Next-man-up philosophy continues to work for No. 5 Graham-Kapowsin in win over Rogers

Earlier this month, fifth-ranked Graham-Kapowsin High School lost starting running back Aaron Olmos to a season-ending knee injury.

Thursday night in Spanaway, the Eagles watched Olmos’ replacement, Tommy Loa, leave in the first quarter after taking a helmet to his knee on a 13-yard touchdown run. He later returned to the sideline on crutches.

So, the Eagles sent 5-foot-9, 160-pound junior Shabro Johnson into the backfield, and he put on a show. Johnson rushed for 230 yards and three touchdowns, lifting Graham-Kapowsin to a 38-21 win over Rogers at Art Crate Field.

“Good speed, quickness, tough kid. He’s been waiting and waiting, and (he’s the) next guy up. That’s what our program is about,” Eagles coach Eric Kurle said. “Guys year in and year out have to be ready to play.”

Johnson consistently churned up yards and clock, carrying the ball 24 times, and scoring on touchdown runs of 61, 6 and 35 yards.

“Honestly, I’m just happy I got to step up and I’m glad that I did what I did,” Johnson said, noting that the Eagles’ offensive line created plenty of running room.

The Eagles (7-1) now sit alone in second place in the Class 4A SPSL with one week to go, and have heavily relied on their punishing rushing attack throughout the season, averaging 215.9 yards per game on the ground, and 6.5 yards per carry.

Olmos (92 carries, 641 yards, nine TDs) was one of the South Sound’s leading rushers through five games before his injury. Loa rushed for 201 yards and three touchdowns last week in a win over Curtis as the starter.

And the ground-and-pound trend continued Thursday, with the Eagles racking up 298 yards rushing.

Loa opened scoring on Graham-Kapowsin’s first drive before exiting with his knee injury, and carried the ball three times for 23 yards. Kurle said he expects Loa to return this season.

“We’re hoping he’ll be OK, and we’ll have him back next week,” Kurle said.

Rogers answered almost immediately with Makaio Gillespie connecting with Josiah Drain for a 42-yard touchdown three plays into the ensuing drive. Drain, who finished with a game-high 91 receiving yards on six catches, bobbled the ball in the end zone before eventually corralling it with one hand.

After forcing a punt, the Rams scored again on a 14-yard keeper by Gillespie early in the second quarter to take their only lead at 14-7. Rogers didn’t score again until the 1:25 mark in the fourth quarter, when Gillespie scampered in for a 10-yard keeper.

Gillespie finished 14 of 30 for 199 yards, the one passing touchdown and two interceptions. He rushed for 41 yards and the two scores on nine attempts, but also lost two fumbles.

Alema Gago led the Rams in rushing with 129 yards on 22 carries.

Following Gillespie’s first rushing touchdown, the Eagles scored four times before the Rams answered, including putting up points on three more drives before the half expired.

Johnson broke up the middle with 8:29 remaining in the second quarter for his 61-yard score.

Gillespie’s first fumble set up an eventual 23-yard field goal by Josh Williams on Graham-Kapowsin’s next drive. And another Gillespie fumble led to Johnson’s 6-yard touchdown run with 1:17 left in the half.

The Eagles took a 24-14 lead into the break, and Rogers never really threatened in the second half.

Washington-bound quarterback Dylan Morris, with his future coach Chris Petersen in attendance, punched in a rare 4-yard rushing touchdown on Graham-Kapowsin’s first drive of the second half.

And Johnson scored again on a 35-yard dash on the next drive to close scoring for the Eagles.

Morris finished 11 of 24 passing for 150 yards with one interception and the rushing touchdown, but his completion rate was skewed by several drops from his young receiving corps.

“He’s great. He never got down on them. He still kept them going,” Kurle said of Morris. “He worked hard with these guys and he’s going to get them going. They’ve caught the ball before. They were off.”

Kurle said the Eagles will work to clean up the drops before next week’s meeting with Sumner, which will determine playoff seeding.

“This game was huge,” Johnson said. “We came in, we knew we had to step it up, and we knew we couldn’t have lost this game.”

GK – Tommy Loa 13 run (Josh Williams kick)

R – Josiah Drain 42 pass from Makaio Gillespie (Austin Tugman kick)

R – Gillespie 14 run (Tugman kick)

GK – Shabro Johnson 61 run (Williams kick)

GK – Williams 23 field goal

GK – Johnson 6 run (Williams kick)

GK – Dylan Morris 4 run (Williams kick)

GK – Johnson 25 run (Williams kick)

R – Gillespie 10 run (Tugman kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Passing: R – Gillespie 14-30-2-199. GK – Morris 11-24-1-150.

Rushing: R – Alema Gago 22-129; Gillespie 9-41; Kyle Peter 1-(-3). GK – Johnson 24-230; Jake Porter 5-38; Loa 3-23; Malaki Roberson 1-8; Morris 3-(-1).

Receiving: R – Josiah Drain 6-91; Michael Dougher 4-67; Gago 2-21; Devyn Greenfield 1-17; Tyrese Rios-Trapp 1-3. GK – Roberson 5-63; Michael Kelley Jr. 2-25; Kobe Cressy 1-22; Eython Daugherty 1-20; Seth Olmos 1-11; Porter 1-9.