TUMWATER — East Valley’s dream season ended in nightmare fashion on Saturday afternoon with a 42-0 defeat at the hands of No. 2 seed Tumwater in the Class 2A state semifinals.

The third-seeded Red Devils, who came into the game allowing just nine points per contest, never found their rhythm and were completely overwhelmed on both sides of the ball against the 2024 runner-up Thunderbirds.

EV head coach Eric Berg reflected positively on what his team had accomplished this season, its best finish in 21 years.

“I’m really proud of everyone: the players and the coaches,” he said. “This was an amazing journey that we will not let one game define. I am blessed to have had the honor to watch these boys grow into young men.”

Playing in its first state semifinal since 2004, East Valley recorded only eight first downs — three after the running clock started late in the third quarter — and couldn’t keep pace with the battle-tested T-birds at Sid Otton Field.

EV (12-1 overall) started with a three-and-out and quickly conceded the game’s first score, a nine-yard touchdown run by Tyler Briscoe. The Red Devils nearly tied it up on their second drive, advancing the ball to the T-Birds’ 18 yard line before coming up empty with an incomplete pass in the end zone on fourth down.

Tumwater took over at its own 25 and drove the length of the field over the next four minutes, finishing the series with a 24-yard touchdown strike from Jaxon Budd to Wyatt Chase to make it 14-0.

On the ensuing drive, EV turned the ball over on downs a second time, setting up a 29-yard touchdown run by Grady Wall, who added the extra point to extend Tumwater’s lead to 21-0.

EV had a couple of big plays on the next drive — a 17-yard run by Braden Albrecht and a 28-yard pass play from Jaxon Berg to Greyson Stevens — but the offense failed to convert on fourth-and-6. 

That set up another T-Birds scoring drive, capped by a two-yard TD run by Peyton Davis with 15 seconds left in the half.

Tumwater wasted no time adding to its lead on the first drive of the third quarter, increasing the margin to 35-0 on a three-yard TD pass from Charlie Crawford to Chase. After EV’s fourth turnover on downs, Jayden Hinchcliffe punched in a two-yard run to boost the T-Birds’ lead to an insurmountable 42-point advantage.

The Red Devils’ offense appeared to be in business midway through the fourth quarter, picking up three of their eight first downs. But Tumwater’s defense proved to be too stout, forcing EV’s fifth turnover on downs.

The Thunderbirds advanced to next Saturday’s 2A state championship game at Husky Stadium, where they lost to Anacortes last season. They will face top-seeded Archbishop Murphy, a 59-17 winner over No. 5 seed Anacortes on Saturday.

Tumwater defeated Archbishop Murphy in the 2024 semifinals by a score of 42-0.