MARYSVILLE — For most of the first quarter, crosstown rivals Marysville Pilchuck and Marysville Getchell were engaged in a scoreless, back-and-forth tussle at rainy Quil Ceda Stadium.
The rest of the game was a different story.
After turning the ball over on downs on their first two possessions, the Tomahawks found their offensive stride. Marysville Pilchuck scored one touchdown late in the first period, two more in the second, and then tacked on four TDs in the third quarter for a 49-10 Wesco 3A North victory over the Chargers on Friday night.
For video of the game, click here.
The one-sided outcome gives the Tomahawks a 2-0 Wesco record and should provide a nice lift heading into the season’s second half.
“I think we’re progressively getting better,” said Marysville Pilchuck head coach Brandon Carson. “We’ve still got a little ways to go, but I like the progress we’re making. And now we have to keep going.”
Though the weather made it difficult to pass, the Tomahawks had no trouble moving the ball on the ground. Leading the way were senior running back Garrett Anderson, who carried 18 times for 103 yards with touchdown runs of 4, 22 and 2 yards, and sophomore Ray Pimentel, who rushed 15 times for 130 yards with a 7-yard scoring run. Junior Galdino Fajardo had six carries for 42 yards with TDs of 6 and 2 yards.
As Marysville Pilchuck’s running game got going, “I thought we wore (the Chargers) down a little bit,” Carson said. “Our backs ran hard and did a real nice job of making some good cuts, and then getting in the open field and making plays.”
But in the early minutes, the Tomahawks’ first two drives come up short on fourth down. The first ended on fourth-and-1 at the Marysville Getchell 14-yard line, the second on fourth-and-9 at the MG 21.
“We started off rough,” Anderson acknowledged. “We couldn’t get things going on the first couple of drives, but then it clicked.”
The problem, he went on, “is that we’d been working on practice schemes all week, but then (the Chargers) showed up with a different defense than we’d been practicing for.” It resulted in some missed blocking assignments, but after corrections were made on the sideline “we got it dialed in,” he said.
Marysville Getchell star Collin Montez, who was injured in last week’s game against Arlington, played but was removed midway through the first half and did not return.
Marysville Pilchuck led 21-3 at halftime, pushed the margin to 28-3 with a six-play, 67-yard drive on their first possession of the third quarter, and then broke the game open with three touchdowns in a two-minute span later in the period.
Fajardo started the flurry with a 6-yard TD burst through the right side. Ninety seconds later, defensive back Keith Pablo intercepted a pass by MG freshman quarterback Caleb Koellmer and rambled 78 yards down the right sideline, dodging tacklers and picking up blockers on the way to the end zone.
Moments later the Tomahawks had another interception, this one returned to the MG 2, and on the first play Fajardo scored his second touchdown.
“After the first quarter I thought we were pretty efficient offensively,” Carson said. “We also had some big plays on special teams and defense. So I was happy about our performance after the first quarter.”
It was, he added, “a good win.”
At Quil Ceda Stadium
M. Pilchuck 7 14 28 0 —49
M. Getchell 3 0 0 7 —10
MP—Garrett Anderson 4 run (Jason Lopp kick)
MG—Kyle Green 37 FG
MP—Anderson 22 run (Lopp kick)
MP—Anderson 2 run (Lopp kick)
MP—Ray Pimentel 7 run (Lopp kick)
MP—Galdino Fajardo 12 run (Lopp kick)
MP—Keith Pablo 78 interception return (Lopp kick)
MP—Fajardo 2 run (Lopp kick)
MG—Kyle Pinca 12 run (Declan Sweatt kick)
Records—Marysville Pilchuck 2-0 league, 3-2 overall. Marysville Getchell 0-2, 1-4.
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