5 takeaways from the eighth week of football in the South Sound

Upsets ended years-long league winning streaks for two local teams, and two more are in position to repeat last year’s titles.

Here are five takeaways from the eighth week of high school football in the South Sound.

1. Black Hills snaps Tumwater’s streak

Tumwater’s reign over the Class 2A Evergreen Conference is over, and its crosstown rival got to break a league winning streak that dated back to 2009 and lasted 35 games on Friday night.

No. 7 Black Hills grabbed an early lead, and held on late to top the No. 2 T-Birds, 22-17, in the annual Pioneer Bowl rivalry game at Tumwater District Stadium.

Backup quarterback Jaden Cote finished 9 of 16 passing for 168 yards and three touchdowns in place of starter Ethan Loveless (elbow), and the Wolves (8-1) snapped an eight-game losing streak against their longtime rival.

“He’s played beyond his years,” Black Hills coach Kirk Stevens said. “He stayed locked in and focused all season long. When it was his turn, he stepped right in and took over.”

Cote was making just his third start, after Loveless, a Portland baseball commit, shifted to wide receiver to rest his nagging injury. Loveless hauled in four passes for 86 yards — including the game-winning 32-yard touchdown in the four quarter — against the T-Birds.

“That was probably the most exciting moment of my football career,” Loveless said.

This was also the first Pioneer Bowl win for Stevens as a head coach. He was formerly an assistant for the Wolves before taking over the program five years ago.

“We’ve been close a couple of times, but we couldn’t go four quarters,” he said. “With the buy-in we’ve had from the kids for our weight program, we knew we could go four quarters (Friday). There wasn’t going to be any backing up.”

Stevens was joined this season by former Capital coach J.D. Johnson — now the Wolves’ defensive coordinator — who coached against Tumwater’s Bill Beattie in the Spaghetti Bowl for a decade when Beattie was at Olympia.

Friday night, Black Hills held Tumwater’s vaunted wing-T offense to just 133 yards rushing.

“We stayed disciplined,” Stevens said. “Sometimes we’ve been able to do it, but not for long periods of time. This year we’ve been able to do it from start to finish. J.D. was locked in and on top of it all night.”

Black Hills is guaranteed at least a share of the 2A EvCo title with the win, and the league’s No. 1 seed, with just last-place Rochester remaining on the schedule. An share or outright league championship would be the first Black Hills has won since the school opened in 1997.

Tumwater still owns the all-time series lead, 16-4, but the win ended Black Hills’ longest drought in the series. Before Friday’s win, the last 2A EvCo team to top the T-Birds was Black Hills in the 2009 edition of the Pioneer Bowl.

2. Lakes downs Lincoln to end title drought

After a six-year league championship drought, Lakes coach Dave Miller was ready for the Lancers to return to prominence.

“We’ve had a drought,” said Miller, now in his 19th season with the program. “It was time. It was time to get it back, and I’m proud of our kids, they’ve earned it.”

Riding a five-game winning streak after opening the season with back-to-back losses, the ninth-ranked Lancers strode into Lincoln Bowl on Friday night and routed No. 3 Lincoln, 42-24, to remain undefeated in 3A Pierce County League play.

Lakes (6-2) clinched at least a share of the league title with the win, and the league’s No. 1 seed, and can win its first outright league title since 2011 with a win over over Wilson next week.

The Abes (6-2) were the back-to-back league champions, and had lost just one game in 3A PCL play since the league was created three years ago.

Lakes forced four turnovers against Lincoln’s typically explosive offense, converted three into touchdowns, and sacked Abes quarterback Caden Filer three times.

“It’s been (six) years since we locked up a league title, and we did it tonight,” said Lakes senior Khalil Lewis, who had two interceptions. “We set history tonight, and we’re about to put up a banner on Monday. It means everything, especially coming to their home and setting the tone.”

Lancers quarterback Liam Bladow finished 12 of 21 passing for 227 yards and three touchdowns — two to Daeshawn Wayne (27 and 26 yards), and one to Philip Riley (70 yards).

Camyron Gaulke recorded Lakes’ other three touchdowns on runs of 1, 1, and 23 yards. He finished with 67 yards on 10 carries.

3. Puyallup needs one more win for another undefeated title

No. 4 Puyallup (7-1) continued its dominant run through the 4A SPSL with a 55-6 rout of Curtis (5-3) on Friday night at Sparks Stadium.

Puyallup quarterback Jacob Holcomb, who leads the league in several offensive categories, recorded another impressive outing, throwing for 228 yards and six touchdowns, including three to Justin Haase.

Puyallup is guaranteed at least a share of the 4A SPSL title, and has locked up the league’s top seed.

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

The Vikings meet crosstown rival Rogers (5-2) next week, and can complete a second consecutive undefeated 4A SPSL run with a win.

4. Kentwood’s dramatic win shakes up 4A NPSL crossovers

Kentwood (3-5) has never had a losing season in the 37 years its football program has existed.

That streak is still in jeopardy, with the Conquerors guaranteed just one more game, but a last-second, 38-36 win over Kennedy Catholic (5-3) on Thursday night at French Field gave Kentwood some much-needed momentum.

The Conquerors limited the Lancers’ offense — which features the state’s leading passer in sophomore Sam Huard, who has thrown for more than 3,000 yards this season — to its lowest point total of the season.

Meanwhile, Kentwood racked up 525 yards of offense in its second-highest scoring game of the season.

Quarterback Jalin Church finished 12 of 15 passing for 232 yards and three touchdowns. Alphonse Oywak was his top target, hauling in five catches for 181 yards and two scores. And workhorse running back Gabe Johnson rushed for 200 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries.

Kevin Oywak got to play hero though, nailing a 26-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Conquerors to a win. They moved ahead of the Lancers in the 4A NPSL Mountain standings.

Kentwood is the No. 3 seed out of the division, while Kennedy drops to No. 4.

Todd Beamer (6-2) earned the division’s top seed, owning the head-to-head tiebreaker over second-place Enumclaw (7-1).

Twelve of the 16 4A NPSL teams will play for the league’s eight playoff spots in crossover games next week.

5. Fife, Steilacoom meet again for 2A SPSL title

Fife (7-1) and third-ranked Steilacoom (8-0) will play for the 2A SPSL title next week.

Sound familiar? That’s because the same two teams played for the league’s championship last year — with the Sentinels winning handily, 52-27, at Fife.

This year, Steilacoom hosts. The Sentinels remain the only undefeated team in Pierce County, and locked up their second consecutive undefeated 2A SPSL Sound title Friday night with a 51-7 win over Clover Park.

Fife won its second straight undefeated 2A SPSL Mountain title with a 35-17 win over second-place White River (6-2) on Friday.

Neither the Trojans nor the Sentinels have lost a league game since 2016.

This story was originally published October 21, 2018 at 9:35 AM.