Eastlake celebrates Homecoming by crushing Redmond
With the Eastlake stands filled to capacity to celebrate their homecoming, the Wolves delivered a big 48-8 win against the Redmond Mustangs Friday, maintaining their perfect record while ending Redmond’s undefeated streak.
Eastlake’s Noah Weintraub started the game off with a 29-yard touchdown but missed the extra point, putting the Wolves ahead 6-0. Eastlake’s Griffin Miller followed soon after with a second touchdown, widening the gap to 13-0.
But the quarter had not ended, and Eastlake was not done. Just three minutes later, after reaching the 37-yard line, a pass from quarterback Parker Barrysmith connected with running back Blake Borup, who scored Eastlake’s third touchdown to close the quarter with a score of 20-0.
The Wolves defense was just as impressive as their offense. Colby Marsh prevented the Mustang offense from getting anywhere near the Wolves end zone and defensive end Kai Lane provided additional support when he “sacked the Redmond quarterback in the first quarter, which stopped Redmond’s drive from continuing down the field,” said Eastlake assistant coach Nathan Gibson.
The Mustang defense attempted to regroup in the second quarter when Redmond’s free safety, Zach Bayou, stopped Miller’s advance just short of the Mustang end zone. Despite Redmond’s best effort to push back against the Eastlake defense, they just could not get on the board. Eastlake linebacker Logan Eller prevented the Mustangs from any significant down field advancements throughout the quarter.
With four-and-a-half minutes on the clock, a penalty for an ineligible player downfield followed by a holding penalty resulted in a 15-yard loss for Eastlake, which moved the ball from the 35-yard line back to the 50-yard line. Despite the setback, quarterback Grady Woodward was up to the challenge and added another 7 points to the scoreboard for Eastlake, pushing their lead to 27-0.
The remainder of the first half saw Eastlake continuing to overwhelm Redmond’s defense. After a rush to the 25-yard line followed by a pass to the 10-yard line by Weintraub, running back Jack Peterson scored the fifth touchdown of the game. After a sixth Eastlake touchdown by tight end Will Woodward one minute before the end of half, the players left the field with Eastlake enjoying a massive 41-0 lead.
The third quarter started with an Eastlake touchdown from midfield within thirty seconds of the start. However, that would be called back due to an illegal block down field. Not to be shaken from the aggressive Wolves opening, the Mustangs’ halftime strategy adjustments would prove fruitful. It seemed the Mustangs had finally figured out how to hold the Wolves’ offense, allowing only one Eastlake touchdown in the third quarter as well as the entire second half by running back Nathaniel Birchfield to bring the score to 48-0.
The last quarter saw the only Redmond touchdown of the game. Despite strong defense from Birchfield at safety, Mustang wide receiver Jake Severns pulled in a one-handed grab in the end zone to finally put Redmond on the board. A two-point conversion brought the score to 48-8, but it was too little too late.
The Mustangs would come close to the end zone one more time before the end of the game, attempting a final touchdown pass. Unfortunately for Redmond, Eastlake’s Dylan Ochs was all over it, swiping the ball for an interception, and denying Redmond a second touchdown to seal the game for Eastlake.
Eastlake’s (5-0) next game will be just down the street at Skyline (2-3) for the “Battle of the Plateau” on Friday Oct. 8 at 7:00 p.m.
