Deer Park football homecoming 2023 saw the Stags score early, quickly, and often against Medical Lake. Late arriving fans may have missed the opening possession and score. The Stags took the opening kickoff and were on the scoreboard only 1:24 later.
Aidan Martin capped a four-play, 85-yard drive, connecting with Tyzer Coffin to cover the final 54. Coffin caught the pass in traffic over the middle amidst a congested Medical Lake secondary and displayed the speed he used as a state track relay medalist to score untouched.
Deer Park would reach paydirt twice more in the opening quarter, both courtesy of the legs of Jack Martinez. The junior scored on runs of six and eight yards, the second ending another short scoring drive of only 1:54 and four plays as the home squad led 19-0 after the first 15 minutes. He would add a third prior to halftime.
Quarterback Martin called his own number from three yards out for a 33-0 advantage. With the comfortable lead, the hard-working supporting players began to see substantial time on the field. One of them, Shaun Naccarato, put the game into running clock with his 18-yard scamper 1:23 before halftime.
The lone score of the second half was a two-keeper by Blake Berger before the Cardinals scored twice for a 47-14 final.
Martin finished 8/14 for 108 yards. Martinez and Naccarato each topped the century mark on the ground with 108 and 102 yards, just a portion of the team’s 277.
Top performers on the defensive side included Blake Berger, with four tackles, two for losses. Bryon Newby had three tackles, two for losses, and a sack. Nolan Wise had two tackles, one for loss and a sack. The Stag defensive unit limited the visitors to 128 yards of offense.
With the ledger even at a 3-3 record, the home stretch begins Friday with a final stand on the home field for the 2023 seniors against Newport before road trips to Riverside and Colville end the regular season. The top four finishers in the Northeast “A” League will face the top four from the Caribou Trail League in week ten, with the winners punching tickets to the 16-team state playoff bracket.
