No. 4 Puyallup has back-to-back undefeated 4A SPSL titles in reach after rout of Curtis

It looked like it was going to be a shootout. For the first three minutes, anyway.

Then the No. 4 Puyallup High School Vikings (7-1) ran away with the game — and at least a share of their second consecutive 4A SPSL title — against the Curtis Vikings (5-3) at on Friday night at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup, a 55-6 shellacking that leaves another undefeated league season in play with just one game to go.

“It’s a great feeling, but we got a lot of work to do,” Puyallup quarterback Jacob Holcomb said. “It’s not over yet. We’ve still got next week (against Rogers). … Rivalry game. We’re going to be hyped. We’re going to be ready to go.”

Holcomb was certainly lights out for Puyallup on this night, throwing for 228 yards and six touchdowns. He got the scoring started with a precise throw to Justin Haase, who ran a simple slant, broke a tackle and then galloped 48 yards for a touchdown.

It was 7-0 Puyallup ... for exactly 46 seconds.

Curtis came right back with an explosive play of its own on the second snap from scrimmage, as quarterback Kyle Russell, an Oregon baseball commit, found Marlon Jones flaring out on the right for a 78-yard touchdown scamper, sprung by some key second-level blocks.

Unfortunately for Curtis, that was the evening’s only scoring highlight. Puyallup was suffocating on defense for the duration, snagging three interceptions and holding Curtis’ ground game to just 86 yards.

“Our kids had a fabulous week of preparation,” Puyallup coach Gary Jeffers said. “We did not play our best game the week before at South Kitsap. We really had to challenge our kids to figure out how to turn the switch on inside … and they came out this week and they worked their butt off, and I think we saw the fruits of their labor.”

Puyallup didn’t look back, scoring touchdowns on its next two offensive series’ — a 1-yard plunge by running back Kyle Cramer and a 10-yard catch from Haase on another slant — to build a 21-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Puyallup receivers were taking advantage of single coverage, racking up four first-half chunk plays of 19 yards or longer.

“(Curtis) plays a lot of off-man, which gives us an opportunity to get some one-on-ones with our guys,” Jeffers said.

“We saw our guys on their guys, we got a lot of confidence in our guys,” Holcomb said of the Curtis coverages. “But all that doesn’t happen without our O-line. They’re grinders, and they won us the game tonight.”

Indeed, the rushing attack enjoyed some big holes up the middle in the first half. Cramer, Puyallup’s speedy workhorse, turned 15 carries into 82 yards over the first two quarters, and Holcomb scrambled five times for 16 more.

But, it was the air attack that kept delivering the rain of touchdowns — a 19-yard catch by Darius Morrison, a 21-yard grab by Ethan Steward, and a sensational 39-yard scoring snag by Haase (his third of four on the evening) with 28 seconds remaining in the half.

Linebacker Danny Uluilakepa picked off Russell and returned it to round out the first-half scoring to send Puyallup into the locker room with a commanding 48-6 lead.

A running clock killed off the second half quickly, but not before Holcomb threw one last touchdown pass to Haase — a 51-yard strike on Puyallup’s opening possession of the third quarter.

Both teams began emptying their benches after that, with Holcomb sitting out the fourth quarter and Curtis’ Russell following suit.

Curtis couldn’t get anything going on offense. Running back Adrian St. Germain was stifled, and Russell struggled to move the ball through the air, at one point clocking 11 consecutive incompletions.

For Holcomb, Friday night’s festivities were a much-needed reset with postseason play looming.

“We’ve kind of had a slump for the past few games, even though the score didn’t really show it,” he said. “We really found our groove again this week. We’re excited for what the future has in store.”