5 takeaways from the ninth week of high school football in the South Sound

Some playoff berths have yet to be decided, two teams made league history and the last remaining undefeated team in Pierce County fell in the 2A SPSL title game.

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

1. Three teams tied for two playoff spots in 4A SPSL

No. 4 Puyallup (8-1) wrapped up its second consecutive undefeated 4A SPSL title, and the league’s top seed, Friday night with a 27-3 win over crosstown rival Rogers.

No. 5 Graham-Kapowsin (8-1) locked up the No. 2 seed, pulling away from Sumner in the second half for a 35-6 win.

Both will host district playoff games next week — the Vikings against the winner of Saturday night’s Kentridge vs. Kennedy Catholic game, and the Eagles against Monroe (4-5).

But, what about the 4A SPSL’s other two coveted playoff berths? Those will be decided Tuesday.

Curtis (6-3), Rogers (5-4) and Sumner (6-3) all finished 5-3 in 4A SPSL play. Curtis lost to Sumner, Sumner lost to Rogers, and Rogers lost to Curtis. And all three teams lost to Puyallup and Graham-Kapowsin.

Instead of using a point differential to break the ties this season, Bellarmine Prep athletic director and league football commissioner Ed Ploof confirmed the three teams will play a multi-drive Kansas tiebreaker at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Art Crate Field in Spanaway, which is a neutral site for all three teams.

Curtis won the coin flip, so Rogers and Sumner play first in Game A. Each team will have two possessions from the 25-yard line to determine a winner. The winner of Game A secures a playoff spot. The loser plays Curtis in Game B, following the same format, for the other berth.

Seeding will then be decided by head-to-head competition. If the loser of Game A wins Game B, the winner of Game A is the No. 3 seed. If Curtis wins Game B, it will play the winner of Game A to decide the No. 3 seed.

The No. 3 seed will travel to Kentwood (4-5) next week, and the No. 4 seed will travel to second-ranked Mount Si (8-1).

2. Puyallup makes 4A SPSL history

Puyallup made 4A SPSL history Friday night, and the Vikings did it against their oldest rival. A win over Rogers at Sparks Stadium lifted the Vikings to their second consecutive undefeated league title.

Puyallup is now the only team in 4A SPSL history that has won back-to-back undefeated league titles on three separate occasions. The Vikings also won consecutive titles in 1996-97 and 2004-05. Federal Way (1975-76 and 2011-12) is the only other program that has accomplished the feat twice.

Kentridge (1996-98) and Bethel (2001-03) are the only teams in league history that have won three consecutive league undefeated division titles — during the years the league was split — but have never done it more than once.

The Vikings completed the 15th 4A SPSL title in program history — some have been outright, some shared — with a decisive win over the Rams.

Senior quarterback Jacob Holcomb, who leads the league in several offensive categories, finished 15 of 19 passing for 153 yards and 50 rushing yards on eight carries. Holcomb had a hand in each of Puyallup’s four touchdowns, passing for three (6, 20 and 20 yards) and rushing for another (21 yards).

“Every game in this league is going to be tough,” Holcomb said. “Rogers came ready to play. They’re a great team. We stepped up and we played hard tonight. We did what we needed to do.”

3. Fife spoils Steilacoom’s perfect season

No. 3 Steilacoom (8-1) was the only remaining undefeated team in Pierce County until Friday night.

Behind quarterback Gannon Ginnis — who rushed for a game-high 153 yards and scored three total touchdowns — Fife (8-1) hit the road and shocked the Sentinels, 28-16, to capture the 2A SPSL title.

The Trojans also spoiled Steilacoom’s bid for back-to-back undefeated league championships. The Sentinels routed the Trojans for the title last season.

“We were concentrating on us,” Fife coach Kent Nevin said. “We said we can’t be something that we’re not, so we’re going to be power football. We’re going to run right at them. We’re going to keep going at them, and that was the biggest thing.”

Fife piled up 275 rushing yards — mostly in the second half — and put together several long drives to limit Steilacoom’s offensive chances.

After taking a two-possession lead early in the fourth quarter, Ginnis picked off Steilacoom quarterback J.J. Lemming, and the Trojans pieced together a seven-minute drive on 12 rushing plays to end the game.

4. Black Hills wraps up first 2A EvCo title

A week after beating crosstown rival and then-second-ranked Tumwater (8-1) in the annual Pioneer Bowl for the first time in nine years, No. 5 Black Hills (9-0) completed its first ever 2A Evergreen Conference title.

And the Wolves have yet to lose a game.

Black Hills wrapped up its undefeated title with a 68-12 win over last-place Rochester (2-7) on Friday, and snapped an eight-season streak of Tumwater titles.

Taylor Simmons led the Wolves in rushing with 85 yards and a touchdown on five carries, while freshman Payton Hoyt added 74 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carriers.

Quarterback Jaden Cote finished 7 of 11 passing for 170 yards and three touchdowns.

Black Hills hosts Columbia River (5-4) at 7 p.m. Friday at Tumwater District Stadium in the district playoffs. Tumwater hosts Woodland (8-1) at 7 p.m. Saturday.

5. Who’s in, who’s out for Week 10?

The final two seeds out of the 4A SPSL may still be up in the air, but several other South Sound teams have already punched their playoff tickets. Here are the Week 10 matchups:

CLASS 4A

▪ Todd Beamer (7-2) will host Skyline (5-4).

▪ Hazen (6-3) will host Skyview (5-4).

▪ Auburn Mountainview (3-6) will host Mount Vernon (7-2).

▪ Kentwood (4-5) will host Curtis, Rogers or Sumner.

▪ Puyallup (8-1) will host Kentridge or Kennedy Catholic.

▪ Graham-Kapowsin (8-1) will host Monroe (4-5).

▪ Enumclaw (7-2) will travel to Union (9-0).

▪ Kentlake (6-3) will travel to Lake Stevens (9-0).

▪ Federal Way (6-3) will travel to Woodinville (8-1).

▪ Curtis, Rogers or Sumner will travel to Mount Si (8-1).

CLASS 3A

▪ Lakes (7-2) will host Roosevelt (5-4).

▪ Lincoln (7-2) will host Prairie (4-4).

▪ Peninsula (7-2) will host Seattle Prep (4-5).

▪ Timberline (7-2) will host Oak Harbor (7-2).

▪ Bethel (6-3) will travel to Arlington (7-2).

▪ Wilson (5-4) will travel to O’Dea (7-1).

▪ Yelm (6-3) will travel to Bishop Blanchet (5-3).

▪ Central Kitsap (6-3) will travel to Squalicum (7-2).

CLASS 2A

▪ Fife (8-1) will host Port Angeles (3-6).

▪ Steilacoom (8-1) will host Orting (3-5).

▪ Eatonville (7-2) will host Olympic (3-6).

▪ White River (6-3) will host Washington (5-4).

▪ Black Hills (9-0) will host Columbia River (5-4).

▪ Tumwater (8-1) will host Woodland (8-1).

▪ River Ridge (6-3) will travel to North Kitsap (8-1).

▪ Franklin Pierce (5-4) will travel to Sequim (8-1).

CLASS 1A

▪ Cascade Christian (5-0) has secured the 1A Nisqually title and a state berth, and plays a regular-season game against Port Townsend (3-5) on Saturday.

This story was originally published October 27, 2018 at 3:56 PM.