High school football season preview: 3A/4A North Puget Sound League
High school sports have returned in the South Sound. After a shortened spring football season, we’re back to a normal calendar in 2021, with the fall football season kicking off this week. The News Tribune is previewing different high school football leagues around the area as games approach. Up first: The North Puget Sound League.
ONE LEAGUE, THREE DIVISIONS
The way the North Puget Sound League is set up for football is a bit complicated. Some of the schools are 4A schools, some are 3A schools. But in football, there are three divisions. The intent of the format is to promote competitive balance. The top 4A schools play in the red division, while the top three 3A schools play in the white division with the less competitive 4A teams. The remaining 3A teams play in the blue division.
That being said, there’s still crossover competition. Auburn, for example, plays in the blue division, but still has games against in-district rivals Auburn Mountainview (Sept. 24) and Auburn Riverside (Sept. 17).
The divisions look like this:
RED: Federal Way (4A), Kennedy Catholic (4A), Kentridge (4A), Kentwood (4A), Tahoma (4A).
WHITE: Auburn Mountainview (3A), Auburn Riverside (3A), Decatur (4A), Mount Rainier (4A), Todd Beamer (3A).
BLUE: Auburn (3A), Kentlake (3A), Kent Meridian (3A), Thomas Jefferson (3A).
For the sake of simplicity, we’ll look at things mostly along the lines of 4A and 3A. Ultimately, no matter the division, the 4A teams are looking for berths in the 4A playoffs, and the 3A teams are looking for berths in the 3A playoffs.
WHO’S THE FAVORITE?
In 4A, it’s a coin toss between Kennedy Catholic, last spring’s league champion, and Kentwood, last year’s league runner-up. Kennedy beat Kentwood handily in last spring’s meeting in March, 60-17. But that was with Sam Huard, a five-star recruiting prospect, who left the school as the state’s all-time career passing leader (13,214 yards), despite playing a shortened spring season. Kennedy also graduated Junior Alexander (Arizona State) and Jabez Tinae (UW) from last year’s team.
That’s a lot of firepower, so all indications point toward things being tighter this time around. Kentwood returns eight starters on defense, including senior linebacker DeAndre Gill, a UCLA commit. Teammate Elijah Mareko, another linebacker, moved from Hawaii to Washington before last spring’s season. He’s drawing interest from Oregon State, Eastern Washington and Boise State. And the Conquerors return starters on both the offensive and defensive lines, meaning this should be another typically physical Kentwood squad.
Kennedy Catholic, meanwhile, may have lost some star power, but there’s plenty to like coming back on this roster. Junior Mason Hayes takes over at quarterback, and he already has some starting experience under his belt. Huard left early for UW after breaking the state’s passing yards record and Hayes took over for the team’s final three games, completing 52-of-89 passes for 15 touchdowns and 949 yards. Senior receiver Lamont Richardson had 15 catches for 255 yards and four touchdowns — averaging 17 yards per catch — in the spring.
While coach Sheldon Cross’ Lancers grabbed headlines during the Huard era for the prolific air raid offense, defense might be the strength of this year’s team, with nine starters returning for Kennedy Catholic. Senior defensive backs Kieran Collins and Isaiah Malloe, who both had four interceptions apiece in the spring, highlight the group. Collins holds offers from WSU and others. Malloe is the son of UW assistant coach Ikaika Malloe.
In 3A, it’s another tossup between last spring’s champion Auburn Mountainview, and Auburn Riverside. Auburn Mountainview beat Riverside handily last spring, 52-13 in the season opener in early March. The Lions posted a 5-0 record, winning comfortably against every opponent. The only close game came against Kentlake, a 14-7 win in April.
But Auburn Mountainview loses some key pieces from last spring’s team, including Berkley Alfrey, the 3A NPSL MVP. He finished with 75 carries for 534 yards and seven total touchdowns to lead Auburn Mountainview’s offense, and added 50 tackles, including three for losses, a sack and a fumble recovery at linebacker. He was a first-team selection to The News Tribune’s All-Area team. The Lions also lose second-team All-Area selections Keanu Mailoto (defensive line) and DB/WR Teagin Child. But the Lions do return experience at one key position: Quarterback Kayde Bodine returns for his junior season, and he’s been starting since he was a freshman. Bodine completed 73-of-126 passes last spring for 1,016 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Auburn Riverside, meanwhile, returns its entire offensive line, as well as its entire defensive backs room. Left tackle Kone Aumua Uiagalelei, a two-time all-league selection, will be a two-way force for the Ravens. Ravens’ coach Greg Herd enters his second season, and says the team is much further along in picking up his system compared to last spring, which was a challenging setting for a first-year head coach to come into, with very limited practices ahead of the shortened season. Defensive backs Carson Brown, Andrew Butler, Thaddeus Umi-Tuato’o all return for the Ravens.
WHO ELSE COULD BE A CONTENDER?
In 4A, keep an eye on Federal Way. It’s Marcus Yzaguirre’s second season at the helm, and the Eagles have some talented pieces. Defensive back Andre Piper-Jordan Jr. was a second-team all-league selection a season ago and junior free safety Jaylon Jenkins will be flying around. Senior tight end Max Meagher and junior receiver Roman Hutchinson are a pair of talented pass catchers for Federal Way.
In 3A, does either Kentlake or Auburn sneak into the picture? For Auburn, junior quarterback Amari Goodfellow was the league’s defensive back of the year in the spring. The dual-threat QB broke numerous school records, including an eight-touchdown, 526-yard offensive explosion in a 58-55 win over rival Auburn Riverside last spring. And Kentlake returns senior quarterback Nate Beck, who was a first-team all-league selection last spring and has a firm command of the offense going into his final high school season.
SAVE THE DATE
4A: Kentwood at Kennedy Catholic — Saturday, March 27 at 1 p.m.
3A: Auburn Riverside at Auburn Mountainview — Thursday, Oct. 14 at 6 p.m.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
4A
DL Justin Ketzenberg, Tahoma, sr.
DB Kieran Collins, Kennedy Catholic, sr.
DB Isaiah Malloe, Kennedy Catholic, sr.
WR Lamont Richardson, Kennedy Catholic, sr.
LB DeAndre Gill, Kentwood, sr.
LB Elijah Mareko, Kentwood, sr.
TE Dorian Thomas, Kentridge, jr.
DB Andre Piper-Jordan Jr., Federal Way, jr.
OL Micah Banuelos, Kennedy Catholic, jr.
FS Jaylon Jenkins, Federal Way, jr.
DL Elijah Napihaa, Kentwood, soph.
3A
OL Kone Aumua Uiagalelei, Auburn Riverside, sr.
QB Nate Beck, Kentlake, sr.
QB Amari Goodfellow, Auburn, jr.
OL Malik Agbo, Todd Beamer, sr.
QB Kayde Bodine, Auburn Mountainview, jr.
LB Andrew Thompson, Auburn Mountainview, sr.
LB Keagan Williams, Auburn Mountainview, sr.
WR Thaddeus Umi-Tuato’o, Auburn Riverside, sr.
PROJECTED ORDER OF FINISH
4A: Kennedy Catholic, Kentwood, Federal Way, Kentridge, Tahoma, Decatur, Mount Rainier
3A: Auburn Riverside, Auburn Mountainview, Auburn, Kentlake, Todd Beamer, Thomas Jefferson, Kent Meridian
This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
