Kylan Touch provided his own record-setting touch to Aberdeen’s Homecoming festivities.
Touch racked up 521 all-purpose yards and scored a school-record seven touchdowns as the Bobcats celebrated Homecoming by taking a 56-34 shootout from Elma in a non-league football game Friday night at Stewart Field.
The seven touchdowns is a school record, according to AHS coach Kevin Ridout, but Touch’s other totals might make the record book as well.
Cutting away from defenders and breaking tackles seemingly at will, Touch rushed for 328 yards on 26 carries. The AHS senior also picked up 66 yards on receptions, passed for another 32 and added a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. And his mileage didn’t include a 59-yard scrimmage run and a 60-yard interception runback, both of which went the distance, that were nullified by penalties.
Ridout called it the best single-game performance he has witnessed in his long coaching career.
“He was a monster out there,” the Bobcat coach said. “He didn’t do it all alone, he had some great blocks out there, but he made things happen.”
Touch seconded the part about the team aspect.
“It was pretty cool,” he said about the experience. “I think it’s just teamwork. We’ve been working hard to get better and we stepped it up as a team tonight.”
Touch scored on scrimmage runs of 29, 9, 21, 37 and 6 yards. He was also on the receiving end of a 57-yard TD pass from Ben Dublanko and the 95-yard kickoff return.
“He’s a very exceptional high school player,” said Elma coach Ron Clark, a former head coach at Aberdeen.
It was a tribute to the young Eagles’ resiliency, however, that they were able to stay within striking distance virtually throughout.
With sophomore quarterback Cody Vollan passing for 161 yards and rushing for another 84 and running back Taitum Brumfield also nearing the 100-yard mark rushing, Elma actually closed to within a single score, at 42-34, when Vollan hooked up with Niall Baxter on a 7-yard TD pass with 8:44 remaining in the game.
The Bobcats, who never punted in the contest, put the ball in Touch’s hands on each of the six scrimmage plays following the ensuing kickoff.
His 37-yard scamper put the Cats (1-2) in scoring territory. Three plays later, Touch barreled into the end zone from 6 yards out.
Giovanni Pisani, 8-for-8 on conversion attempts, tacked on the PAT for a 49-34 lead with 6:11 on the clock.
Touch’s apparent pick-six on Elma’s first play following the kickoff, was wiped out by a block-in-the-back penalty during the return.
Three plays later, however, Dublanko faked a handoff to Touch and kept the ball on a 37-yard scoring run that put the game on ice.
Elma (1-2) was playing catch-up from the early stages of the first quarter after Touch’s 29-yard run and 57-yard reception of a Dublanko pass in the first quarter gave the Cats a 14-0 lead.
Brumfield, however, scored on a pair of 1-yard runs in the first half. Vollan hooked up with Carter Jacobson on an 8-yard scoring pass and ran 5 yards for another touchdown in the third quarter.
Alejandro Hernandez kicked four conversions for the Eagles.
“A lot of people made some big plays,” Clark summarized. “I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
The Bobcats venture outside Grays Harbor County for the first time this season next Friday when they travel to Castle Rock. The Eagles host Seton Catholic the same night.
(Travis Rains | Grays Harbor Newspaper Group) Elma’s Taitum Brumfield manages to hang onto the ball while Aberdeen goes for the strip.
(Travis Rains | Grays Harbor Newspaper Group) Elma’s Taitum Brumfield manages to hang onto the ball while Aberdeen goes for the strip.
(Travis Rains | Grays Harbor Newspaper Group) Elma’s Taitum Brumfield manages to hang onto the ball while Aberdeen goes for the strip.
(Travis Rains | Grays Harbor Newspaper Group) Kylan Touch avoids and breaks tackles as he makes his way to the end zone for the first touchdown of Friday night’s game.
(Travis Rains | Grays Harbor Newspaper Group) Kylan Touch avoids and breaks tackles as he makes his way to the end zone for the first touchdown of Friday night’s game.
(Travis Rains | Grays Harbor Newspaper Group) Kylan Touch avoids and breaks tackles as he makes his way to the end zone for the first touchdown of Friday night’s game.
(Travis Rains | Grays Harbor Newspaper Group) Kylan Touch avoids and breaks tackles as he makes his way to the end zone for the first touchdown of Friday night’s game.
