EVERETT — On the first play from scrimmage, Cascade connected on a 43-yard touchdown pass, making the score 6-0 after just 11 seconds. It was hardly a good omen for the Everett football team.
But omens can be misleading as the Seagulls went on to prove on Friday night. Behind the strong right arm of junior quarterback Murdock Rutledge, Everett rolled past the cross-town rival Bruins 48-32, a non-conference victory that improved the Seagulls’ season record to 2-0.
Everett scored 27 unanswered points in the second and third quarters for a 34-13 lead, and then traded touchdowns with the Bruins the rest of the way.
For a team that won just three games in the last three seasons, two season-opening victories has sent a jolt of enthusiasm through this suddenly confident squad of Seagulls.
“I told them at halftime, I could tell a difference in their demeanor,” said first-year Everett coach Doug Trainor. “They now have a quiet intensity about them. They’re not just happy to be here and happy to be in the game. They want to win and they want to do it really well.”
The Seagulls won with a quarterback and a corps of receivers that gave the Cascade defense fits all night long. The 6-foot-5, 185-pound Rutledge completed 21 of 35 passes for 322 yards with touchdown passes of 49, 34, 29 and 16 yards. He had no interceptions.
A part-time starter as a sophomore, Rutledge got the reins to the offense this year “and he’s blossoming right in front of our eyes,” Trainor said. “He’s a real cool, calm, collected dude. … He driving the football (through the air) more now. He’s really putting some mustard on it and I think it’s helping his accuracy.”
His potential the rest of this season and in the future “is fabulous,” Trainor added. “He’s going to get bigger and stronger, and he’s going to throw the ball even harder. He’s a weight room fanatic, so he’s got a great upside. He’s what everybody is looking for. The big, tall drink of water that can sling it.”
At times Rutledge put the ball precisely where it needed to be. At other times his receivers made difficult catches, like the leaping grab by junior wideout Louis Davis — a heck of a target at 6-5 — that gave Everett a first-and-goal midway through the third quarter and set up a touchdown one play later.
On the ground, the Seagulls got 98 yards on 10 carries from Brett Allred (he also had a receiving touchdown), and 70 yards on 12 carries with one TD from Aki Howell.
Everett’s defense did its part despite giving up five touchdowns, though three came after the game was pretty much out of reach. The Seagulls intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble, and gave the Bruins negative yards on nine plays from scrimmage.
As the game went on “our conditioning paid off,” Trainor said. “I thought we kind of wore (Cascade) down.”
“Our kids were prepared. We’re still not executing some things. We’re still making bonehead penalties, and we have to clean that stuff up. But the cool thing is our ceiling I really high. If we clean all those things up, we could be a heck of a football team.”
The Bruins got two touchdowns from running back Jacob Elenbaas on runs of 25 and 39. And backup quarterback Devon Kleiner gave the Cascade fans reason to cheer in the final minute with a 97-yard TD dash against the Everett backups.
At Everett Memorial Stadium
Everett 7 14 13 14 — 48
Cascade 13 0 0 19 — 32
C—Anthony Zapata 43 pass from Brennen Hancock (kick failed)
E—Aki Howell 49 pass from Murdock Rutledge (Alberto Castaneda kick)
C—Jacob Elenbaas 25 run (Spencer Bowlden kick)
E—Elijah Ross-Rutter 34 pass from Rutledge (Castaneda kick)
E—Nick Castro 29 pass from Rutledge (Castaneda kick)
E—Brett Allred 16 pass from Rutledge (Castaneda kick)
E—Spencer Ferno 4 run (run failed)
C—Christopher Wade 4 pass from Hancock (pass failed)
E—Howell 20 run (Castaneda kick)
C—Elenbaas 39 run (run failed)
E—Jacob Leonard 24 run (Castaneda kick)
C—Devon Kleiner 97 run (Bowlden kick)
Records—Everett 2-0 overall. Cascade 0-2.
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