In the battle for SPSL 3A football bragging rights on the Plateau between Enumclaw and Bonney Lake Friday at Pete’s Pool, the visiting Panthers initially got far more than they bargained for against a spirited 1-6 Hornet crew. Eventually, the cream rose to the top, as BLHS struggled to generate its customary 45 points.
The Hornets were eventually swept aside 45-13, dropping to 1-7 overall and to 0-4 in league action.
Bonney Lake rode the accurate right arm of quarterback Chris Brown, who threw for 236 yards and four second-half touchdowns. The Panthers are 6-2 overall and 2-2 in league play.
The high-scoring Panthers will head into Friday’s engagement at Harry Lang Stadium against the 8-0 Lakes Lancers.
Panther coach Chad Barrett hopes his troops perform better than they did in Enumclaw.
“Give Enumclaw credit where credit is due,” he said. “The Hornets are a lot better team than their record indicated and they were playing out of their minds against us.”
But Panther receivers must have dropped six or seven passes in the first quarter alone, he said, and a touchdown was called back because of a holding call.
Despite playing tough during in the early going, Enumclaw gradually fell behind 25-0 until with less than a minute before intermission, Hornet QB Tyler Carlson and Adam Cosgrove hooked up on a 75-yard pitch and catch.
Bonney Lake worked out some of kinks in the halftime locker room and basically had its way with Enumclaw in the third and fourth stanzas. The Panthers began to gain some ground with their rushing attack as E.J. Harris and Joey Surber gained 80 yards each behind a formidable Bonney Lake offensive line.
Additionally, Brown traumatized Enumclaw’s secondary in the second half with mid-range touchdown strikes to Kaleb Zahnow, Zach Zaragoza, Robert Combs and Keenan Jackson.
Enumclaw added a second TD when Ricky Orris scored from 12 yards out.
Enumclaw will trek across the Narrows Bridge Friday night to tangle with a Peninsula High group which at 3-1 in league and 7-1 overall, appears to be destined for playoff glory.
“Peninsula will probably be the toughest, punch-out-the-yardage team we will face all year, because Peninsula’s physicality is unmatched in this league,” EHS coach Don Bartel said. “They don’t even bother trying to finesse you, they flat grind it out and bury you in the process.”
Peninsula is led by ground-pounding machine Danny Welstad, who is the leading rusher in the SPSL 3A with well over 2,000 yards in the books already this year and who rambled for six TDs during last Friday’s 48-3 drubbing of Decatur.
