TACOMA — It’s pretty scary for Quilcene’s opponents when the Rangers’ star running back Olin Reynolds only touches the ball three times the entire game and they still win 68-0.
Or when the Rangers manage 44 points in the first quarter.
Quilcene used its defense to completely overwhelm Evergreen Lutheran on the road Saturday with four interceptions and five fumble recoveries leading to quick, easy touchdowns.
“They really had a bad day with turnovers,” coach Trey Beathard said.
Ashton Smead had an interception, recovered three fumbles and had six tackles for the Rangers. Dustin Hughes had nine tackles and a fumble recovery while Zach Budnek had eight tackles and a fumble recovery.
And here’s another scary thing about the undefeated Rangers. They haven’t had one of their better players, Ben Bruner, all year. Bruner played in his first game Saturday and had an interception, 72 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
“Ben is a super explosive player,” Beathard said.
Robert Comstock III caught three passes, all for touchdowns. Reynolds had two touchdowns on his three carries for 46 yards, while Isaac Dugdale had 99 yards rushing on six carries, scoring three TDs.
While Evergreen Lutheran didn’t provide much of a game, the Rangers (4-0) now have two very tough games coming up. They play Tacoma Baptist at 1 p.m. Saturday on the road. The Crusaders (1-3) knocked the Rangers out of the playoffs last year, so this is a chance for a bit of revenge. After that is Rainier Christian (1-2) at home, who gave the Rangers their last league loss two years ago.
Quilcene 68, Evergreen Luth. 0
Quilcene 44 12 12 0 — 68
Evegreen Luth. 0 0 0 0 — 0
First Quarter
Q—Comstock 31 pass from Elkins (PAT failed)
Q—Comstock 35 pass from Elkins (Reynolds run)
Q—Reynolds 30 run (Dugdale run)
Q—Comstock 11 pass from Elkins (PAT failed)
Q—Reynolds 11 run (B. Budnek run)
Second quarter
Q—Dugdale 37 run (Bruner run)
Q—Bruner 41 INT return (PAT failed)
Third Quarter
Q—Bruenr 30 run (PAT failed)
Q—Dugdale 26 run (PAT failed)
Individual Stats
Rushing—Q: Reynolds 3-46; B. Budneck 2-14, Dugdale 6-99, Kieffer 3 (-6), Alejo 3-0, Smead 3-4, Bruner 3-72, Williams 4(-14).
Passing—Q: Elkins 3-4-76, 3 TD.
Receiving—Q: Comstock 3-76.
Forks 29, Granite Falls 0
GRANITE FALLS — Forks blanked Granite Falls 29-0 in a nonleague road game shortened by lightning in the third quarter.
“Our defense played phenomenal” said Spartans coach Emil West. “We held them to under 100 total yards.”
Gabriel Terrones scored two touchdowns while Keith Thompson scored his first career TD for the Spartans.
Forks (3-1) has a huge Evergreen 1A League opener on the road Friday against Montesano (4-0), the No. 2-ranked Class 1A team in the state that just beat Port Angeles 48-21. However, Forks also beat the Roughriders by a similar margin 28-8 in the Spartans’ first game of the year.
“It will be a big test for us,” West said of the Montesano game. “We’ll have to be on our A game.”
However, West also felt that Forks does have a size advantage over Montesano and that the Spartans will be OK “if up front, we play the same we’ve been plahying all year sans the second half with Sequim.”
