Crusaders defeat Tomahawks | SLIDESHOW

The Tomahawks played a solid game at the 3A state quarterfinals on Saturday, Nov. 17, but were ultimately outplayed by the Eastside Catholic Crusaders, who finished the game with a 65-34 victory.

By Lauren Salcedo • November 20, 2012 12:27 pm
M-P quarterback Jake Luton drops back to pass during the Tomahawks final game against Eastside Catholic on Saturday
M-P quarterback Jake Luton drops back to pass during the Tomahawks final game against Eastside Catholic on Saturday

MARYSVILLE — The Tomahawks played a solid game at the 3A state quarterfinals on Saturday, Nov. 17, but were ultimately outplayed by the Eastside Catholic Crusaders, who finished the game with a 65-34 victory.

M-P’s running back Austin Joyner scored the first touchdown of the night on a 72-yard run, and for a brief moment the Tomahawks were in the lead.

Eastside Catholic quickly battled back with two more touchdowns to give them the lead 14-7. Before the end of the first half M-P’s Deion Stell scored on a 10-yard run, bringing the score to 14-13 going into the second quarter. The Tommies had a chance at that point but six Crusader touchdowns and two quarters later, the Crusaders held a solid lead of 52-13 going into the fourth quarter that was simply impossible to rally back from.

The Tomahawks didn’t stop trying though, and M-P’s Kacey Walker scored a touchdown two-minutes into the fourth quarter, while Kyle Nobach and Hunter Trueax scored touchdowns on 68-yard and 43-yard passes, respectively, from quarterback Jake Luton with less than four minutes on the clock. The game ended with a final score of 65-34, and so did the Tomahawks’ hopes of making it to the state semifinals or further.

“We had a nice run here in the playoffs,” said head coach Brandon Carson. “This is a special group of seniors and a special group of players. They are  a close knit group and it’s sure been fun to coach them. I know it’s going to hurt now, but I think that when we look back on this season later we’ll be proud of it.”

Carson commended Joyner and Luton on playing a great game, as well as being players to watch for next year.

“Jake Luton, Austin Joyner, Deion Stell, Hunter Trueax, Nic Alonso, I mean there are so many players coming back next year, we’re looking forward to it,” he said.

Luton was disappointed to end the game with a loss, but is already looking forward to next year.

“This game was tough, but I wouldn’t have done it with a different group of guys,” he said. “The season was great, it’s tough to see it end. But we’ve got to get ready for next year and it starts now.”