By Pierre LaBossiere
Peninsula Daily News
SEATTLE — The Quilcene Rangers got eight sacks from Acea Such and scored 38 straight points to end the game, routing Seattle Lutheran on the road 70-28 in a crucial game for second place in the SeaTac 1B 8-man league.
Quilcene (3-1, 6-1) is now in firm control of second place, which nets a first-round playoff bye and a home postseason game.
The Saturday game was actually competitive as Quilcene was only ahead by four points early in the second half. But, the Rangers took over on both sides of the ball to run away with the game late.
Coach Trey Beathard said it was probably the best game the Rangers have played this season.
“We’ve improved a lot over the last three weeks,” he said. “It was a good game. A lot of different kids contributed.”
He said the score was misleading, as Seattle Lutheran actually had an early lead and scored early in the second half to fight within four points of the Loggers.
“The game didn’t really seem out of reach until the last four or five minutes,” he said.
Beathard said the team had more than 10 quarterback sacks, led by Such. Defensive linemen Ben Bruner and Robert Comstock also played strong.
Several times, all three linemen met at the quarterback simultaneously for a group sack, he said.
“We dominated both sides of the line,” Beathard said.
In addition, there were five interceptions from Bruner, Andy Johnston (who had two), Olin Reynolds and Jarod Smith. Smith returned his interception 57 yards for a touchdown.
The Rangers also had nearly 400 yards of offense. Ace Elkins had 177 yards rushing on 21 carries and three touchdowns, while Bruner ran for 117 yards on 11 carries, with three touchdowns.
Quilcene next plays Rainier Christian at home Saturday. This is an important game to solidify the Rangers’ second-place position as Rainier is 2-2 in league.
Quilcene 70, Seattle Lutheran 28
Quilcene 24 8 14 24— 70
Seattle Luth. 12 8 8 0— 28
First Quarter
Q—Bruner 17 run (Bruner run)
Q—Elkins 6 run (Elkins run)
Q—Bruner 19 run (Elkins run)
Second Quarter
Q—Elkins 9 run (Elkins run)
Third Quarter
Q—Johnston 41 run (PAT failed)
Q—Such 6 run (Comstock pass from Johnston)
Fourth Quarter
Q—Elkins 2 run (Bruner run)
Q—Bruner 79 run (Such run)
Q—Smith 57 INT return (Newman run)
Individual Stats
Rushing—Q: Such 5-34, Bruner 11-117, Elkins 21-177, Reynolds 4-9, Johnston 4-68, Gallagher 1-3, Newman 2-6.
Passing—Q: Johnston 2-4-0, 55 yards
Receiving—Q: Comstock 2-55.
