WENATCHEE — It’s not exactly Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside for Quilcene’s senior running backs Olin Reynolds and Ben Bruner.
Both players have the ability to fight for tough yards up the middle or bounce a play out to the sideline and let their athletic ability do the rest.
And it isn’t a matter of Option A and Option B, as the players share much of the ball-carrying duties in the Rangers’ backfield — which has the bigger Reynolds serve as the nominal tailback, while the smaller Bruner plays the fullback position in Quilcene’s two-back attack.
“Ben gives you that speedy, quick, make-you-miss kind of thing but he’s not afraid to show his heart and take people on,” Reynolds said.
Bruner called Reynolds “a great back, he’s flawless back there.”
This sharing economy has worked for the Rangers (11-0) as Quilcene has equaled its furthest advancement in the state football playoffs, equaling the 1977 squad with a trip to the Class 1B State Football Semifinals.
The Rangers will face No. 1 Odessa (12-0) at Wenatchee’s Apple Bowl at 4 p.m. Saturday.
“Both of them are pretty fast,” Quilcene coach Trey Beathard said.
“In a straight-ahead race I’d say they are pretty darn similar. I’m not even positive who would run faster.”
Bruner’s speed and even his presence on the team isn’t far removed from surgery last spring to correct a painful injury suffered during a sophomore weightlifting attempt.
“We were deadlifting and [the strain on] my hamstring ended up tearing a piece of bone off of my hip,” Bruner said. “I kept playing sports all-year round [but the injury didn’t heal properly].”
Surgery at the University of Washington Medical Center was performed by Dr. Mia Hagen, a team physician for Husky athletics, and Bruner ended up having his hamstring re-attached to his pelvis with five biodegradable anchors to hold it in place.
Bruner missed his junior baseball season, his favorite sport, and the time away from the field wore on him.
“It got to me, I was a mental wreck,” Bruner said. “I was depressed and I’m an upbeat kind of guy. But I didn’t have anything to do. Baseball season I did help coach baseball, but that sucked more than not playing because I was out there and watching my friends have fun and I couldn’t do it yet.”
Bruner’s rehabilitation consisted of three months in a knee brace followed by five more months of physical therapy.
He took solace in knowing how talented this Quilcene football team would be.
“I knew what our team was, I knew they would really only need me for the end of the year — they just needed me to be all right for playoffs and state,” Bruner said. “That’s what we’ve been working for.”
Reynolds’ tale is less dramatic, no invasive surgery and no rehab. He spent his summer going to football camp, looking out for the Rangers’ younger players and getting bigger and stronger in the weight room.
Reynolds ran to All-League status in the SeaTac League as a running back this fall.
“When Olin runs it seems when he needs it, he can move into another gear and that’s fun to see when he kind of turns it on,” Beathard said.
Reynolds ran for 144 yards on 21 carries, including a 58-yard third-quarter TD run as Quilcene rallied from 22 points down in a 54-50 state quarterfinal win over Sunnyside Christian last week.
“I think he did a good job of grinding out the hard yards when we needed it, and getting the big gains, too,” Beathard said. “On that touchdown, he hit another gear and ir really seemed like a longer run. They had good pursuit angles on him and he cut back and went all the way back across the field and on into the end zone.”
Beathard said Reynolds has focused on being a one-cut back and internalizing what the situation calls for offensively this season.
“I try to hit the hole as hard as I can and if I can see the green outside I’ll bounce it,” Reynolds said.
“But it’s all about knowing the down and the distance and getting what is available and what is best for us, and that’s what coach Beathard realizes.”
Bruner had what Beathard described as “the game of his career” against the Knights, with 19 rushes for 217 yards and three TDS, and also catching touchdown passes of 7 and 27 yards, the latter coming in the fourth quarter and serving as the eventual game-winning score.
“Ben’s last touchdown catch was pretty amazing, he was right on the sideline and came down with his toes in while getting hit,” Beathard said.
“Both are really good receivers and have really good hands.”
Reynolds was happy to have his backfield buddy back on the field this season. He knows what talent and depth mean at the small-school level.
“It definitely showed last game,” he said. “It becomes very challenging to stop us as a tandem. It’s really important on defense to have another senior leader. He runs hard and we needed another back.”
And the two seniors, part of a Quilcene team that has gone 34-7 in their four seasons in purple and gold, have each other’s backs.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
Michael Dashiell/Olympic Peninsula News Group Quilcene’s Ben Bruner (14) pursues a Darrington runner during a Quad-District playoff game earlier this month.
