EVERETT — The next time a coach is asked about the definition of ‘complementary football,’ one should turn to Archbishop Murphy’s 2A Playoff Winner-to-State matchup against Pullman at Terry Ennis Stadium on Saturday.
In the first six total plays from scrimmage, Archbishop Murphy scored three touchdowns, one each from the offense, defense and special teams. If there was any doubt that the No. 1 seed Wildcats (9-0) would play up to their potential against the No. 32 seed Greyhounds (4-6), it was quashed by the time they took a 21-0 lead in just 2:58 into the game, en route to a dominant 51-7 victory to advance to the 16-team state bracket.
“We came out against an opponent who was ranked at the bottom, and we still put our best foot forward and played the same game no matter what,” senior tight end/defensive lineman Jack Sievers said. “So it kind of goes to show it doesn’t really matter who we’re going to play. (They’re) going to play the same team every time.”
Archbishop Murphy had built up a 49-0 lead by halftime, totaling 292 offensive yards and averaging 16.22 yards per play — excluding a quarterback kneel to close out the half. By the end of the game, 10 different ball-carriers combined for 299 rushing yards, led by sophomore Ryder Sandstrom’s 144 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, the Wildcats allowed just 61 yards of offense from Pullman in the first half, 30 of them coming on an impressive sideline grab from senior Anthony Wright. The Greyhounds netted just seven rushing yards before the break, with Archbishop Murphy dominating the trenches and consistently making tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
“The senior group is pretty self-motivated,” Wildcats coach Joe Cronin said. “(…) They go from zero wins (as freshmen in 2022) to (an undefeated season in 2025). I think with that, it becomes a ‘proof’ factor each week, and they just lock in. They do a great job. It was fun to see them have success in all phases.”
On the first play from scrimmage, senior quarterback Evan Ruiz uncorked a 61-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver/defensive back Willie Sears, rolling out and connecting down the left sideline to give Archbishop Murphy a 7-0 lead just 17 seconds into the game. It was just the fast start they were looking for.
“We knew, even before the game, we needed to execute,” Sears said. “And from last year to this year, the biggest emphasis is starting out games with a fast intensity. Last year, we started out very slow, where this year I think we’ve all seen, we started popping.”
Just four plays later, the special teams unit stepped up after the defense forced a three-and-out, with Sievers blocking a punt back to the end zone, which freshman Owen Reinhard fell on top of for another touchdown. Then it was the defense’s turn to score, when senior running back/hybrid LB-DB Robert Moses intercepted Pullman’s next offensive play and took it to the house.
“Coming off the edge, I don’t think they were expecting it at all,” Sievers said of the punt block. “We hadn’t done anything like that all year. We were just trying to find different ways. There were a lot of teams going against us with us being so big, they were doing a lot of heavy protecting, so we found a way to kind of be a little more elusive. And it worked.”
Following Moses’ pick-six, the Wildcats forced another Pullman three-and-out, and the offense moved the ball 45 yards on just three plays, with Sievers rumbling for a 25-yard catch-and-run before Ruiz scrambled for 11 yards and junior Isaiah Smith took a pitch nine yards to the end zone, pushing the lead to 28-0 with 6:39 left in the first quarter. Senior Jordan Rife secured an interception on the ensuing Greyhounds drive, and Smith scored again on a 48-yard rush, dancing around defenders all over the field before reaching the end zone to make it 35-0.
Pullman picked up a first down and gathered some yards before senior Henry Gabalis delivered a tackle for loss and broke up a deep pass attempt on consecutive plays to force another punt with just over a minute left in the quarter. The Wildcats picked up two more rushing touchdowns before halftime, with a 33-yard run from junior Javen Latta and a nine-yard rush from Sandstrom to cap a pair of efficient rushing drives.
“We take every play personally,” Sears said. “I’m a senior, so I was there for the freshman year where we went 0-8, and so ever since then, we kind of have that— almost a chip on our shoulder about winning every play.”
In between, the Greyhounds strung together a drive that last nearly six minutes starting from their own 20, but ultimately turned the ball over on downs when a completion to Archbishop Murphy’s 28 fell short of the marker on fourth down.
The Wildcats punt team made another impact play to open the second half after the defense forced another three-and-out, as a botched play resulted in senior Khian Mallang tackling Pullman’s punter in his own end zone to increase the lead to 51-0 with a safety.
The Greyhounds finally got on the board with an 11-yard touchdown pass to junior Nata Fotofili to open the fourth quarter, completing a five-play, 55-yard drive, and the Wildcats proceeded to run the ball and bleed the running clock with the game well in hand.
With its ticket punched to state, Archbishop Murphy is unconcerned about which specific team will stand in its way. The Wildcats plan to cruise through the bracket, focusing on each game at a time with the same level of preparation and effort each week. They understand anything less could mean an abrupt end to their season.
“There’s a finality to this,” Cronin said. “Hats (off) to Pullman, they came over here, it’s a long way to go. And battling, they had a good football team and a good group of coaches, but when they go in on Monday, they turn their gear in. We’ve all been there, and the season’s over and all that stuff, and I think (our) guys want to keep playing together. … So that’s kind of the mindset. Lock in, and make the most of every rep.”
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