Loss of QB cripples Mariner’s offense

Published 10:04 am Saturday, November 10, 2007

BOTHELL — All season, the Mariner football team owned the reputation of an offensive powerhouse.

That reputation, though, was built with Tyler Tuiasosopo as the quarterback. With their star sidelined Friday night, the reputation and the offense — as well as the season — went sour in a hurry for the Marauders.

Mariner lost Tuiasosopo to a broken thumb in the first period and went on to lose to Inglemoor, 13-10, in a 4A opening-round playoff game at Pop Keeney Stadium.

It was the first time all season the Marauders were held below 20 points. Call it an excuse, but on a night when the Mariner offense completed only one pass, Tuiasosopo’s absence was nothing less than crippling.

“He’s our key and our starting quarterback,” said Mariner head coach John Ondriezek, whose team came into the game averaging 31.9 points an outing. “It’s very unfortunate that happened at the wrong time like it did.”

Even without much of a passing threat, the Marauders managed to outgain Inglemoore 241-218. Nearly all of that for Mariner came on the ground, as running back Matt Jones rumbled his way to 175 yards. He even injected new hope into the Marauders on a 7-yard touchdown scamper to tie the game at 10-10 in the third period.

Inglemoor came right back with a 10-play, 37-yard drive that resulted in a 39-yard field goal that ended up being the game-winner. Mariner threatened once more in the fourth, but turned the ball over on downs on an incomplete pass at the Viking 28 with less than four minutes to play. The Marauders were facing a fourth-and-2 at the 18 on that series, but forced themselves into a near impossible fourth-down attempt with back-to-back pre-snap penalties.

Tuiasosopo attempted only one pass, before leaving with the injury. Junior backup A.J. VanWieringen was 1-for-8 passing for 18 yards.

“It was a tough situation for (VanWieringen), but he actually did a nice job directing the offense, especially for his first start,” Ondriezek said. “The kids played hard and played to win tonight.”

Mariner’s defense turned in a tough effort, limiting the Vikings to 78 yards in the second half. Junior linebacker Stefan Doerscher also recovered two fumbles for the Marauders, the first setting up a 27-yard field goal from Jakub Rynkiewicz that gave Mariner a 3-0 lead.

Inglemoor grabbed its first lead on the next possession on a 10-play, 68-yard drive that was a nice mix of both running and passing. The possession was capped by a six-yard touchdown run from Brandon Thurston to make it 7-3 late in the first quarter. In the second, the Vikings recovered a Mariner fumble and added to their lead with a 23-yard field goal.

Mariner had a chance to counter right before halftime, but a 55-yard drive was stopped by an interception and Inglemoor went to the break ahead 10-3.

The Marauders seemed content to simply run the ball in the second half, as their lone scoring drive of the half consisted of nine straight running plays. After Inglemoor figured that out, the Vikings had the game figured out.

“We played up a little bit more in the second half. Our defensive line played really big and our linebackers filled holes,” Inglemoor defensive back Alex Stanford said. “We knew it could happen, but we shut down a really good offense tonight.”

Thurston was the main offensive weapon for the Vikings, going for 125 yards rushing on 21 attempts. Quarterback Kurt Wagner was 8-for-13 for 79 yards.

Mariner ends the season at 8-3.

At Pop Keeney Stadium

Mariner3070 — 10

Inglemoor7330 — 13

Mariner —Rynkiewicz 27 FG

Inglemoor—Thurston 6 run (Arena kick)

Inglemoor—Arena 23 FG

Mariner—Jones 7 run (Rynkiewicz kick)

Inglemoor—FG Arena 39