The spotlight beamed on the seniors of the No. 15-ranked Thurston High School football team as the Colts hosted their final home game of the regular season against the No. 7-ranked Crater Comets.
With seven minutes remaining in the third quarter, Thurston was in full control, up 24-0 and driving. Around the Comets’ 15-yard line, junior quarterback Emmit Distefano lobbed a pass to the back right of the endzone. Senior tight end Rylan Sharp located the ball, turned and climbed the ladder while keeping his feet in for the score. The crowd erupted as the dagger was put into the Comets’ hearts. The Colts continued to cruise to a 44-7 victory, sending Sharp and the rest of the senior class off with one last regular-season home win.
“I was so proud of Rylan for going up and getting that ball,” Thurston head coach Justin Starck said. “He’s super tall, so he’s a mismatch and just couldn’t be more happy for him at that moment.”
Sophomore cornerback Bentlee Davenport also filled up the stat sheet for Thurston with three interceptions, one resulting in a pick-six.
Thurston stepped into this matchup coming off a dominant 38-7 road win against the rival Springfield Millers on Oct. 3. This notched the fifth straight win for the Colts.
Crater rolled in with grey hairs as they squeaked out a 37-36 nailbiter win against the Churchill Lancers on Oct. 3. This was the fourth straight win for the Comets as they hadn’t lost since their opening game.
The Colts opened the game with a huge stop and marched right down the field thanks to huge chunk runs from star senior running back Justin Fisher. Another Thurston senior back would get the score, though, as senior running back Cruz Gray punched it in at the goal line. The extra point was true, and the Colts had an early 7-0 lead with 7:21 left in the first.
The Comets felt aggressive in their next drive, and it did not pay off as they went for a fourth and long in their own territory and couldn’t convert, giving the Thurston offense fantastic field position. Fisher then cashed it in with a five-yard scamper to the endzone. The extra point was knocked through, and with a blink of the eye, the Colts were up 14-0 with 6:20 left in the opening quarter.
Highlights then swung to the defensive side of the field for Thurston as Davenport intercepted the underthrown pass from the Comets quarterback and set the Colts up with more great field position. All they could muster up was three this time as senior kicker Hunter Bagwell knocked it through the uprights. With 2:39 left in the first, Thurston led 17-0.
Offenses stalled for most of the second quarter, but that would be broken when the Colts put together a drive that was capped off by a dime from Distefano to his senior tight end, Caleb Jones.
The monstrous catch from Sharp pushed the Thurston lead out to 24 midway through the third quarter. The extra point was good.
Thurston found the ball again after the dominant defense sealed another stop, and this time it was junior running back Logan Raube who muscled into the endzone on the goal line.
The final scoring for the Colts came in electric fashion when Davenport snagged his third interception of the game and took it all the way to the house to make it 44-0.
“He’s the playmaker,” Starck said. “He’s a good one and he’s only a sophomore, so we’re really excited about his future.”
Crater finally got on the scoreboard with 30 seconds left when junior running back Blake Kampstra. This would be the final score of the game, making the final 44-7 for Thurston.
“Defense just played lights out today,” Starck said. “So proud of the defensive effort. Offensively, we did what we needed to do.”
Distefano led the way for the Colts’ offense with two touchdown passes as he continued his spectacular junior campaign.
Red hot Thurston heads on the road next week to take on the Churchill Lancers on Oct. 17 with a 7:00 p.m. kickoff.
Crater will look to get back in the win column on Oct. 17 with a battle against the North Eugene Highlanders. That game will also kick off at 7:00 p.m.