Just 18 days after their regular season meeting, No. 1 Tumwater and No. 16 Black Hills faced off again in the 2A State Tournament Round of 16, and the Thunderbirds defeated the Wolves 49-6 to advance to the state quarterfinals.
Tumwater led 14-0 after one and 35-6 at halftime before adding two more touchdowns in the third, but Tumwater coach William Garrow said he didn’t feel his team was at its best from the start.
Garrow noted that while the T-Birds were able to build the lead, it was despite several penalties that wiped off big plays on the offensive side of the ball and extended Black Hills’ drives on the defensive side.
Tumwater (11-0) also turned the ball over three times, including a pair of fumbles.
“This was a unique game environment, being a state playoff game against a crosstown league opponent who we defeated just a couple of weeks ago,” Garrow said. “I did not do a good enough job preparing our kids for the emotion of that particular set of circumstances, and we did not play up to the standards of our program.
“The way we executed on offense and defense wasn't up to our standard as a program, and that's my responsibility. I have to do a better job as the head coach to get our kids to play up to the standards that we need to uphold.”
Garrow went on to add that despite some of those frustrations, he can’t be upset with a postseason win that puts his group into the state quarterfinals.
“We'll get a couple of guys back next week who were dinged up, and we will get ready for a very tough opponent in either Woodland or North Kitsap,” Garrow said. “Both have explosive offenses, and obviously we will have to play cleaner and more disciplined if we want to advance. Happy for our seniors who get another week and get to play another home game in front of their families next week.”
Tyler Briscoe finished the game with 101 yards and a rushing touchdown on 11 carries, while Jacob Reidl added 39 rushing yards and two touchdowns on eight attempts.
Gavin Kaikkonen added a rushing touchdown, and Grady Wall hauled in a 41-yard receiving touchdown.
That touchdown came on a pass from Jake Reid, who finished the night 8 for 12 for 171 yards, 109 of which went to Ethan Bello, who finished the day with five catches.
Defensively, Hans Bergford had five tackles, including a tackle for loss, and he recovered three fumbles, including a scoop-and-score.
Landon Anchors forced two fumbles while tallying 10 tackles and five TFLs, and Jayden Hinchcliffe recovered a fumble while collecting nine tackles.
Kaikkonen finished the night with seven tackles and three TFLs, and Wall also recovered a fumble while notching three tackles.
Tumwater’s quarterfinal against either No. 8 North Kitsap or No. 9 Woodland (who play each other on Saturday) will be on either Friday, Nov. 20, or Saturday, Nov. 21 at Tumwater District Stadium.
Black Hills finishes its season 6-5 overall, and this trip to the state tournament marked its first since 2022.
The Wolves will graduate nine seniors: Jesse Keith, Landen Rivera, Tyson Creekpaum, Jaxon Simmons, Coen Reaves, Jacob Tinsley, Jax Thorson, Logan Johnston, and Caden Murphy.
