Led by reigning league MVP Peyton Wing, Sumner has all the pieces
Sumner’s Spartans view each day as a challenge and an opportunity.
It’s why a 4-2 season, good for third place in the 4A South Puget Sound League football race last spring, only fuels the desire to improve. It’s why the sweat pouring off the 110 or so players during the first days of practice in mid-August had those guys smiling.
“We attack every day,” said running back and linebacker Peyton Wing, the reigning league MVP. “We compete against us, to be our best selves.”
It’s why, even during a year when the Covid-19 pandemic took away a football season last fall and then any chance of a post-season last spring, the Spartans continued to hit the weight room as if the next game was on every subsequent Friday.
“We let our kids know that we could get an advantage,” Sumner coach Keith Ross said. “The kids have been working hard. I think it’s really going to show which schools worked for these 16 months. Because if you didn’t, you’re going to be way behind. And if you did, you’re going to be ahead. We lifted the whole time. We followed the protocol, but we made sure we are not going to fall behind.
“We know, we used this time to positively impact this season. It’s a little confidence-builder.”
It doesn’t hurt to have a large senior class returning, either. And it’s a class with talent.
Receiver and defensive back Tristan Dunn, a first-team all-SPSL pick on defense after the spring season, looked for ways to improve his training during the shutdown. A former Spartan star fell into his lap and gave him a new opportunity.
About the time the pandemic really hit early in 2020, Dunn came out to Sunset Chev one day and found a group of college guys working out. One of those people was Connor Wedington, back home from Stanford and getting ready both for his senior year with the Cardinal and afterwards the NFL.
“I was just fortunate to come one day and he was out here,” said Dunn, who first got a little advice about the future. “He said it was up to me.”
Then came opportunity.
Wedington told Dunn that he should come with the Seahawks free agent signee to train with Tracy Ford at Ford’s college and NFL training group in Bellevue. Dunn has been training with Wedington and that group ever since.
“Just being with Connor, he just has so much hospitality,” Dunn said. “That just kind of explains Sumner well as a town. It’s what we stand for.”
It’s why the Spartans are so excited for play to start in September, when fans will be allowed into Sunset Chev Stadium for the first time since 2019.
“We’d come out here and play in front of nobody,” Wing said. “It’s just great to get to play. But we do this for the community, the fans. On Fridays, it’s like the whole town lines up and comes out.”
Wing and Dunn are but two of a large senior group that feels it’s ready to roll in 2021.
Quarterback Bo Carlson, who broke his thumb three games into the spring season last March will be back under center. All-area tight end and defensive end Andrew Tillett, committed to the Air Force Academy, returns with his 42 tackles and 13 tackles for loss.
“This is a class we identified as freshmen and we knew that we would be really good at this stage,” Ross said. “I think we would have been really good last year, except Bo got hurt. It was hard, especially in that shortened season, not to have our starting quarterback. This is a group we’ve been waiting for and they’ve been working for it the whole time. Our expectations are through the ceiling.”
Even the kicking game is solid with all-area kicker and punter Wyatt Redding still in the fold.
“We have a lot of returning players,” Ross said. “I always tell the kids you can’t buy experience. You can’t go get trained on experience. The only way you can get experience is by playing on Friday night. That will come into play early in the season, too, because we have a lot of experience.
“Every chance you get, you’re getting better. That’s really our culture here. When a kid works hard, he’s going to have more confidence. And on Friday night, it’s all about which kid has more confidence. Sometimes talent, but in a good game it’s going to be the guy that does his job right and has the most confidence. That is earned through practice, reps and experience.”
SUMNER SPARTANS
Coach: Keith Ross, 21st year
Spring 2021 record: 4-2, third place in 4A SPSL
Offensive coordinator, base scheme: Zach Coop, Spread
Defensive coordinator, base scheme: Chris Paulson, 4-2-5
Top players: RB/LB Peyton Wing, 6-0, 215, sr.; WR/DB Tristan Dunn, 6-4, 190, sr.; K/P Wyatt Redding, sr.; TE/DL Andrew Tillett, 6-3, 290, sr.; QB Bo Carlson, 6-0, 195, sr.
Outlook: Carlson, who broke his thumb three games into the spring season last March will be back under center. All-area tight end and defensive end Andrew Tillett, committed to the Air Force Academy, returns with his 42 tackles and 13 tackles for loss. Sumner has the reigning league MVP in Wing, the all-area kicker/punter in Redding and one of the top recruits in the state in Dunn, who will play at Arizona State next year. All have years of experience, something Ross knows can’t be given or taught, but has to be earned.
This story was originally published August 24, 2021 at 5:00 AM.