High school football state quarterfinals South Sound preview
The state quarterfinal round of Washington’s high school football state tournaments is here, with plenty of South Sound teams still in the hunt for titles this fall. Here’s what to watch for this weekend, with our picks of which teams will move on to the state semifinals.
CLASS 4A
No. 7 Puyallup at No. 2 Camas
2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23 at Doc Harris Stadium
About the matchup: It was about as nail-biting a finish as they come last week at Sparks Stadium, when No. 7 Puyallup came out on top against No. 10 Eastlake, 40-34, in a game that went down to the final play, when Eagles quarterback Grady Robison fired into the end zone from 35 yards out as time expired, his pass falling incomplete and sealing the win for the Vikings.
Puyallup will hope for a better trip down south this year, after losing to Union in the state semifinals last season on the road, 35-28.
It’ll be a tough task, with Camas’ big offensive line leading the way for the Papermakers. Camas lost starting quarterback Jake Blair to a broken collarbone in week eight, but backup Blake Ascuitto has been solid since taking over. In last week’s 41-0 win over Eastmont, Ascuitto completed 15-of-21 passes for 232 yards.
Camas uses a stable of backs in the running game, led last week by Jacques Badolato-Birdsell, who rushed 17 times for 99 yards and three touchdowns.
TNT pick: Camas, 28-27
No. 5 Bothell at No. 4 Graham-Kapowsin
1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23 at Art Crate Field
About the matchup: Graham-Kapowsin (11-0) is still perfect this season after last week’s 41-17 state tournament opening-round win over Gonzaga Prep. Running back Shabro Johnson rushed 22 times for 211 yards and a touchdown in the win.
The Eagles have an elite defense, quarterback Nate Thomas hasn’t missed a beat since taking over for current UW QB Dylan Morris and receiver Malaki Roberson is a highlight machine.
Bothell finished on top of the 4A KingCo - Crown division this year, beating Woodinville 33-29 on Oct. 11 to give the Cougars the edge in the league, and beat Kentwood last week in the state tournament first round, 17-14.
TNT pick: Graham-Kapowsin, 35-21
No. 8 Woodinville at No. 1 Kennedy Catholic
7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23 at Renton Memorial Stadium
About the matchup: Kennedy Catholic started a bit slow out of the gate last week against No. 16 Wenatchee, but eventually came away with a comfortable 49-20 win. Quarterback Sam Huard, a UW commit, completed 16-of-33 passes for 271 yards and four touchdown in the win, also rushing for a touchdown. Five-star outside linebacker and fellow UW commit Sav’ell Smalls showed what he could do on offense, rushing five times for 32 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the win.
Woodinville came away with a convincing 38-17 win over Skyview in the first round. The 4A KingCo runner-up to Bothell has been on a roll lately, beating Emerald Ridge 45-21 in the district playoffs before last week’s win over Skyview. Woodinville running back Joey Johnson rushed 24 times for 154 yards in last week’s win.
TNT pick: Kennedy Catholic, 31-24
CLASS 3A
No. 6 Marysville-Pilchuck at No. 3 Lincoln
1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23 at Lincoln Bowl
About the matchup: Lincoln won comfortably in last week’s state opener against Seattle Prep, 49-28.
Abner Sio-Fetaui, the 3A Pierce County League’s MVP, rushed 13 times for 168 yards and three touchdowns in the win. With Sio-Fetaui turning into a workhorse back this season, Lincoln’s run-pass balance makes the Abes a matchup nightmare, with senior quarterback Caden Filer (2,937 yards and 34 touchdowns) spinning the ball to a number of explosive receivers, led by Julien Simon (807 yards, 9 TD), Jasiah Snow-Marshall (706 yards, 8 TD) and Jaylen Clark (663 yards, 10 TD).
Marysville-Pilchuck was the clear class of the poorly-regarded 3A Wesco this year, rolling through the league with a 6-0 record and beating league runner-up Arlington, 42-14. The Tomahawks ripped off a 37-30 win over Prairie, which answered some questions about how good this team is, given how weak the Wesco was this year. But this week will be another test altogether against the Abes, who seemed prime to break through to the school’s first-ever state semifinal appearance.
TNT pick: Lincoln, 42-28
No. 5 Kennewick at No. 4 Bethel
6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23 at Art Crate Field
About the matchup: 3A PCL runner-up Bethel pitched a shutout last week, blanking Garfield, 21-0 in the opening round of the state tournament. Braves’ edge rusher Davauntae Holden racked up four sacks and eight tackles in the win.
And if you needed a reminder, Bethel has the talent to hang with anyone in the state. Remember, this is a team that lost to Class 4A No. 1 seed Kennedy Catholic by five points in the season opener, and to Class 3A No. 1 seed O’Dea by 13 points in the next week. The talent is there, and if Bethel puts it all together, this team can beat anyone in the state on any given night. Junior running back Will Latu, the PCL offensive back of the year, has seven touchdowns in the team’s two playoff games, and has 19 offensive touchdowns this year.
First-year starting quarterback Kekoa Visperas has been a natural fit for the Braves, receiver Cameron Parker has had back-to-back 900 yard, 10 touchdown seasons and the defense, led by defensive back Peter Latu, linebacker Oge Feo and defensive lineman Robert Cooper, a Boise State commit, will keep Bethel in any game.
Kennewick escaped with a 35-34 overtime win over No. 12 Yelm in the opening round of state tournament last week, with Myles Mayovsky rushing 21 times for 118 yards in the win, and quarterback Elijah Tanner completing 16-of-25 passes for 239 yards.
TNT pick: Bethel, 35-14
CLASS 2A
No. 7 Prosser at No. 2 Steilacoom
7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 22 at Mount Tahoma High School
About the matchup: It’s one of the only football games in the state being played on Friday night, giving anyone in the area who wants to see the Emeka Egbuka show a chance to do so on Friday night.
Egbuka, a five-star receiver and one of the country’s top athletes, had another big outing in last week’s 42-21 opening round win over Ridgefield, only playing in the first half of the blowout win, which Steilacoom led, 42-0 at halftime. In the first half, Egbuka caught six passes for 107 yards and a touchdown, rushed twice for 12 yards and a touchdown and had a punt return touchdown for the Sentinels.
Simply put, he is one of the state’s most explosive and exciting players and for Prosser, it’ll be a big challenge to come up with a gameplan to slow him down.
Prosser, the CWAC South champion, came away with a 41-23 over Caden Jumper and Eatonville last week in the opening round. Mustangs’ senior running back Logan Candanoza rushed for 210 yards and three touchdowns in the win and sophomore quarterback Kaiden Rivera — who was elevated to a starting role after an injury to to Prosser’s starting QB — completed 30-of-37 passes for 272 yards.
TNT pick: Steilacoom, 49-28
No. 8 Archbishop Murphy at No. 1 Tumwater
1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23 at Tumwater High School
About the matchup: Six times in the past nine years, the T-Birds have played the Wildcats during the state playoffs. Four times, Tumwater has prevailed, including a shocking 10-6 upset over a 2017 Murphy team led by current University of Washington cornerback Kyler Gordon.
That win vaulted the T-Birds into the state championship game in Bill Beattie’s first season as head coach.
On the other hand, the losses have stung. The year before, the Wildcats brought Gordon and a monstrous offensive line into Tumwater District Stadium and sent Washington’s all-time winningest coach, Sid Otton, into retirement with a 48-10 pounding.
Tumwater’s Wing-T rushing attack has proven unstoppable so far this year. The T-Birds are averaging 51 points per game this season, including a 56-7 blowout over Franklin Pierce last week in the state tournament opening round.
The defense, meanwhile, has been just as strong, conceding just 26 total points in the past five games, including two shutouts.
Archbishop Murphy, by its lofty standards, has had something of a down year, finishing 8-2 with losses to Lakewood and Sedro-Woolley, but the Wildcats are still plenty dangerous and have showed that the past two weeks, beating Sedro-Woolley, 23-6 to get some payback, before a 46-0 win over North Kitsap last week in the state tournament opening round.
TNT pick: Tumwater, 31-24
