MARYSVILLE – After an iffy start, Squalicum started to click after a few possessions, and there was little Marysville-Pilchuck could do as the Storm upended the Tomahawks 44-14 at Quil Ceda Stadium on Friday night.
Squalicum was forced to punt in its first possession, and Marysville-Pilchuck replied with a 79 yard touchdown run on its second play from scrimmage, which gave the Tomahawks an early 7-0 lead.
The Storm tied it up later in the quarter when senior running back Malakai Smith powered into the end zone from a yard out.
Squalicum captured the lead in the second quarter when junior quarterback Colin Burke found fellow junior Ansen Asbjornsen with a 6-yard touchdown pass. Asbjornsen made his presence known on defense a few plays later when he intercepted a pass and returned it 35 yards, deep into Tomahawk territory.
The turnover set the Storm up to quick a 31-yard field goal, and when sophomore Slade Kaiser put the ball through the uprights it was a 10-point lead for the visitors.
As the first half quickly wound down, Squalicum forced a Marysville-Pilchuck punt and was able to get the ball in good position to score once again before halftime. However, penalties pushed the Storm back to where they were looking at a 3rd-and-22 with less than a minute remaining. That was when Burke dropped back, then stepped up in the pocket before launching a pass into the end zone. Senior wide receiver Joaquin Ortiz, even though at 5-foot-7, won the jump ball and scored the touchdown to give Squalicum a 24-7 lead at the half.
The Tomahawks scored their second, and final, touchdown of the game in the third quarter, but when they attempted a comeback by trying to throw the ball it resulted in two more second-half interceptions, and zero completions. Ortiz and junior safety Zack Watt each picked off a pass, which set up touchdowns runs by senior Marcus Nixon and junior Tanner Berg.
Nixon finished with a team-high 107 yards rushing on 18 carries.
Burke and Ortiz also connected on a 28-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.
Junior outside linebacker Laki Fagaautau led the defense with 6.5 tackles and a stop behind the line of scrimmage.
The Storm (2-0) will travel to Archbishop Murphy (2-0) on Friday to take on the Wildcats at 7:00.
Squalicum 44 Marysville-Pilchuck 14 SQU 7 17 14 6 - 44 M-P 7 0 7 0 - 14 MP - 79 yard touchdown run (kick good) SQU - Smith 1 run (Kaiser kick) SQU - Asbjornsen 6 pass from Burke (Kaiser kick) SQU - Kaiser 31 FG SQU - Ortiz 36 pass from Burke (Kaiser kick) MP - 3 yard touchdown run (kick good) SQU - Nixon 4 run (Kaiser kick) SQU - Ortiz 28 pass from Burke (Kaiser kick) SQU - Berg 2 run (kick failed) SQU M-P 38-193 Rush Att-Yards 27-214 14-20-0 Comp-Att-Int 1-12-3 176 Passing Yards 23 Individual Leaders RUSHING - SQU: Nixon 18-107, Smith 10-88, Berg 2-6, LeBlanc 1-(-1), Burke 7-(-7). M-P: N/A. PASSING - SQU: Burke 13-19-0-171, LeBlanc 1-1-0-5. M-P: N/A. RECEIVING - SQU: Ortiz 4-90, Binta 3-38, Asbjornsen 3-24, Knowlton 3-14, Nixon 1-10. M-P: N/A.
