TENINO — There are several words to describe a dominant athlete.
Beast. Dude. Dawg.
On Friday night, Tenino coach Darren Tinnerstet used a unique word to describe senior Parker Minerich.
“We call him a unicorn,” Tinnerstet said. “He’s special.”
Minerich scored four first-half touchdowns to help Tenino build a lead over Centralia, and the Beavers rolled from there, winning 47-16 to hand the Tigers their first loss of the season.
“We were just playing well-rounded football,” Minerich said. “Everyone was doing their job.”
Minerich opened the scoring with a rushing touchdown after the Tenino defense forced a turnover on downs, a sequence that repeated itself about 10 game minutes later to put the Beavers up 15-0.
After a Bill Volavola rushing touchdown put Centralia on the board, Minerich found the end zone again on a 21-yard screen from Evan Morey to re-extend the lead.
The Tigers fumbled the ball back to Tenino on the first play of their next drive, and Minerich broke free for a 26-yard touchdown run on the following play. That gave him two touchdowns in a span of just 17 seconds, and it gave him four total touchdowns just over 18 minutes into the game.
He went on to finish the night with 162 total yards, including 141 on 18 carries, and the four TDs.
“You don’t get guys like him very often,” Tinnerstet said. “He does everything we ask him to do. He’s a leader. He’s been a starter since he was a freshman. He’s a special kid. We couldn’t do it without him, and he had a phenomenal night tonight.”
After the game, Minerich was quick to credit everyone around him.
“Our O-line did a great job tonight,” Minerich said. “We have three great running backs and that opens up our offense. Our quarterback was making great plays. Everyone was just playing amazing.”
Minerich didn’t find the end zone again after his fourth, but the Beavers weren’t done adding on offensively.
On one of the final plays of the half, Easton Miller hit Zadun Sadler on a reverse pass touchdown, and both Mason Metcalf and RJ Gates ran in touchdowns in the second half.
By the end of the night, the Beavers had tallied 447 total yards, including 293 on the ground.
“We challenged our guys this week to win the battle in the trenches, and they did,” Tinnerstet said. “We won the turnover battle, and it was a clean game for the most part … I’m happy all around with our performance.”
Metcalf finished with 79 rushing touchdowns and his score, Miller finished with four catches for 46 yards, and quarterback Evan Morey threw for 135 yards and a touchdown while hitting 10 of his 13 pass attempts.
“We challenged Evan tonight to throw the ball and make good decisions with the football, and he really did,” Tinnerstet said. “He had a really good week of practice and just kind of looked like a more seasoned vet tonight throwing the ball … It was a big growth game for him.”
Defensively, the Beavers were all over the field. Volavola’s 58-yard touchdown run in the second accounted for the Tigers’ only points until Enzo Montee found the end zone in the final seconds of the game.
“We swarmed to the ball, and there were a lot of guys getting in on tackles … We had a good gameplan going in, and I think we executed pretty well.
Volavola finished with 82 yards on nine carries and his touchdown.
“He’s just a real explosive playmaker,” Centralia coach Tyler Gedney said. “When he gets in the open field, a lot of times guys can’t tackle him. Hell of a job by Tenino … They pretty much shut him down.”
Centralia’s two touchdown drives accounted for 141 yards. On the Tigers’ other six drives, they combined for just 66 yards.
“All credit to (Tenino), they came out and they punched us in the mouth,” Gedney said. “They were more physical, tougher than us, and we really just didn’t have an answer for them on either side of the ball.”
Though the Tigers were on the road, they still had plenty of fans in attendance. Hundreds of Centralia fans rode in on buses, packing the visitors section in the stands and the extra bleachers beyond the west end zone.
“Seeing the whole community come out to an away game, we just love having the community support and we hope that continues,” Gedney said.
The Tigers (4-1, 0-1 1A Evergreen) will look to bounce back next Friday, Oct. 9, when they host Montesano.
“You get punched, and we’ll see how we respond,” Gedney said. “Our season is still in front of us. Monte is a tough football team, so we’ll have to play a whole lot more physical. We’ve got one week to figure it out.”
Tenino (4-1, 1-0 1A Evergreen) will also welcome a tough team next Friday, when 5-0 Rochester will come to town for the Scatter Creek Showdown.
The winner of that game will move to 2-0 in league play, a mark that will at worst be tied with Montesano atop the league standings. If Centralia tops Montesano, the winner of Tenino-Rochester will be the last unbeaten team in the league.
“This one’s been circled for a while,” Tinnerstet said. “They’re rolling right now. We’ve got our hands full this week. But luckily, we’re here (hosting). I’m glad we’re here this year. We’re gonna have to play a really phenomenal game next week … Hopefully, we get a good week of practice, and we’ll come out ready to rock and roll next Friday.”
