agles grind out victory

In the home confines of Wildcat stadium, the Snoqualmie Middle School varsity football team found the will to win and earned a hard-fought victory over Ford, 6-0. On defense Ahmad Korma sliced through Ford’s offense, stopping running backs in their tracks. Cameron Hilsman was a man in the middle, stifling inside dives, while Chaz Blair and Rob Lane put some devastating hits on runners trying the outside, containing any Ford threat. Lane chased down a tailback running down the sideline, while Code Blair was savvy on defense, intercepting a pass and enabling the Eagles’ offense to take the field.

Behind the solid blocking from the “horses up front” in Chris Anderson, Zac Pearlstein and Kelly Kole, huge holes were opened up for the running game. Fullbacks Lane and Robby Knecht hammered the backers as tailbacks Donny Hendrickson and Blair cut through the backfield for crucial gains to keep the ball in Eagle hands. Hendrickson scored the Eagles’ touchdown from four yards out. Knecht had a breakaway 40-yard run from scrimmage down to the two yard line while Collin Van Slyke cut around end for a couple of timely 15-yard gains, sealing the victory.

Against Woodbrook and Tolt, the games were fought on the defensive side with five quarters having no score. The Eagles were led defensively by linebackers Lane and Hendrickson matching punishing hits from their opponents, while Hilsman and Lars Swenson created aggressive havoc from their interior line positions that enabled the Eagles to keep in contention throughout the game before finally succumbing 13-0 and 15-0.

Chief Kanim narrowly beats Tolt

The Chief Kanim varsity football team played Tolt at Mount Si stadium last week, pulling out a narrow 7-6 victory. The game was a defensive battle from the get go. The Hawks were up to the challenge and played a bigger Tolt team head to head. Chief Kanim got on the board first when Tanner Riley busted up the middle for a 30-yard touchdown run. Tyler Ostby passed to Riley for the extra point to make it 7-0.

Tolt came right back and scored on a pass. The stingy Chief Kanim defense blocked the extra point. In the second half, both defenses dug in and slugged it out. The Hawks mounted a late drive that killed much of the fourth quarter. Tolt had one more chance at the end, but the smaller Hawks played like pit bulls and stopped Tolt cold. Outstanding play was seen by Drew Handy, Lucas Zupan, Tanner Riley, Brad Reaves, Chris Hindmarch, Morgan Meyers, Rossco Castagno, Vince Vasquez, Tyler Ostby and a host of others.

Hawks drop game to Hudtloff

The Chief Kanim seventh-grade football team traveled to the deepest, darkest corners of the universe last week and lost a hard-fought football game 26-32 to a tough Hudtloff team. The Hawks showed up to the game more than 30 minutes late and were down 20-0 in the first five minutes. Chief Kanim started their come back with a Joe Farmer 50-yard touchdown pass to Matt Bankston. Bankston then scored his second touchdown of the game with a 10-yard run and an extra point.

Ian Ilgenfritz then got in the scoring act with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jarret Adams and an Ilgenfritz extra point. Ilgenfritz then hooked up with Tyan Herman for a 30-yard touchdown pass to make the score 26-32. The Hawks had a fourth down on the Hudtloff 15-yard line with eight seconds left to go, but came up empty. Ilgenfritz ended the game completing 6-for-12 on his passing for 90 yards, including two touchdown passes. Bankston had eight carries for 132 yards and two touchdowns, Herman had two catches for 70 yards and one touchdown. Farmer had three passes for 26 yards and one touchdown pass, Bridges had six carries for 42 yards and Jarret Adams had one touchdown catch.

Volleyball drops match to SMS

The Chief Kanim eighth-grade volleyball team lost a tough game to Snoqualmie Middle School last week 25-14, 18-25 and 27-29. Stars of game one were Danielle Covello and Alyssa McLauchlin with three kills and six digs each. Kaitlyn Usselman had 15 points for the night. In game two, Jenny Marshall played well at the net showing her new- found aggression.

Game three was an intense battle. Becky Garding brought the girls back into the game with her serving. The scoring went back and forth point for point, with the Hawks losing in the end 29-27.

SMS cross country off to a great start

The Snoqualmie Middle School Eagles cross country team has had a great start to the season. The Eagles held their first dual meet at Centennial Fields on Sept. 28, hosting Pine Lake. The sixth-grade boys team started the day with a first-place finish from Dane Aldrich and a seventh-place finish from Tucker Dana. The sixth-grade girls team started with a third-place finish from Katie Jensen, fourth place from Landon Edwards and a sixth place from Jessica Kennedy.

The seventh- and eighth-grade boys team finished the day with Max McDevitt coming in second and Brett Duncan finishing fourth. The seventh- and eighth-grade girls looked strong with Alex Rudd placing second, Dannah Parsons third and Alex Tritt eighth.

The second meet was held Oct. 4. The meet was an invitational hosted by Maywood that included SMS, Chief Kanim, Maywood, Pine Lake, Tolt, Mercer Island and Issaquah middle schools. The Eagles had a strong showing with Aldrich finishing second-place overall for the sixth-grade boys. Max McDevitt took third overall and Duncan finished eleventh for the seventh- and eighth-grade boys.

For the girls seventh- and eighth-grade team, Rudd came in fifth, Shila Hodgins came in ninth with Dannah Parsons in twelfth place.

Other hardworking Eagles competing were Megan Past, Nikki Buzzell, Ashley Cowan, Jensen, Landon Edwards, Jessica Kennedy, Dana, Nick Hahn, Alex Anderson, Dylan Oord, Chase Adams, Eythan Frost and Zach Jensen.

On Oct. 6, the Eagles traveled to Issaquah Middle School for a dual meet. The team looked strong and had a great showing. Aldrich once again finished first for the sixth-grade boys with his best time of the year. McDevitt also came in first with Duncan third and Dillon Oord eighth for the seventh- and eighth-grade boys. The seventh- and eighth-grade girls won the meet with Rudd taking third, Parsons fourth, Hodgins fifth, Alex Tritt sixth, Buzzell seventh and Cowan eighth.

Keithley smothered by SMS

The Snoqualmie Eagles football team defeated Keithley Middle School 13-0 last Wednesday. The Eagles played a very effective game both on offense and defense. A precise offense and an attacking defense smothered Keithley’s hopes.

Outstanding performances on offense were made by Taylor Mitchell, Jordan Walthall, Jake Pierce and Calvin Mahan. The highlight of the game was a touchdown catch by Sam Vandenburg.

Hawks defeat Lochburn

The Chief Kanim Middle School varsity football team traveled to Lochburn Middle School last week and returned with a 24-13 win. The Hawks running game was in full swing as the combination of Vince Vasquez and Tanner Riley ran for large gains on almost every carry. The Hawks found themselves with a lead of 18-6 at the half as Vasquez scored two touchdowns and Riley one.

In the second half, Lucas Zupan also got into the act with a 15-yard touchdown catch thrown by Tyler Ostby. Sean Fite was credited with a quarterback sack, Drew Handy with an interception, Royce Clark had a nifty 25-yard run around the left end, Lee Amador provided some tenacious hits, Ostby had a sweet quarterback run and Riley gained big yards on a quarterback bootleg. The varsity Hawks are now 2-2 with two games remaining.

Volleyball drops Beaver Lake

The Chief Kanim Middle School seventh-grade varsity volleyball team beat Beaver Lake last week, winning two out of three games. The girls had a slow start in game one but pulled through in the other two games. The player of the game was Baylee Sinner, with several strong hits and serves. Laura Woodward and Katricia Stewart had several commendable hits and supported their team with successful serves. The spiking successes were exhibited by