Tualatin takes down Lincoln, the No. 10 team in Washington 3A football: 'Our defense was lights-out tonight'
Until this week, Tualatin football coach Dom Ferraro knew nothing about the Lincoln Abes.
After watching the film of the Abes' first game, he still wasn't sure what his team was in for on the road Friday night.
He soon found out.
But the third-ranked Timberwolves of the Class 6A ranks in Oregon know a thing or two about how to play good teams, and they rode an opportunistic defense to a 17-14 victory over the Abes, ranked No. 10 in Class 3A in Washington.
Antonio Russo and Carson Mullins scored on short touchdown runs, and Tualatin forced five turnovers, all fumbles, at Lincoln Bowl in Tacoma.
"Our defense was lights-out tonight," Ferraro said.
These teams weren't on each other's radar until the spring, when Tualatin needed a second-week game and Lincoln coach Masaki Matsumoto emailed Ferraro.
"We knew we were in for a tough battle," Ferraro said. "Coach (Matsumoto) does a great job. I've followed him a long time on social media."
After the Abes recovered a Nolan Keeney fumble inside their 10-yard line at the 9:17 mark of the third quarter, they put together their best drive of the night, reaching the Tualatin red zone.
But after a mishandled handoff between quarterback Sione Kaho and running back Kelly Sio-Fetaui, the Timberwolves pounced on the ball for their fifth takeaway at the 12-yard line.
Tualatin drove 88 yards over the next three-and-a-half minutes for its final score, a 1-yard Mullins touchdown with 1:12 to go in the third quarter to put its lead to 17-7.
The Abes cut it to 17-14 on Kaho's 24-yard pass to Kanoa Teplasy with 8:32 remaining, but that was as close as they got.
Tualatin got a close tune-up triumph before it embarks on the gauntlet stretch of the 6A Three Rivers League — the top league in Oregon.
"You can tell the way (the Abes) play — they are disciplined, they are enthusiastic, they fly to the ball, and they are physical," Ferraro said. "We knew they were good."
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