Welcome back, Washington high school football - 2023 version!
SPANAWAY, Wash. - D'aryhian Clemons was tired of working in a summer lab - and waiting.
He wanted to play real football with his teammates at Spanaway Lake High School.
Well, the wait was well worth it for Clemons and company, who won on the final play Thursday night to kick off the 2023 season.
Clemons dashed off to the right side and walked in on the game-winning 1-yard touchdown run at the buzzer, lifting the Sentinels to a 26-21 victory at Art Crate Field.
It was one of three touchdowns scored by the junior running back, who is one of the top 2025 recruits in Washington.
"I am glad," Clemons said. "Me and my boys, we've been working since June."
Minutes earlier, as Spanaway Lake was in the red zone on a game-winning drive, Clemons fumbled, giving Gig Harbor the ball back at its own 11-yard line with 2:46 to go.
But the Tides were stopped on a fourth-and-1 call at the 20 with 56.5 seconds remaining - and the Sentinels got in position to win it near the goal-line after Chase Best's 18-yard completion to Raymon Kunimoto.
Gig Harbor stopped the Sentinels twice. But on third down - the final play with 1.6 seconds to go - Clemons won it.
"We all knew they were going to try and stack up the A-gap," Clemons said. "I was waiting for them to come in, and I bounced it outside."
