Eagles offense held in check, Enumclaw silences Federal Way 14-7

It has been a rough couple of weeks for Federal Way High School football as the Eagles have lost two games in a row, the most recent a 14-7 loss at home Sept. 25 against Enumclaw.

Both sides knew the severity of this game, with the schedule as it is, either could easily win out. Meaning the 3A NPSL crown could be won on Thursday night. Which makes the result all the more disappointing for Head Coach Marcus Yzaguirre and his Eagles.

“We just couldn’t get into a rhythm offensively,” Yzaguirre said. “Last week we were all over the place, Spanaway Lake took advantage of things. We turned the ball over and had three touchdowns called back, we tried to get kids to not think about that. The defense stepped up this week, the offense just couldn’t catch a rhythm.”

The last time Federal Way lost back-to-back games was in 2023 when the Eagles lost to Decatur in the last week of the regular season and Camas in the playoffs.

Last week against Spanaway Lake, Federal Way beat themselves according to Yzaguirre. Penalties, fumbles and just bad luck seemed to be a couple the reason the Sentinels defeated Federal Way 24-10 on Sept 19.

But this time around, there were much fewer self-inflicted wounds and Enumclaw just found a way to win a dogfight of a football game.

“It was a great game,” Federal Way senior Jay Sinclair said. “Both offenses got shut down for the most part, but they got the last score. Other than that I love what we did, especially defensively.”

The motif of a slow day on offense was there from the start. In the first quarter alone, the Eagles ran just six offensive plays. But on their third drive it seemed like they found something. Quarterback Antony Marchetti was on time and accurate, coupled with some running lanes to be found by the running backs.

Ray Rondon breaks a tackle against the Enumclaw Hornets. Ben Ray / The Mirror

Sinclair reeled in the screen pass on the 2-yard catch and run to give Federal Way a 7-0 lead. But that was all the scoring the Eagles could muster.

Seventeen points over two games makes Federal Way fans scratch their head a bit. An offense that put up 102 points over two games to start the season has now scored just two touchdowns in two games. But defensive slug feats happen, especially when at the tail end of the third quarter your starting quarterback Marchetti goes down with an injury.

That meant Sinclar, who up until the fourth quarter was searching for a way to kickstart the offense as a wide receiver, now he had to do it as the man under center, due to the other quarterback on the roster, Jacob Yan also sidelined with an injury and inactive against Enumclaw.

But Sinclair just could not get the offense out of neutral in the fourth quarter and it seemed that Federal Way was hoping for a miracle rather than the methodical effort that saw them score in the first half.

“I think it was a lot of us getting in our own heads, knowing it’s a tough team that is ready to play,” Sinclair said.

The high-powered offense of Federal Way being held to seven points is the story of the game. Zamarie Tellez, held in check. Sinclair, held in check. Speedster Ray Rondon had some positive spurts but he was also battling an injury.

With the sheer amount of battered bodies, folks will have to step into roles they haven’t been too familiar with for the blue and white.

“I just want them to know it is their time, we are always going to have skill guys got to step up. It’s important for them to do that, but the good thing is our next guys are young,” Yzaguirre said.

The cause of a stagnant offense, most the time is an active defense and both defensive units came to play. Enumclaw all night, stymied the Eagle offense, forcing three- and-outs with relative occurrence. While Enumclaw found some life against the Eagle defense, there were three huge stops by Federal Way in and around the end zone.

Kevin Ramsey (50), Michal Trumbo (57) and Jeremiah Harrison-Overton (52) look for the call on defense. Ben Ray / The Mirror

”You got a whole bunch of people who are here to play football and ready to put it all on the line. We were all hitting the weight room and are all dedicated and here to play football and play together,” Sinclair said.

The Eagles defense, by allowing just 14 points against a potent offense, is enough for recognition. But apart from the game-winning touchdown with 32.7 seconds left, they dominated the game and showed incredible toughness under the direction of Defensive Coordinator Thomas Bogan.

“Our defense is going to play hard, they are a collective unit. They know they are going to help the offense and vice versa,” Yzaguirre said. “We got great defense and they don’t realize how good they are yet.”

Marchetti, before leaving the game, was finding some holes in the run game by calling his own number. But for the most part, the Hornets controlled the clock and the ball.

Federal Way is out of contention for the 3A NPSL league title, Enumclaw will more than likely win out and leave Federal Way behind them. But a hungry White River team awaits the Eagles on Oct. 9 in what could be a game for the two spot in the NPSL.

“There is still a lot of football to be played. We still have a chance to fight for second in the league and that could potentially get us a high ranked seed to go on and play in the playoffs because that is our goal,” Yzaguirre said.

Jojo Fuavai eyes down the Enumclaw offense for the Eagles. Ben Ray / The Mirror

Kent-Meridian is next on the docket for Federal Way, which no doubt is eager to get back to winning form.

“We just need to keep our heads up, it’s one game. One game can’t determine our whole season. We got other games to play and can still place second and make it to the playoffs like we do every year,” Sinclair said.