The Gig Harbor Tides played their playoff game at home at Roy Anderson Field on Saturday, November 4 at 2pm. The Tides hosted Marysville-Pilchuck in a single elimination battle in which the Tides couldn’t quite get anything going and fell to a 7-28 loss.

At the end of the first half there was no score at 0-0 as there wasn’t much offense for both teams, besides a few big plays by Marysville that were called back due to penalties. It was a struggle for the Tides to move down the field as their defense held their own in the first half. Marysville’s offensive lineman and defensive linemen just appeared too much for the Tides to handle throughout a majority part of the game.

In the second half of the game, Marysville seemed to have control of things on both sides of the ball. They opened up the half with two quick touchdowns to really gain momentum. The Tides did respond with a touchdown but that would be it for the day. The offense and defense clicked for Marysville as they would roll to a 28-7 victory over the Tides. When asked about their performance that afternoon, a spectator Colin Nelson (11) said, “They just appeared to have a lack of effort and they weren’t able to keep up pace with the other team the entire game.”

This season the Tides overall were able to place second in the South Sound Conference only behind Yelm despite a devastating first round exit in playoffs. With a 7-3 record, they exceeded expectations with a dramatic jump from last season, also included with a rivalry win over Peninsula in the 45th annual Fishbowl. Following the final game of the season, some of the players reflected on their time on the team, as some seniors talked about how much the team meant to them. “The team was able to have a successful year because we played together and fought hard. People thought we weren’t going to be good this year so we took that to heart and played with a chip on our shoulders. We also had some young young guys step up and play key roles on the team. It didn’t end the way we wanted but I think I speak for all the seniors when I say we are very proud of what we accomplished this year,” Josh Riggs (12) said. 

Another senior Quade Wyatt (12) also talked about the final game and said, “What messed us up was the amount of injuries we had going into the game. A lot could’ve been changed to have a different outcome but mostly I would say it was our run game that needed improvement that game to get our offense going.” When asked about the outcome of the season, Wyatt said, “I believe the work we put in during the offseason in the weight room and on the field helped us greatly going into the season and helped us persevere through adversity.” What the Tides were able to overcome this season hopefully can roll over onto the next season, as the younger players replace the current seniors. Big things are to come and the future’s looking bright for Gig Harbor football!