Week 1: What we learned from high school football in South Sound
Week one of the high school football season in Washington and the South Sound is in the books. The coronavirus isn’t done with us just yet, as the delta variant has sent cases and hospitalizations soaring in recent weeks. We’ll see teams forced to cancel games throughout the season because of covid and quarantine protocols; that’s just the new normal.
That being said, most of the country is trying to navigate a return to a more normal way of life this fall, and high school sports have followed suit. It was heartwarming to see fans in the stands once again at local high school football games throughout the weekend, cheering on their teams. As with everything over the past year and change — from dining in restaurants, to seeing movies in theaters, going to concerts, to grabbing a drink with friends at your favorite dive — it feels precarious. But we’ll soak in it while we can.
Here’s a few things we learned from the first week of action.
YELM LOOKS THE PART IN 3A
Yelm’s non-league matchup against Lincoln, from the 3A Pierce County League, was one of the area’s most intriguing week one games.
Lincoln has some star power: Junior quarterback Gabarri Johnson is considered a four-star recruit by 247sports.com. Receiver Chance Bogan is a UW commit. Defensive end Jayden Wayne is not only one of the top recruits in the state, but nationally (Wayne did not play in Friday night’s game. He recently had covid and didn’t have enough practices to be eligible for the game. He’s feeling better, he told The News Tribune).
Yelm might not have that type of national recruiting recognition, but the Tornados have a winning culture set in place by coach Jason Ronquillo. And they just play hard. There’s something to be said for that, as the Tornados beat the Abes 34-18.
Yelm does have one big-time recruit though, in sophomore running back/linebacker Brayden Platt. He already holds an offer from UW, and the 6-foot-2, 230-pounder will surely see more offers rolling in soon. He was the tone-setter for the Tornados on both sides of the ball in Friday’s win.
On offense, Platt rushed 16 times for 107 yards and three touchdowns, also catching three passes for 26 yards. And defensively, he was everywhere at linebacker making tackles, highlighted by a fourth-and-short stop in the second half, in which Platt completely blew up the play, lighting up the Lincoln running back and forcing a fumble and turnover on downs.
“I take quite a bit (of pride in setting the tone),” Platt said. “I might be younger than them, but we’re all like brothers. We grew up together. We’re all working together.”
Kyler Ronquillo, the reigning 3A SSC MVP, looked electric again in the opener.
He led the Tornados with 101 receiving yards on eight catches. With Ronquillo’s ability to stretch the field, combined with Yelm’s rushing attack, there’s a balance and unpredictability that makes Yelm difficult to defend.
Could this be Yelm’s year in the 3A South Sound Conference? The opportunity is there, with how good the Tornados looked in week one. Their biggest competition, Peninsula, which won the league in 2019 (the Seahawks played in the 4A SPSL last spring, as temporary members) struggled against visiting Bellevue on Friday night, losing 51-13. Bellevue passed the ball just once in the win; 60 of its 61 total players were runs. All of the Wolverines 445 yards came via the rush.
“Humbling,” Peninsula coach Ross Filkins said. “Hats off to Bellevue. They came out, they played their game. They did a really good job in their execution.”
Peninsula lost a lot of talent from last spring’s team to graduation, so it’s not surprising to see some early growing pains. Filkins and his coaching staff do an excellent job developing players, so expect there to be plenty of growth between week one and Peninsula’s meeting against Yelm on Oct. 22.
4A SOUTH PUGET SOUND LEAGUE FAVORITES WIN BIG
Graham-Kapowsin, Sumner and Puyallup all cruised past their week one opponents, as was expected. G-K, the state’s top-ranked team, beat Rogers 48-0. Puyallup beat Skyline on the road, 44-17. Sumner kicked off the season on Thursday against Emerald Ridge, winning 62-22.
For the Spartans, reigning 4A SPSL MVP Peyton Wing had 11 carries for 156 yards. He scored three touchdowns. For Puyallup, senior Jordan Dwyer was everywhere. On defense, he had two interceptions. He racked up 284-all purpose yards, returned a kickoff for an 80-yard touchdown and had an 82-yard touchdown catch. Quarterback Micah Balzarini, in his debut start, threw for 396 yards and two touchdowns in a 21-for-28 passing performance, and Ryan Cramer tacked on 15 carries for 116 yards and two rushing touchdowns.
The consensus is the top three of the 4A SPSL will be some combination of Graham-Kapowsin, Sumner and Puyallup. These games reinforced that notion. Graham-Kapowsin has Olympia up next, Puyallup faces Curtis and Sumner plays Rogers.
WILL ANYONE SLOW DOWN TUMWATER THIS YEAR?
It sure doesn’t seem like it. Tumwater, the state’s top-ranked team in 2A, claimed its 20th straight win, hammering Enumclaw (No. 10 in 2A), 56-6. The T-Birds, who won the 2019 Class 2A state championship and went undefeated in last spring’s shortened season, are the overwhelming favorite to defend their state title.
Tumwater hasn’t lost since November of 2018, in the 2A state tournament quarterfinals. Twenty times since then, Tumwater has beat its opponents. None of the games have been particularly close, either. In the 2A state tournament, Tumwater won its games: 56-7, 48-0, 55-7 and beat Steilacoom 48-34 in the championship game. Those scores, against the best teams the state has to offer in Tumwater’s classification.
And Enumclaw is no slouch, either. The Hornets are picked by many to win the 2A South Puget Sound League this season. They’re ranked in the top ten in the state. They have experience, good line play, they’re well coached.
None of that mattered on Friday night against the Tumwater Wing-T machine. Enumclaw came out swinging, scoring a touchdown on the first possession of the game. Tumwater’s answer? 56 unanswered points.
As usual, Tumwater has a stellar offensive line and a deep stable of running backs. With 10 players getting at least one carry, the T-Birds totaled 367 yards rushing.
Senior Payton Hoyt, who began his career at rival Black Hills, led the way with 10 carries for 142 yards and four touchdowns. Carlos Matheney was right behind with 10 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown. Karson Schreiner made the most of three carries, scoring two touchdowns.
Dare we start talking about the all-time state winning streak? That’d be from Bellevue, which set the record with 67 straight. Tumwater still has a long way to go to come anywhere near that number, but it’s fun to think about.
BELLARMINE AND OLYMPIA DELIVER DRAMA
Again, the consensus is that the top three of the 4A SPSL standings will likely be some combination of Graham-Kapowsin, Sumner and Puyallup. Anything could happen, of course, but as things stand, it looks like Bellarmine, Olympia and Emerald Ridge are among the teams that are vying for that fourth spot.
Bellarmine took a big step toward reaching that goal on Saturday night at Memorial Field, coming back to beat Olympia, 30-27. Tyler Stowers connected with Ty Faker for the game-winning score with 2:13 to go in the fourth quarter. Stowers is Bellarmine’s third-string QB. He came into the game after Tristan Warner (collarbone) and backup Payton Faker (ribs) left with injuries, Scorebook Live’s Todd Milles reported.
It’s a long season, but there’s a good chance we’ll look back at this game as an important one in determining the league’s final standings.
Miss any of our coverage from the weekend? Head over to www.thenewstribune.com/sports/high-school for game stories, video interviews, highlights, photos, a statewide scoreboard and more.
Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that Sumner’s Peyton Wing had 204 rushing yards. He had 156.
This story was originally published September 6, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
