Marysville-Pilchuck runs away from Gig Harbor, 28-7, in 3A district playoffs, 3 takeaways
GIG HARBOR, Wash. - Marysville-Pilchuck High School flashed a little of its traditional toughness, effectively running the ball and playing stifling defense as the Tomahawks traveled to Roy Anderson Field and left with a decisive Week 10 playoff victory.
The Tomahawks got three rushing touchdowns in the second half, two from Joshua Davis and an 81-yard clincher from Kenai Sinaphet late, to beat host Gig Harbor, 28-7, in Class 3A district action Saturday afternoon.
The victory advances Marysville-Pilchuck (7-3) into the WIAA bracket, which will be revealed Sunday.
Marysville-Pilchuck held Gig Harbor (7-3) to just 44 yards of offense in the first half and broke away from a scoreless tie at halftime with an 87-yard drive on its first possession of the third quarter, scoring on Davis' 1-yard touchdown plunge.
“We thought we could play some physical brand of football today,” Marysville-Pilchuck coach Dalton Schwetz said. “Those guys have some extremely talented skill players. We knew that going in. Our goal was to stop the run game with a light box. So props to our D-line for getting that done. And once you make them one-dimensional, then we had a shot to match up with them.”
Here are three takeaways from the game:
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TOMAHAWKS RUN GAME ALIVE AND WELL
It may look different from former coach Brandon Carson’s Slot-T attack, but the Tomahawks still can run the football.
Marysville-Pilchuck ran for 312 total yards against Gig Harbor as it accomplished several things in the process – eating large chunks of clock, wearing on the Tides defensive front and finally, scoring points.
Saturday’s ground game was led by Davis, who carried the ball 26 times for 181 yards and two touchdowns. Aided by a late 81-yard dive play that opened up in the middle with 6:32 to play, Sinaphet added 129 yards on just nine carries.
“I was expecting to get tackled in the ‘A’ gap,” Sinaphet said. “Once I got past the line, there was no one so it was just free grass for me to run.”
Growing up in Marysville, both guys grew up with the hard-nosed running philosophy from the time they started playing the game.
“Honestly, it’s just mentality,” Davis said. “You just go and run over fools. That’s it. I’m gonna put my team on my back.”
And the previous system has stuck with them.
“We both were in Coach Carson’s system,” Davis said. “So, we were running the ball in the Wing-T. I think both of us fit perfectly into the power run.”
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MARYSVILLE-PILCHUCK CAN WIN IN VARIETY OF WAYS
As successful as the running game was against the Tides, the Tomahawks flashed other weapons that they didn’t really need Saturday - but may find handy as the 3A state bracket begins play next weekend.
“We wanted to come out this game and play a really physical brand of football,” Schwetz said. “We wanted to hang our hat on that today. But some play-action pass worked for us.”
Quarterback Luke Shoemaker completed eight of 15 passes for 84 yards. Relying on its advantage in the trenches, Shoemaker wasn’t called upon to do too much against Gig Harbor, though.
“We’ve phoned around a little bit this year,” Schwetz said. “And Luke’s had a pretty good year. We have some really talented skill players. We can kind of do whatever we need on any given gameday.”
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SUFFOCATING DEFENSE REIGNS
Over the first half of the contest, Marysville Pilchuck simply dominated both lines of scrimmage. A missed Tomahawks' field goal and another drive inside the Gig Harbor 20 came up empty, however.
Therefore, the teams went to halftime in a scoreless tie despite the Tomahawks owning the offensive numbers with 177 yards (to just 44 yards for the Tides). Even when Gig Harbor did finally move the ball – the Tides got inside the Marysville-Pilchuck 10-yard line twice in the fourth quarter when the game remained close enough to be considered in doubt – the Tomahawks had the eventual answer.
“That was the difference in the game,” Gig Harbor coach Darrin Reeves said.
All three offensive possessions in the final 12 minutes for Gig Harbor got at least midway into Tomahawks' territory. The first ended when quarterback Benji Park couldn’t reach out to get the final yard on a fourth-and-1 at the 10. The second ended with an incompletion on fourth-and-goal from the 6. And the final drive turned into a 70-yard interception return for a touchdown from Dominik Kendrick that made it a 28-0 game with 1:04 to play.
“Our defensive line just dominated the game,” Schwetz said. “We thought we could have an advantage there.”
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(Featured file photo courtesy of Marysville-Pilchuck athletics)
