Manley: Curtis vs. Graham-Kapowsin matchup was the best of us, the best of community
At any Vikings game, match, or meet, Curtis High School athletic director Suzanne Vick is always moving.
Always talking to people, checking in with coaches, referees, fans, volunteers, scorekeepers. Always making sure everything is running smoothly and going to plan.
I hope she took at least a moment to pause and soak it all in on Friday night, when the Vikings hosted the Graham-Kapowsin Eagles in a football matchup between two of the top five teams in the state.
What a scene it was in University Place, where thousands of fans packed into both sides of the 2,500 seat stadium and a standing room only crowd formed around the fence line surrounding the stadium’s track. Sensing it’d be a hot ticket, I arrived an hour and a half early. The parking lot was already full.
The News Tribune sent reporters Lauren Smith, this writer and photographer Tony Overman to the big game. King 5’s Chris Egan was in the house, donning his instantly recognizable lemon yellow jacket. KIRO 7’s Chris Swanson was lugging his heavy camera around; SBLive’s Todd Milles and Hailey Palmer were in attendance, as were many others.
It felt like a state championship game atmosphere, with the media presence to match.
And the game on the field? That lived up to the billing, too. Two of the state’s best quarterbacks — Graham-Kapowsin’s Daveon Superales and Curtis’ Rocco Koch — dazzled, making one highlight-reel play after another. The talent was off the charts: players like Curtis receivers Parker Mady and Xavier Ahrens and Graham-Kapowsin receivers Malachi Durant, Jabez Woods, Khris Norris, Noah Fox-Flores and running back Alele Fa’apito all look like next-level players.
The teams went back and forth, with Graham-Kapowsin eventually coming out on top, 42-35. It was everything you could wish for in a high-stakes game. Those Curtis players should hold their heads high.
It was the best of high school sports, the best of us. Sometimes it feels like civic and community pride are hanging on life support. We disappear into our phones and our TVs and don’t engage with each other like we used to. We don’t come out to community events like we used to. I’m as guilty as anyone.
Friday night gave me hope. My wife teaches at a preschool in University Place. She heard about the big game, brought our two-year-old son and invited some friends. They had a ball.
After I had wrapped up postgame interviews, I watched my son run in circles in the end zone, smiling ear to ear. Maybe he was already imagining what it’d be like to be one of those Curtis players scoring a touchdown, sending the crowd into a frenzy. That’s the sort of magic only a community can provide.
