Tyner football coach Wayne Turner continually tells his players to take advantage of every opportunity they have on the field and in life. Friday night the Rams showed how much they've been listening.
Three touchdowns to start the game, an impenetrable defense and a penalty-stricken Silverdale Baptist Academy led to Tyner's 32-7 neighborhood win over the Seahawks at Wayne Turner Field.
The win earned Tyner the fourth and final playoff spot from Region 3-2A.
"This was a big region game to accomplish our biggest goal of the year, and that's to make the playoffs," Turner said. "We really didn't want to finish fourth. But once you get in it doesn't matter. Everyone is 0-0."
Touchdowns by Devon Waight, Jaylen Bowens and Rahle High gave the Rams an 18-0 lead and all the momentum heading into the second quarter of play. They scored on every possession in that first quarter, and conversely the Tyner defense forced a punt on each of Silverdale's first four possessions.
A double pass with less than two minutes till halftime finally netted the Seahawks some momentum in the game. One play later, senior quarterback Alex Gonzalez ran up the middle for a Seahawks score.
The game-sealing play came midway through the third quarter after a bad snap on a Tyner punt. Silverdale received the ball on the Rams' 4-yard line, down 11 points. The first play lost 4 yards. SBA then was backed up with a 5-yard penalty. A 3-yard run followed, and then came an interception that turned into a 60-yard touchdown run by Waight on the very next play.
"That was incredibly relieving," Coach Turner said with a smile. "He's a big-time runner. We just use him when we need to, because he has the ability to take it all the way at any time."
The Seahawks totaled 11 penalties for 90 yards. Couple that with three interceptions, and it adds up to a game that's pretty much impossible to win.
"That's probably the most penalties we've ever had," Silverdale coach Al Rogers said. "We had opportunities we couldn't capitalize on, and I think we're just going to take this and apply to next week because it's do or die now."
Both Tyner and Silverdale will close out their regular seasons with region games. Tyner will host rival Brainerd; Silverdale will be greeting Boyd-Buchanan.
Contact John Mitchell at sports@timesfreepress.com.