Cruisers took an early 8-0 lead with 5:42 left in the first quarter. (In junior football an extra point is worth two points as it is more difficult to kick the field and a conversion attempt is worth 1 point.) 

Starting their first drive at midfield at the Eatonville 47, the Tornados answered back when quarterback Isaiah Pua carried it in from 19 yards out. A penalty on the extra point attempt moved the ball closer to the goal line and Yelm decided to go for the 1-point conversion and were successful. With 1:33 left in the first quarter, the Cruisers led 8-7.

On their next possession, the Cruisers struggled to move the ball and ended up punting the ball back to the Tornados, who would let the punt roll to a stop and start at their own 43 yard line.

Both teams would then turn the ball over on downs before the Tornados would get the ball back starting at the Eatonville 47 where they would march 47 yards down to the Cruiser 2 yard line before time expired and Eatonville would head into the half leading 8-7.

Yelm would receive the kickoff to start the second half and the Cruiser defense came out fired up and would stall the Tornado drive at the Tornado 40 and force a punt.

After the punt, the Cruisers would start from their own 18 yard line and weren’t able to get anything going offensively, and would punt as well. Yelm’s Isaiah Pua would field the punt and return it 33 yards for the score. Alter the conversion, Yelm took the lead 14-8 with 1:59 left in the third quarter.

Following the ensuing kickoff, Eatonville’s Tommy Zurfluh would return the kick to the Cruisers 23-yard line. After a 5-yard Colby Rath run up the middle, Zurfluh would take the Chopic handoff around the left side and sprint up the sideline 22 yards to midfield. After another Rath run up the middle to the Yelm 46, Zurfluh would be tackled for a 2 yard loss at the Yelm 48 to end the third quarter, with Yelm leading 14-8.

As the 4th quarter stared, the Cruisers would face a third and 8. Chopic would drop back and floated a perfect pass to Zurfluh who hauled it in and outraced the Yelm defenders before being dragged down at the Tornado 5 yard line. Rath would then run it down to the 2 yard line, followed by another run for no gain. Facing a third and Goal from the 3 yard line, Zurfluh would take the Chopic hand off around the left side and run it in untouched for the score, tying the game at 14-14. A bad snap on the extra point attempt would not allow Noble to attempt the kick and the game would stay tied at 14.

On the ensuing kickoff, Yelm’s Oakland Ogle would recover the pooch kick at their own 47 yard line. A 3 yard run would move the Tornados up to midfield at the 50 yard line. A too many men in the huddle penalty then pushed them back to their 45. Facing a 2nd and 12, Pua kept it and took of too the outside and was dragged down by TJ Kralik for a 1 yard loss. Now facing a 3rd and 13, the Tornados threw a pass that was incomplete. On fourth and 13, Pua kept the ball and was stopped short by Eatonville’s TJ Kralik, turning the ball over on downs at the Eatonville 49 yard line with 4:15 left in the game. 

Eatonville then marched down the field. Kale Noble took the handoff 28 yards for the game-winning score, also converting the extra point to give Eatonville a 22-14 lead. Reflecting on the touchdown, Noble said, “With less than 3 minutes to play and a tied game, this was an important run. Maddox tossed me the ball, I made some cuts, found a hole, and scored.”

Yelm would get one last shot at scoring, but the Cruiser defense went to work and would stall the Yelm drive and Eatonville would get the ball back on downs with 22 seconds left where they would go into victory formation and run the clock out to claim their first Thurston County Football League Championship, 22-14. 

Eatonville Head Coach Tim Rath praised the competition and the effort, noting, “Yelm has great coaches and fans. We love the mini rivalry we have developed with them. Having them as a competitor makes us all better. We have a special group of kids that put the team before themselves.” 

Reflecting on the final drive, he added, “Our game-winning drive is a testament to our hard work and never giving up. Hit them hard and play physical, and that’s exactly what we did on our final drive.” Rath also acknowledged Yelm’s quarterback: “Isaiah Pua is a player that can take over a game. He’s always a threat, no matter where they’re at on the field. He’s actually the biggest threat we faced all year. He will be something special in the future.”

Receivers Coach Daryl Osborne reflected on the team’s journey, sharing, “We started on the bottom when we first started in 3rd grade; we’ve made it to the top. It’s not our destination, but a stop on our path.”