Hawks win “Battle of the Birds”
The Chief Kanim eighth-grade varsity football team defeated the hosting Snoqualmie Middle School Eagles last week in the annual “Battle of the Birds,” 14-6 at Mount Si High School.
The Hawks received the opening kickoff and fumbled the ball with the Eagles recovering. The Chief Kanim defense stopped the Snoqualmie drive and then marched deep into their opponent’s territory. Snoqualmie, however, stood firm and mounted a return drive that ended with a score on a pass play. The extra point was blocked, but the Eagles led 6-0.
The Hawks immediately drove down the field, thanks to runs by Tanner Riley and Vince Vasquez. Aaron Moetului scored on a run up the middle to tie the game. Riley then ran the ball in on a sweep around the right end to give the Hawks the lead 7-6 at halftime.
In the second half, the duo of Riley and Moetului produced another touchdown, as Riley swept around the right end again for the second Hawks score. The extra point was passed from Tyler Ostby to Lucas Zupan and the score was 14-6. The Eagles mounted a drive late in the game that ended as the clock ran out. The win gives Chief Kanim a record of 4-2.
Outstanding play was seen by Chris Hindmarch, Rossco Castagno, Evan Ellington, Drew Handy, Tanner Riley, Aaron Moetului, Mike Hall and Lucas Zupan.
SMS cross country ends season
The Eagles traveled to Mercer Island on Oct. 13 to compete against Mercer Island Middle School. The course was a tough one with a large hill, but the Eagles didn’t let that stop them from running hard. Katie Jensen was the lone Eagle sixth-grade girl runner and took sixth place. Dane Aldrich came in first for the sixth-grade boys and Tucker Dana came in seventh.
Alex Rudd came in fourth for the seventh- and eighth-grade girls team with Shila Hodgins taking fifth and Dannah Parsons taking sixth. Max McDevitt came in second place, Brett Duncan took third and Dillon Oord took 12th for the seventh- and eighth-grade boys.
On Oct. 20, the Eagles hosted the Chief Kanim Middle School Hawks at Centennial Fields in Snoqualmie. Running for the sixth-grade girls, Jensen came in fifth, Landon Edwards took sixth and Jessica Kennedy took seventh. Aldrich once again came in first for the sixth-grade boys and Jessi Alonzo came in sixth.
Rudd placed first for the Eagles seventh- and eighth-grade girls team with Parsons taking fourth, Alex Tritt finished eighth, Ashley Cowan finished 10th and Nikki Buzzell took 12th. Bret Duncan took first for the seventh- and eighth-grade boys, Max McDevitt took second, Dillon Oord took sixth, Eythan Frost finished eighth, Alex Anderson finished ninth, Nick Hahn finished tenth and Zach Jensen finished 13th.
The final meet was held on Oct. 27 at Lake Sammamish State Park and the Eagles competed against Chief Kanim, Issaquah, Pine Lake, Beaver Lake, Maywood, Tolt and Mercer Island Middle Schools. Aldrich came in second place for the sixth-grade boys. Max McDevitt took third place for the seventh- and eighth-grade boys and Brett Duncan came in 11th. Alex Rudd came in fifth for the seventh- and eighth-grade girls and Dannah Parsons came in 11th. Eagles also running in the meet were Tucker Dana, Jessi Alonso, Katie Jensen, Jessica Kennedy, Landon Edwards, Shila Hodgins, Alex Tritt, Ashley Cowan, Nikki Buzzell, Alyssa Melin, Dillon Oord, Nick Hahn, Alex Anderson, Eythan Frost and Zach Jensen.
The team wanted to thank the Raisio family for donating the food for the season party. The team chose Nikki Buzzell and Max McDevitt the Inspirational runners of the season.
