SHS FOOTBALL: Salisbury pulls Spartans to win

Published 2:47 pm Monday, September 20, 2010

Tyler Salisbury rushed for three Sumner High touchdowns Friday night, but his biggest score of the night came on a fourth-quarter, 20-yard interception he ran into the end zone to give the Spartans a 27-21 win over Fife.

“He starts both ways for us and plays special teams. He never comes off the field,” coach Keith Ross said. “He ended up winning the game for us.”

The victory lifted the Spartans to 3-0 and dropped the Trojans to 2-1.

Salisbury rushed for 167 yards on 21 carries. His three TDs came on short runs of 2, 2 and 1 yard. His backfield partner in crime Cody Haavik also rushed for more than 100 yards.

For a while it looked like the Spartans weren’t going to get the win.

Fife jumped to a quick 7-0 lead but the Spartans answered to knot the game at the end of the first quarter.

Fife sprinted ahead in the second quarter with a 47-yard pass play and a 75-yard TD run. Salisbury put another six on the board for the Spartans and David DeVries kicked in the extra point. The Trojans led 21-14 at the half.

“We gave up some big plays early that were not accustomed to doing,” Ross said. In the locker room, he gave the team a pep talk.

“We always talk about we’re warriors and we have to fight the whole fight,” Ross said. “We have to go out and play all 48 minutes. The kids came out and did a great job.”

The Spartan defense held the Trojans to seven yards of total offense in the second half. Nick Barton led Sumner with more than a dozen tackles.

After both teams were silent for the third quarter, it was showtime for Salisbury who bulled his way across the line from 1 yard out to even the score and then put the exclamation point on the night when he picked off Fife quarterback Gage Rosbach and scampered into the end zone.

It was the Spartans’ first South Puget Sound League 2A game of the season. Now 1-0, they host the running attack of 2-1 Steilacoom at 7 p.m. Friday at Sunset Chev Stadium.