Week 4: Takeaways from high school football in the South Sound
Week four of the high school football season in the South Sound and beyond is in the books. Here’s what we learned from an exciting week of action.
GRAHAM-KAPOWSIN’S DEFENSE IS ELITE
If it wasn’t obvious before No. 5 Graham-Kapowsin’s 27-13 road win against No. 6 Puyallup on Friday night, it was clear as day afterward: The Eagles defense is elite.
The defensive line stuffed the Vikings’ rushing attack, the linebackers tackled in space and locked down the middle of the field and perhaps most impressively, the secondary was lights out, never giving Puyallup’s receivers any breathing room.
When it was all said and done, Puyallup didn’t score an offensive touchdown in the game. In fact, Puyallup’s lone touchdown on the night was a pick six, a defensive score from Marquel Thomas in the first quarter.
“(The defense) was lights out,” said Graham-Kapowsin coach Eric Kurle. “We’ve known they’re a special group. We have defensive linemen and our linebackers and DB’s cover as well as anybody. We really dominated up front with our defensive line just getting after it.”
The secondary was particularly impressive, led by two-way player Malaki Roberson, corners Seth Olmos and Tino Hansen, along with safeties Billy Phinizy and Va’a Hansen leading the way. It’s a group that will get in your face and challenge you to beat them.
“We’re hungry,” Tino Hansen said. “We want to win and we’re aggressive. That’s how we play. I think our defense is special. This is the best defense we’ve had in a lot of years.”
There are plenty of great offenses in Class 4A. But defense? Defense travels. And in a wide-open Class 4A, it could be the key to a deep postseason run for Graham-Kapowsin.
“I think the defense is always the key,” Kurle said. “I always think if you’re physical on offense and dominant on defense, you can get a good win.”
EAGLES’ OFFENSE HAS PLAYMAKERS
Speaking of the Graham-Kapowsin offense, there was a question of how it would look after the departure of four-year starter Dylan Morris to graduation. Enter senior quarterback Nate Thomas, who grew into the game against a tough Puyallup defense.
Thomas finished 15-of-25 for 199 yards, two touchdowns and an interception that was returned for a touchdown.
He also rushed seven times for 41 yards, giving G-K a true dual-threat option at QB with some escapability. For a first-year starting quarterback trying to fill some big shoes, it helps to have some of the offensive firepower that G-K has in receiver Malaki Roberson and tight end Eython Daugherty.
Roberson was held without a catch in the first half, but came to life in the second half, hauling in five catches for 81 yards, and was also involved more creatively in the rushing game, finding space on reverses out of the backfield, finishing with four carries for 26 yards.
“Our coaches did a great job of play calling,” Roberson said. “They try to get me the ball as much as they can.”
Graham-Kapowsin’s offense looked out of sorts in the first half, struggling to put up points or move the ball. But once the team found a rhythm in the second half, the Eagles didn’t look back.
“We just needed to settle down,” Kurle said. “We were calling the wrong plays, flipping plays. Guys were running the wrong route, linemen going the wrong way. With a big game sometimes — we have three sophomore linemen and they were just trying to figure things out. We just had to settle them down.”
STEILACOOM BOUNCES BACK
After back-to-back losses to reigning 4A state champ Union and reigning 2A state runner-up Lynden, Steilacoom coach Colby Davies challenged his team to be tougher on defense, after having given up 88 total points in the previous two matchups.
The Sentinels answered the challenge with an impressive 30-13 road win against Fife, the reigning 2A SPSL champion.
“We know we’re good at running around and catching the ball,” Davies said. “We’re good in the air, and we’re good at defending the pass as well. We know we’ve got those guys. We’ve got to match physicality. That was something we learned last week against Lynden, for sure. We had a good week of preparation this week, and I think our guys understand what it takes to compete in a game like this, defensively.”
Steilacoom quarterback Chance McDonald had another good outing, completing 13-of-18 passes for 188 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Steilacoom emerged from a brutal three-week stretch 1-2, but the Sentinels should be more prepared for a postseason run now, given the level of competition they faced along the way.
TWO-HORSE RACE IN THE 3A SSC?
It certainly seems that way, after Yelm routed Gig Harbor at home on Friday night, 42-18. Yelm’s offense was explosive, scoring three times on passes of 17 yards of more and eight passing plays in double digit yardage on the night.
“We’re starting to open up the playbook. We’re trying to get the ball into places the defense isn’t and the kids executed that well tonight,” said Yelm coach Jason Ronquillo, whose team is 2-0 in 3A South Sound Conference play. Gig Harbor dropped to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in league.
Gig Harbor is still right in the thick of things, but with Timberline having a down year, the league appears to be setting up for a showdown between Yelm and Peninsula, the reigning 3A SSC champ. Peninsula breezed by Shelton on Friday, 55-0 and also moved to 2-0 in league play. The two teams will meet on Friday, Oct. 18. We’ll see if the league title is on the line at that point.
5-STAR RECRUIT SAV’ELL SMALLS IS STAYING HOME
The biggest news of the day came before any of the games had even been played. In a school assembly at Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien, Smalls was presented with a jersey for the Under Armour All-American game. That would have been a nice piece of news on its own, but Smalls upped the ante when he called over junior quarterback Sam Huard, holding the microphone and addressing the crowd with his teammate and 2021 UW commit by his side.
“We’re going to bring Montlake its first national championship since 1991,” Smalls said.
After a long and winding recruiting process, the highly sought after recruit verbally committed to the hometown Washington Huskies.
“To me, it was really a no-brainer,” Smalls said.
Smalls gives UW its 20th commit in the class, which is currently the top-ranked 2020 class in the Pac-12 and the 12th-ranked nationally, per 247sports.com. Smalls is the highest-rated recruit for the Huskies in the Chris Petersen era.
Smalls rejoined the Kennedy Catholic squad this year, transferring back to the school where he spent his freshman year after two seasons at Garfield High School in Seattle. Playing alongside Huard this season meant constant recruiting pitches from the future Husky quarterback.
“He did not let off,” Smalls said with a laugh.
Ultimately, staying close to home won out for Smalls, who will have the opportunity to play on Saturdays in front of his parents, Joseph and Sophia, and two younger brothers, Savion and Sincere.
“It’s huge,” Smalls said. “Not a lot of people really get to play at a stadium that is like five minutes from the neighborhood they spent most of their childhood in. Just being so close to home, and so close to my family, it means the world to me.
“All my life, I grew up in Seattle. I have repped it to the extreme. I’ve always said it is the best city in the world. There is no lie in that. I still believe that, and it is the greatest setting in college football.”
Reporters Aaron Lommers and Dave Weber contributed to this story