By BILL CHRISTIANSON
Reporter Newspapers
Stephen Nasca ended what he called a scoring curse and Cameron Hunt uncorked a jaw-dropping, highlight-reel touchdown run as Eastlake put its offense on full display Friday night.
Nasca and Hunt each scored three touchdowns as the Wolves ran past Redmond, 55-37, in their 4A Kingco Crest Division home opener. The Wolves, who improved to 3-1 overall, gave their fired-up fans plenty of reasons to cheer.
“You look at it from the offensive side of things and it was a pretty exciting night,” said Eastlake coach Gene Dales, whose team racked up 472 yards of offense. “We made some nice big plays offensively and a lot of kids contributed to our success.”
One of the main contributors was Nasca, a senior captain running back who entered Friday’s game without a touchdown this season.
“I wanted to step up a little bit,” Nasca said. “I had a lot of yards in the first few games, but I just couldn’t get in (to the end zone). All my friends were talking about it. It was kind of like a curse.
“I had my mind set before the game that I was going to get at least one tonight. Turned out to be two or three actually.”
Nasca, 5-foot-9, 185 pounds, scored his first touchdown on a 31-yard screen play from senior quarterback Drake Furcini. Nasca later scored on a 2-yard plunge and he capped his scoring spree with a 69-yard run that gave the Wolves a 48-24 lead late in third quarter. Nasca finished with 101 yards rushing.
“It was a nice reward for Stephen,” Dales said. “He was determined to get into the end zone.”
While Nasca finally broke his scoring slump, Hunt electrified the crowd with some dazzling running.
Hunt, a 6-0, 195-pound junior running back, opened the scoring with an 8-yard run and then added a 25-yard touchdown scamper later in the first quarter. But the touchdown everyone is still talking about was his 50-yard run with 2.3 seconds left in the first half that gave the Wolves a 28-10 lead heading into halftime.
Hunt took the hand off with about 15 seconds left in the half and he scooted down the sideline before breaking three tackles in the final 10 yards and slipping into the end zone.
“Cam made a phenomenal run at the end of the first half,” said Dales. “That was one of the best runs I’ve ever seen.”
Hunt finished with 125 yards rushing. Furcini scored on a 1-yard plunge for the Wolves and later threw a perfect 38-yard strike to Paul Wright to cap the scoring for Eastlake.
The Wolves struggled to slow down Redmond’s passing combination of David Gilbertson and Cameron Sandquist, but did contain the Mustangs’ rushing attack to 10 yards.
Gilbertson completed 24 of 31 passes for 323 yards and three touchdowns – all to Sandquist, who finished with 245 yards on 14 catches.
But most important in the eyes of Dales is the fact that the Wolves won their first Kingco game, an important step toward the playoffs.
“It was our first league win and we’re real excited about that,” Dales said. “The key is going to be getting one of those top four spots, so you have a playoff opportunity. This was a big step in getting there right now.”
Eastlake plays host to undefeated Issaquah (4-0, 1-0) at 7 p.m. today. The Eagles blasted Garfield, 55-14 in their Crest Division opener last Friday.
“We got four league games to go and we have to make the most of it,” Dales said.
