Sumner has graduated its Power 5 recruits. But don’t count the Spartans out this season

Keith Ross and his Sumner High School football team aren’t panicking.

Sure, the Spartans have graduated some key Division I talents in the past two seasons in Connor Wedington (Stanford), Ben Wilson (TCU) and Tre Weed (Eastern Washington).

And yes, those players were big reasons Sumner advanced to the Class 4A state semifinals the past two seasons.

But does Ross buy into the perception that the Spartans will be down this year with those three all-state studs off ripping up college football fields? Not at all.

“We go back to what we’ve been doing before we had those guys,” said Ross, who is entering his 18th season coaching the program. “We win as an overall team with discipline and technique and pride. We’re still going to be Sumner.”

Ross pointed to several players who he says will make an impact for the Spartans this season Wednesday morning in the gymnasiums at Sumner Middle School — where the Spartans began their 2018 campaign to avoid the smoky air swirling outside.

He will look to senior quarterback Austin Grondahl to put his “cannon” arm on display in his first season as a starter. He expects running backs like junior Bryan Falk to churn out between 4 and 7 yards per carry and has a trio of tight ends he hopes to fit into several sets.

“Their job is not to be Connor or Tre or Ben,” Ross said. “We’re going to be more methodical this year, and technically not as explosive, but we’re going to be explosive in other ways. We’re going to run the ball and throw deep.”

Ross also has a secondary he believes can contend with any team in the state, led by juniors Donovan Clark, Mason Donovan and Blake Tannehill.

“A lot of people don’t realize we have a lot of threats coming up,” Clark said.

All of these players, and a few more, are who Ross expects to fill the holes those graduated stars left and continue Sumner’s string of consecutive state-playoff appearances, which dates back to 2013.

“We’re just going to fill some of those spots by committee, and the committee is being filled by guys that have been in the process for three years,” Ross said. “They’ve been lifting, they’ve been learning, they’ve been ready to go. We’re excited about them.”

Sumner also has a transfer from Alabama in junior Deontrea Stoudemire — who is listed as a wide receiver, but could fit in several places — who Ross expects to add a burst. Two freshman in defensive lineman Andrew Tillett (6-foot-2, 285 pounds) and kicker Wyatt Redding, who Ross says was putting kickoffs in the end zone in middle school, are also expected to make an early impact.

Ross still expects the Spartans to contend with the best in the 4A SPSL — arguably one of the toughest 4A leagues in the state each season — with his group. Sumner last won the league title two years ago, before Puyallup surprised some by sweeping the Spartans and Graham-Kapowsin in back-to-back weeks to win the title in 2017.

“We’re going to figure out what we need to do to be a good football team and take care of business,” Ross said.

“We’re trying to produce great high school players. College players produce themselves. We’re trying to win high school games, and you can win high school games with an (offensive) line and 4-to-7-yard backs.”

This story was originally published August 15, 2018 at 7:14 PM.