For the first and only time all season, members of the Yelm High School girls football team displayed their talents on the program’s home turf and did it in dominant fashion.
On Wednesday, Jan. 24, the Tornados defeated Washington High School, 31-0, and Spanaway Lake, 29-0, in the team’s only home contests of the season. Yelm’s defense stood out in both games, including a pick-six against Washington and several interceptions from linebacker Caylee Roberts.
Head coach Jason Ronquillo said Roberts and Hailey Briggs each had big performances in the two games.
“Caylee Roberts was a stud on defense at our home games. Hailey Briggs is fast as lightning,” Ronquillo said. “Going forward as a team, we have to improve on our route running and learn to attack the football continuously.”
Roberts’ early pick-six against Washington was one of several Patriot turnovers in the first half against the Tornados. Like Roberts, defender Salma Diaz scored a defensive touchdown after returning an interception to the house. The Tornados offense remained opportunistic through the entire victory over Washington, scoring touchdowns off of several turnovers.
The Tornados defense pitched its second shutout of the evening after defeating Spanaway Lake High School, 29-0. Much like Yelm’s first game against Washington, the Tornados forced timely turnovers against Spanaway Lake and kept the offense out of the end zone for the entirety of the contest.
The Tornados went 1-1 on the road, defeating Lincoln, 19-13, and dropping the matchup against Mt. Tahoma, 30-0. All week, the Tornados had sported a thin roster because of several athletes playing in South Sound Conference basketball matchups on the road.
“We played five games in five days, rolling with 10 girls on our team. They were gassed in the final game,” Ronquillo said. “We had very little juice left.”
Later in the week, the Tornados hit the road and played two Pierce County League opponents — the Abes and the Mount Tahoma Thunderbirds. After a long week of competition, the Yelm Tornados’ record moves to 6-2 overall. The Tornados will play Silas High School on Thursday, Feb. 1.
