5 takeaways from the high school football district playoffs in the South Sound

There will be plenty of teams to watch in the first round in the state playoffs next week, and a lot of them have the talent to advance further, so get ready for a thrilling November.

Here are five takeaways from the high school football district playoffs in the South Sound.

1. These teams punched their tickets to the state playoffs

Sixteen teams from the South Sound will be in the state playoff brackets next week.

Seeding committees set up by the WIAA will meet at the organization’s headquarters Sunday morning to sort out who plays who next.

But, in the meantime, here’s who the qualifying teams are, and how they got there.

CLASS 4A

The top three seeds out of the 4A SPSL — No. 3 Puyallup (9-1), No. 5 Graham-Kapowsin (9-1) and Curtis (7-3) — completed dominant wins to punch their tickets.

The Vikings piled up 683 yards of offense, led by quarterback Jacob Holcomb’s 509 total yards, to outshoot Kennedy Catholic, 65-35, at Sparks Stadium.

“We believe in our offense,” Holcomb said. “We trust in our offense more than anything. We believe that we can outscore anyone.”

Puyallup’s ony loss so far this season is to top-ranked Union. The Vikings completed back-to-back undefeated 4A SPSL titles to earn a favorable seed into districts, and return to the state playoffs for the second consecutive season.

Saturday, Graham-Kapowsin’s rushing attack combined for 454 rushing yards and five touchdowns on a 8.9 yards-per-carry average.

“The push is so good up front, and they do the majority of the work,” quarterback Dylan Morris said of the Eagles’ offensive line.

The Eagles scored on nine consecutive possessions before pulling their starters early in the third quarter.

This is the fourth season in a row Morris, a Washington Huskies commit, has paced the Eagles to the playoffs.

“It’s really exciting,” he said. “All of the guys are excited, and we’re just ready to move on each week, and take it as far as we can.”

Curtis, which grabbed the 4A SPSL’s third seed in a multi-drive Kansas tiebreaker on Tuesday, became the league’s third team to advance with a convincing 67-29 win over Kentwood.

Nine more South Sound teams in 4A — Auburn Mountainview, Enumclaw, Federal Way, Hazen, Kennedy Catholic, Kentlake, Kentwood, Rogers, Todd Beamer — are out after Week 10 losses.

CLASS 3A

Each of the top three seeds out of the 3A Pierce County League and 3A South Sound Conference advanced Friday night.

3A PCL champion No. 5 Lakes (8-2) routed Roosevelt, 55-15, at home in Lakewood. No. 6 Lincoln (8-2) blew by Prairie, 52-6, at Lincoln Bowl. And Bethel (7-3) picked up a dominant 50-15 win over Arlington, despite having to travel.

3A SSC champion Peninsula (8-2) knocked off Seattle Prep, 47-16, in Purdy. No. 9 Timberline (8-2) shut out Oak Harbor, 21-0, in Lacey. And Yelm (7-3) traveled to Seattle and edged Bishop Blanchet, 24-21, to end a three-decade state playoff drought.

Central Kitsap and Wilson are the only local 3A teams that were knocked out in the district round.

CLASS 2A

Four 2A SPSL teams, and two from the 2A Evergreen Conference, are through, and all won by at least three possessions.

2A SPSL champion Fife (9-1) made quick work of Port Angeles in a 56-7 drubbing, and hasn’t lost since its season opener.

No. 7 Steilacoom (9-1) topped Orting for the second time this season, 42-8, at home.

Eatonville (8-2) hosted Olympic, and ran away with a 64-27 win behind quarterback Tristan Schoepf’s 291 total yards and four touchdowns.

And Washington (6-4) stunned White River on the road, 27-10, after losing to the Hornets earlier this season.

Four more 2A SPSL teams — Franklin Pierce, Orting, River Ridge and White River — are out.

In Thurston County, crosstown rivals No. 4 Black Hills (10-0) and No. 6 Tumwater (9-1), both advanced.

Black Hills routed visiting Columbia River, 45-7, on Friday night to make its way into the bracket for the fourth consecutive season.

The following night, the T-Birds got a win at Tumwater District Stadium, holding off Tyler Flanagan and an improved Woodland team late to win 58-38.

CLASS 1A

No. 5 Cascade Christian (7-1) swept the 1A Nisqually League to secure a spot in the state playoffs. The Cougars’ most recent win over Port Townsend was a 40-0 shutout.

CLASS 1B

Tacoma Baptist (6-4) is the only local eight-man program remaining, and hasn’t secured a place in the eight-team state bracket yet, but shut out Oakville, 54-0, on Saturday to stay in the hunt.

The Crusaders play Neah Bay in a winner-to-state game next week.

2. Weaker league this year? The 3A SSC disagrees

For the first time since the 3A SSC made its debut in 2016, three teams will represent the league in the state playoffs.

Both Peninsula and Timberline — which were separated by a single point in overtime when they met earlier this season — are returning for the third consecutive season.

And, this year, a third member will join them.

Yelm, which caused a late shake-up in the 3A SSC standings late in the season with a win over the Seahawks, is back in the state playoffs for the first time in 31 years.

The Tornados grinded out the narrow win over Blanchet by pairing a solid defensive effort — the Braves were limited to three touchdowns, their third-worst offensive outing of the season — with more than 300 yards of offense.

Yelm made its only other trip to the state playoffs in program history in 1987.

“I’m so excited,” coach Jason Ronquillo said. “I’m so happy. These kids have been working really hard all year.

“This is for them, and this is for the entire community. This community needed this win, and the program is still rolling. We would like to keep it rolling.”

3. 3A PCL gets three through, too

The top three seeds from the 3A PCL are also heading to the state playoffs, giving the classification the most local representation (six teams) along with 2A (also six teams).

Bethel, Lakes and Lincoln each cruised to wins in the district round — Lakes and Lincoln at home, and the Braves up in Arlington.

The Lancers, who won an undefeated league title this season, are on an eight-game winning streak since dropping their first two games.

The Abes have one their last two games handily after dropping their only league loss to Lakes in Week 8.

And, Bethel is back in form after the return of quarterback Nate Hughes, who missed much of the middle of the season with a shoulder injury.

4. 4A NPSL goes a winless 0-8

Kentwood was the final 4A NPSL team to get punted from the playoffs Saturday night at French Field, dropping the 67-29 loss to Curtis.

And it was a double whammy.

The loss ended the Conquerors’ (4-6) season — the first losing season the program has had in its 37-year existence — and it meant the 4A NPSL went a winless 0-8 in the district round.

Kentwood was the only team from the 16-team super league to make it out of this round last season, with the rest of the seven qualifying teams losing.

No. 2 Lake Stevens shut out Kentlake, 56-0, and No. 4 Woodinville did the same to Federal Way, winning 38-0.

Four more teams lost by at least three possessions.

Enumclaw fell, 55-37, to top-ranked Union. No. 3 Puyallup ousted Kennedy, 65-35. Mount Vernon won, 47-6, over Auburn Mountainview. And the Vikings handled Kentwood.

Only two 4A NPSL teams played close contests.

Todd Beamer lost, 38-33, to visiting Skyline. And Hazen dropped a 30-27 loss to Skyview.

5. Huard’s season ends with more than 4,000 passing yards

Kennedy Catholic quarterback Sam Huard finished his sophomore campaign with another 500-plus yard passing performance Friday night against Puyallup.

The Vikings emphatically ended the Lancers’ (6-4) season with a 65-35 win at Sparks Stadium — where Huard was making his debut against the team his grandfather once led to a state title, and where his father and two uncles played quarterback — but Huard still turned in an impressive performance, finishing 34 of 55 passing for 526 yards and five touchdowns.

He cracked the top 10 on the state’s all-time list for single-game passing for the fifth time in his two-year career, and threw for 500-plus yards for the fourth time this season.

Huard finished the season completing 248 of 395 passes for 4,165 yards and 42 touchdowns. His single-season yardage places him ninth on the all-time list, just behind Skyline’s Max Browne, who threw for 4,182 yards in 13 games in 2010.

“He’s the best quarterback in the country. He’s the best quarterback in the state of Washington,” Kennedy coach Sheldon Cross said. “I’m so proud of him for the way he competed. He played great tonight.

“I knew this one meant a lot to Sam, and I’m proud of the way he played with poise all night. He got better every game. He’s a stud.”

Huard is 477 of 792 for 7,597 yards and 76 touchdowns in his young career, and already inching toward several all-time career records in the state.

Lakes’ Drew Miller is 10th on the all-time list, throwing for 9,003 yards in 36 games between 1993-96. Huard is projected to pass him midway through next season.

Shadle Park’s Brett Rypien (13,044 yards in 39 games between 2011-14) is the all-time leader.

Rypien also holds the record for career completions (1,006), while Prosser’s Kellen Moore is the career touchdowns leader (173).