The Federal Way Eagles got right back into the playoff hunt in the South Puget Sound League North Division Friday night with a huge 24-14 win over the Tahoma Bears at Federal Way Memorial Stadium.
The victory got the Eagles back to .500 in the SPSL North at 2-2 and dropped the Bears to 3-2. Auburn leads the division at 5-0, followed by Kentwood and Kentridge, both 3-1. The top-three finishers in the North qualify for the postseason and the fourth-place team will play a pigtail game with the fifth seed from the Narrows for a spot in the playoffs.
The Eagles got, what proved to be, the game-winning touchdown from tailback Trenton Pinson with 3:43 left in the first half to give Federal Way a 17-14 lead. Pinson scored from 1-yard out.
The Bears got two first-half touchdown runs from Niko Madison, but the Eagle defense shut out Tahoma in the second half.
After Madison’s first touchdown, Federal Way tied the game at 7-7 on a 50-yard touchdown run by Isiah Umipig on a reverse. The game, which happened to be the Eagles’ homecoming, was Umipig’s first of the season.
Umipig, who verbally committed to play basketball at Cal State Fullerton earlier last week, didn’t start turning out for the Federal Way football team until two weeks into the school year.
Senior kicker Kelyn Rowe followed with a 25-yard field goal to put the Eagles up 10-7.
The only points scored during the second half of Friday’s game came on a 22-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Nick Tanielu to Alden Coleman in the fourth quarter.
Federal Way will travel to Auburn Memorial Stadium Friday night to take on the Auburn Riverside Ravens.
Bethel 31, Decatur 28 (Friday)
The Bethel Braves needed a fourth-quarter field goal to pull out a 31-28 victory over the Decatur Gators Friday night. The win improved Bethel to 4-1 on the season and dropped Decatur to 2-3.
Bethel jumped out to a 14-0 lead with a pair of first-half touchdowns from Anthony Meray. But the Gators fought back to tie the game with a pair of touchdown runs, including a 34-yarder by Alex Bykovskiy.
The two teams than exchanged two touchdowns apiece, which included two touchdown passes from Bykovskiy, which left the two teams’ tied at 28-28. That’s when Bethel’s Brandon Bailey hit a 24-yard field goal for the win.
Curtis 28, Beamer 10 (Friday)
The Titans (2-3) hung tough with the unbeaten and fifth-ranked Curtis Vikings Friday night in University Place. But Beamer couldn’t withstand a second-half comeback and fell, 28-10.
Curtis tallied the first touchdown of the game after Richard Southern scampered 7 yards during the first quarter to give the Vikings a 7-0 lead. But the Titans didn’t roll over for Curtis, who scored 68 points last week during a win over Decatur.
Senior quarterback/kicker Ben Draeger converted a 20-yard field goal and scored on a 1-yard run during the second quarter to give the Titans a 10-7 lead going into halftime.
But the Vikings scored 21 unanswered points during the second half to secure the victory. Two of the three touchdowns came on long passes from quarterback Tyler Jamison to Rahmel Dockery. Jamison finished 6-of-8 for 220 yards and Dockery had four catches for 181 yards.
Beamer hosts the Emerald Ridge Jaguars Thursday at Federal Way Memorial Stadium.
Auburn Riverside 17, Jefferson 13 (Saturday)
The Raiders remained winless on the season with the loss to the Ravens Saturday night at Federal Way Memorial Stadium.
Jefferson (0-5) got on the scoreboard first when Philip Haywood caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from quarterback K.W. Williams to take a 7-0 lead in the second quarter.
But the Ravens (2-3) fought back with 17 unanswered points during the third and fourth quarters to take a commanding 17-7 lead. Jefferson tightened the score with a 31-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Williams to Scott Sanford.
The Raiders travel to Kentwood Friday night to take on the Conquerors at French Field.
