Rangers dominate Crescent in 6-man football

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Don't worry, Coach Trey Beathard.

It will all come out in the wash.

Part way through the Rangers first game of the season, early in the first quarter, there was a pileup of players in front of the Quilcene bench as a runner was tackled out of bounds.

Beathard was caught up in the collision.

When he bounced backup, he yelled at the athletes responsible.

"You got my pants dirty. Now my wife will yell at me!" he joked.

She shouldn't if she sees the final score.

Quilcene cut down the Crescent Loggers 33-12 in a season opener that featured six-man football.

If there was any doubt to the eventual outcome, it was dispelled early as the Rangers romped to a 14-0 first quarter lead and expanded their advantage to 33-0 by the end of the third.

Two big plays for the Loggers near the game's end brought Crescent its only bright spots to a bruising battle that was marked by early game penalties and a few fumbles throughout.

The Loggers were a last-minute substitution, and with that, came the switch from the Rangers' usual eight-man play.

"We were scheduled to play a team in our league, and we were preparing pretty well for them, for an eight-man game. On Wednesday, during the school day, we found out were going to play Crescent in a six-man game," Beathard said. "I'm super glad they agreed to play us kind of last minute."

"It was kind of last minute for both of us," he added.

Beathard, who has only coached two games of six-man football before — both junior varsity games where his team lost — was impressed by the Rangers' stout defense throughout the contest.

"I was on 0-2 in six-man football," he said. "We're a little bit of a pound-it offense. It makes it a little bit harder, to me, in six-man."

Bishop Budnek put the Rangers on the board first, scoring a touchdown on a 25-yard scamper.

Isaiah Reimann kicked the extra point — worth two points in six-man play — for the 8-0 lead.

Nathan Kieffer scored next for the Rangers on a 6-yard run to put Quilcene up 14-0.

The biggest play of the game came courtesy of Bishop Budnek, who ran 60 yards for a touchdown that prompted a chorus of hearty honks from spectators parked in cars outside the athletic grounds chain-link fence. The Ranger rout continued, 20-0.

A 12-yard run by Chase Newman, followed by an extra-point pass by Chase Newman to Nathan Kieffer, gave Quilcene a lead of  27-0.

The Loggers' troubles on offense continued after a pick-six by 

Cash Thacker, who ran the ball back 23 yards after the interception to push the Rangers to 33-0.

"You never know what to think for the first game," Beathard said.

"Our defense played super good, especially the first half. For them to shut them out, in a six-man game, is pretty remarkable. And I just liked how we tackled.

"We did a lot of gang tackling, and we were pretty physical, I felt, on our tackling, as well," Beathard said.

Bishop Budnek finished with six carries for 102 yards and two touchdowns for the Rangers.

Chase Newman had three carries for 10 yards and a touchdown.

Kevin Alejo contributed four carries for 36 yards, and had a kickoff return for 27 yards. He punted four times (40-yard average per punt).

Shannon Kutler carried eight times for 23 yards, while fellow Ranger Zachary Budnek had one reception for 36 yards.

Kevin Alejo added one reception for 15 yards, while Bishop Budnek had one reception for six yards.

Ranger quarterback Nathan Kieffer completed 2-of-10 passes for 21 yards and added one six-yard TD.

Chase Newman contributed 3-of-6 passes for 42 yards and one 2-point conversion during his time in the pocket.

The game marked a long-anticipated return to the gridiron for the Rangers.

But if anything truly deserved a delay of game penalty, that flag should have been thrown COVID's way.

Regardless, the Rangers were roused and ready for the return of Quilcene football.

"They are super excited," Beathard said of his players. "Even in practice, it's been such a long time since they were really doing things."

"We were so happy when we got in Phase 2 and we knew we could actually start playing games," he added. 

And the Rangers didn't show much rust on defense.

"Coach [Byron] Wilson's defense did super good," Beathard said.

Chase Newman led the defense with 13 tackles, while Kevin Alejo added a dozen and Zachary Budnek had 11.

Bishop Budnek had 10 tackles, and Thacker had 10, as well.

Dominic Smith finished with eight tackles, and Jeremy Allen had four (and one interception with a 2-yard return).