Todd Beamer safety Kuma Scanlon didn’t take his eyes off Federal Way quarterback Gabe Togia.
With the Federal Way Eagles down three points and driving in Todd Beamer Titan territory, it was two safety blitzes from Scanlon on the final two drives of the game that preserved the 24-21 win for the Titans last Friday at Memorial Stadium.
The win was Beamer’s second straight. It also keeps the Titans undefeated in the North Puget Sound League’s Olympic division.
“Coach said we were going after the quarterback,” Scanlon said. “So that’s exactly what I did. We knew he was going to throw the ball. We just needed to make sure it was hard to do that.”
Minutes earlier, it was Todd Beamer (3-1, 2-0) kicker Dylan Alley who put the Titans ahead of Federal Way (2-2, 0-2) 24-21 with a 28-yard field goal with 4 minutes, 49 seconds remaining in the game.
Prior to the two biggest defensive moments of the game for Scanlon, he was putting in a considerable amount of work on offense. Scanlon piled up 118 yards on 25 carries as the team rushed for 290 yards.
Once again, junior back Colin McKay was impressive, adding 77 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.
Todd Beamer coach Darren McKay said Scanlon is a major weapon for the Titans on both sides of the ball, especially given the sacrifice and transition Scanlon has made for the team this season.
Scanlon was Beamer’s starting quarterback in 2015. But prior to the start of this season, after a significant hand injury, McKay said Scanlon was more than willing to hand over quarterback duties to current quarterback Desmond Nelton.
“He’s our inside guy,” McKay said. “When we need a big play, we know he can get it done for us.”
Scanlon also got it done defensively.
The Eagles were driving, down three, with under four minutes to play. After Togia connected with wide receiver Kamar Collier for a 26-yard gain, putting the Eagles inside the Todd Beamer 40-yard line, it was time for Scanlon to go to work.
After two run plays resulted in only a 1-yard gain, Federal Way faced third-down-and-9. On the ensuing play, Scanlon burst through the defensive line and forced Togia to throw the ball short of his receiver and into the ground.
With the Eagles’ on their final possession and less than two minutes to play, Scanlon did it again. Exact same play, exact same result — incomplete and, this time, a turnover on downs.
“I was really going for sacks,” Scanlon said. “I was just trying to make sure they weren’t going to get that first down.”
The Titans looked as though they would run away with the game early as running back Esau Fonua ran for two touchdowns, a 23- and 20-yarder, in the first quarter, giving Todd Beamer the 14-0 lead.
But Togia and the Federal Way Eagles didn’t go quietly. Alphonzo Tuputala roared back with two rushing touchdowns, bringing the game to a 14-all stalemate at halftime.
But it was the run by McKay and field goal from Alley that put the game out of reach for the Eagles.
While it’s not a big one, there is a definite rivalry growing between Federal Way and Todd Beamer. The Titans beat the Eagles for the first time ever last year; this makes it two in a row and solidly ends Beamer’s previous 0-7 record against Federal Way.
Both Scanlon and McKay made one thing clear: The past is the past. The only important thing now is what the Titans do going forward.
“They might have our number, but we got this one,” Scanlon said. “We played hard tonight and got the win. That’s all that matters.”
