YELM — He has watched other quarterbacks execute improbable comebacks for as long as he can remember — and dreamed of doing it himself.
South Kitsap’s Cooper Canton no longer needs to visualize it.
He experienced it firsthand when he rolled out on fourth-and-goal at Yelm’s 10-yard line and found freshman receiver Dustin Garcia open in the right corner of the end zone for a touchdown that propelled the Wolves to a 20-19 win Friday night against the Tornados in Class 4A Narrows League play.
“I’ve been watching football all of my life,” said Canton, adding that the game-winning play was his favorite sports moment. “That’s what I dreamed of. No timeouts left, fourth-and-goal — its the ultimate position you want to be in.”
South’s game-winning drive began at its own 27 and was sustained through a pair of third-down conversions. Senior Marshaud DeWalt, who had 131 yards on 30 carries, broke multiple tackles for a huge gain on third-and-3 from the Wolves’ 34. But a personal-foul penalty pushed South back to Yelm’s 44 with 2 minutes, 38 seconds, remaining. Three plays later, on third-and-9, Canton connected with junior wide receiver Miles Huff for a 19-yard completion to the Tornados’ 24.
DeWalt later helped South advance to Yelm’s 2 on a 4-yard run to set up first-and-goal. But he was stuffed for no gain on the ensuing play and the Wolves were forced to use their final timeout with 34 seconds remaining.
One play later, South’s comeback prospects appeared to vanish when a swarm of Tornadoes blew threw the line to sack Canton for an 8-yard loss. But Canton was undeterred. He received the call from the sideline and set the play before he snapped the ball with about 1 second remaining. Canton rolled right and spotted Garcia.
“I just saw the back corner open and I happened to be open,” Garcia said. “I knew I had it.”
Canton was impressed with Garcia’s composure on the play.
“All of the credit to him on that one,” he said. “That was a slant in. He read the defense they were in and he went out where I was going.
“That was a collegiate play right there.”
South coach Eric Canton shared an emotional embrace with his daughter, Sophia, near midfield after the game concluded. He guided Bremerton High School from 1996-98 and then was an assistant for the Wolves for a decade under former coach D.J. Sigurdson. But Canton, who also served as the University of Washington’s punter during the late 1980s, cannot recall a more dramatic conclusion to a game he was involved in.
“The clock is running down and he didn’t panic for a second,” said Canton, referring to his son. “He just made a play. The offensive line just absolutely stifled them. There was no penetration.”
It also might have been a season-saver. Last year, only the top three teams in the seven-team 4A Narrows advanced to the postseason. Two consecutive losses to start 4A Narrows play likely would have doomed the chances for South (2-2 overall, 1-1 league) to recover.
“This could’ve broken our season,” Canton said. “It really could’ve.
The dramatic conclusion overshadowed three-and-a-half quarters of mostly nondescript football, where both teams missed scoring opportunities because of poor execution or drive-killing penalties.
“We could’ve quit,” Canton said. “The number of penalties we had to overcome … it was horrible. But we stuck with it. I’m really proud of them.”
Yelm scored first when its eight-play drive culminated with a 39-yard field goal by junior Vernon Parker with 7:49 seconds, left in the first quarter.
The Wolves, who produced just 81 yards of total offense during the first half, destroyed their most productive drive of the first quarter with penalties. After going three-and-out on its first two possessions, South drove to the Tornados’ 12 on a 22-yard run by DeWalt. But the Wolves were cited for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on DeWalt’s next run. Canton then was sacked for a 9-yard loss and an incompletion on the following play forced the Wolves to punt.
That is when South’s defense responded.
Huff, a defensive back, intercepted Daylon Matthews on the ensuing play to give the Wolves possession at Yelm’s 15. Three plays later, Canton found freshman Dustin Garcia for a 14-yard touchdown pass to give South a 7-3 lead with 10:58 remaining in the first quarter.
It was short-lived.
Brandon Thompson returned the kickoff for a touchdown, but it was called back because of a penalty. That still gave the Tornados possession near midfield and they needed just four plays to score on an 18-yard run by Thompson. That gave Yelm a 10-7 lead with 9:42 left in the first half.
The Tornados (2-2, 0-2) followed that with a 15-play drive on their next possession that culminated with a 22-yard field goal by Parker that extended their lead to 13-7 at the half.
Yelm turned over the ball on each of its first three possessions of the second half, but the Wolves only were able to take advantage of the first. A blocked punt gave South possession at the Tornados’ 45, but it appeared South would miss a scoring opportunity until Huff caught a Canton pass on fourth-and-9 to Yelm’s 13. Three plays later, DeWalt scored on a 3-yard run to give the Wolves a 14-13 lead with 5:16 remaining in the third quarter.
South’s defense also recovered fumbles on the Tornados’ next two drives, but a failed fourth-down conversion and a missed field goal prevented the Wolves from taking advantage of them.
Those missed opportunities appeared significant when Yelm took over midway through the fourth quarter and built a nine-play drive that ended with a 17-yard touchdown run by Thompson with 3:34 left. A failed two-point run conversion gave the Tornados a 19-14 lead.
That set up a much different conclusion than the previous two seasons, where South defeated Yelm by a combined score of 85-10.
“[Coach Jason Ronquillo] has them going in the right direction,” Canton said. “Hopefully those kids over there can take this and get better for it rather than having it destroying their season.”
The Wolves host Gig Harbor at 7 p.m. Friday, while the Tornados play at the same time at Stadium.
South Kitsap 20, at Yelm 19
South Kitsap 0 7 7 6 – 20
Yelm 3 10 0 6 – 19
First Quarter
Y-Vernon Parker 39 FG
Second Quarter
SK-Dustin Garcia 14 pass from Cooper CantonY-Brandon Thompson 18 run (Nolan Souza kick)Y-Parker 22 FG
Third Quarter
SK-Marshaud DeWalt 3 run (Souza kick)
Fourth Quarter
Y-Thompson 17 run (run failed)SK-Garcia 10 pass from Canton
Individual statistics
Passing-Cooper Canton (SK) 17-30-1-142, Daylon Matthews (Y) 7-14-1-59.
Rushing-Marshaud DeWalt (SK) 30-131, Canton (SK) 5–21, Brandon Thompson (Y) 29-108, Bo Campbell (Y) 5-49, Matthews (Y) 5-49, Tanner Page (Y) 1-3.
Receiving-Dustin Garcia (SK) 7-65, Ian VanGesen (SK) 2-14, Jacob Lewis (SK) 4-18, Miles Huff (SK) 3-45, DeWalt (SK) 1-0, Page (Y) 1-2, Thompson (Y) 1-12, Joey Hawks (Y) 3-27, Campbell (Y) 1-10, Marcus Shivers (Y) 1-8.
