In nine games last fall, the North Thurston football team scored 25 points all season.
Trailing 20-7 at halftime against Mountain View in Vancouver Friday night, the Rams’ offense came alive with 23 second-half points, capped off by a buzzer-beating 36-yard field goal by Jake Lee to seal a 30-27 comeback win for North Thurston.
It’s the first win for the Rams since Oct. 11, 2024, snapping a 12-game losing streak. Head coach Deon Toliver earned his first win in purple and white after taking over the program midseason last year.
“The kids fought to the end. We’re learning how to play four quarters of football and working through adversity,” Toliver said. “It was a team effort.”
North Thurston found life on offense quickly in the first quarter, with new quarterback Nicholas Nutu finding senior wideout Josiah Tucker for a 44-yard touchdown strike. Mountain View snapped back with a 43-yard touchdown pass of its own to knot the score at 7-7 through one quarter.
The second quarter was all Thunder, who found the end zone on passing touchdowns twice to jump ahead 20-7 at halftime. But the Rams flipped the script in the third quarter, capturing momentum on a 79-yard catch and run by Toa Tunai from Nutu to pull within a score. Tucker caught his second 44-yard touchdown from Nutu in the third quarter to give the Rams a 21-20 lead heading into the fourth.
Mountain View started the final frame with a 26-yard touchdown run to make it 27-21. With the Thunder working toward running the clock out, senior defensive back Colton Ranes forced a fumble deep in North Thurston territory, and Tunai recovered it with 2:50 left to give the Rams the ball back.
North Thurston raced down the field via a 53-yard catch by Jackson Washburn and tied the game on a 7-yard touchdown run by Tunai, but the go-ahead extra point was missed wide left by Lee with 1:25 left.
The Rams’ defense forced a three-and-out by the Thunder and got the ball back with 20 seconds left. Nutu found Tucker for an 18-yard gain with 11 seconds left, and the lefty quarterback scampered out of bounds with just one second left to give Lee a chance to redeem himself with the game on the line. Lee lined up a 36-yard field goal and nailed it as time expired.
Nutu finished the game with 351 passing yards, three touchdowns and one interception on 17-of-31 passing in his Rams debut. His 351 passing yards broke the school's single-game record, previously held by Jake Harns (300 yards in 2015).
Tucker caught four passes for 111 yards and two scores, while Tunai recovered 122 receiving yards on six catches with one touchdown. Tunai also added 30 yards and a score on the ground.
North Thurston (1-0) will host Shelton Friday, Sept. 11 at South Sound Stadium.
