It came down to the literal wire, and a missed extra point by Napavine in the fourth quarter with zeros on the clock gave Tenino a 7-6 triumph at home in a non-league tilt on Friday night.
The Tigers initially scored with three seconds left, but a holding call wiped it off the board. They proceeded to score again on a Beckett Landram 5-yard pass to Travis Kirkpatrick, only for another penalty to make the PAT from 35 yards away. It was missed and the Beavers (3-1) were sent into euphoria.
“It was an ugly game, but a wild ending,” Tenino head coach Darren Tinnerstet said. “That penalty saved our rear end. We played pretty well and (Napavine) is a phenomenal football team. We held on.”
The only score by Tenino came on its first drive, a 14-play march down the field that was finished with a 15-yard touchdown by Parker Minerich. Defensively, the Beavers recovered four fumbles and stymied Napavine for 47 minutes.
Minerich finished with 154 yards on 32 carries and Tenino overcame 14 total penalties. Now, the Beavers will face Centralia for the second of three straight home games next week. It’s homecoming as well and the start of 1A Evergreen League play.
“It is going to be a tough football game, but that is what league play is all about,” Tinnerstet said. “We need to take advantage of the home field. Feels better coming off a win.”
Napavine will turn its attention to C2BL West action when it welcomes Ilwaco next week. Landram finished with eight completions and 106 passing yards, but the rushing attack was held to 136.
“Some real poor blocking assignments; in terms of executing up front schematically, we were poor,” Tigers head coach Josh Fay said. “We got a really good team and got all the pieces we need. The urgency and mental component hasn’t clicked yet and hopefully, it does.”
