High school football season preview: 3A Pierce County 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 now underway. The News Tribune is previewing different high school football leagues around the area as games continue. Up next: The Class 3A Pierce County League.
WHO’S THE FAVORITE?
Spanaway Lake, which stunned presumptive favorite Lincoln in week one of last spring’s shortened season, beating the Abes 34-7 at Lincoln Bowl. It was a breakout party for the Sentinels, who didn’t stop there. Spanaway Lake went on to a 6-0 season last year, conceding just 14 total points in the six-game slate.
A big reason why the Sentinels were so stingy on defense: There might not be a better defensive backs group in the state. Senior safety KeeKee McQueen, a Nevada commit, flies all over the field and four-star recruit Jasiah Wagoner is the definition of a lockdown corner and is the reigning 3A PCL MVP.
These guys won’t back down from anybody. At times, Sentinels coach Cameron Robak has to break up the receivers and defensive backs in practice. It can get heated.
“It’s just something we haven’t had before,” Robak told The News Tribune in August. “We’ve had guys before, but their attitude of like, ‘Line somebody up against me.’ These guys go at it in practice all the time. They want 1-on-1s the whole practice. If I said we were doing three hours of 1-on-1s, they would do it. “They go at it, they fight, they bicker and they chip but then at the end of the day, they’re like, ‘Hey, we got better. We’re brothers and we’re making each other better.’ I love it.”
Junior quarterback Dempsy James, who has started at QB since his freshman year, was the league’s offensive MVP in the spring. He passed for 1,158 yards and 17 touchdowns to just three interceptions.
Spanaway Lake will have to wait to start its much-anticipated 2021 fall campaign. The Sentinels were sidelined and had to cancel their first two games due to a covid issue. They’ll open on Sept. 17 against Silas (formerly Wilson) High School.
WHO ELSE COULD BE A CONTENDER?
Stop us if you’ve heard this before: Lincoln and Lakes. The perennial league contenders will be in the mix once again. There’s perhaps no team in the league with more star-power on its roster than Lincoln. Quarterback Gabarri Johnson is considered a four-star recruit by 247sports.com and the fifth-rated recruit in the 2023 class in Washington. He holds offers from Oregon, Arizona State and others. Defensive end Jayden Wayne is considered a four-star recruit in 247’s rankings and a five-star recruit in composite rankings. The 6-foot-5, 245-pounder, who also plays receiver for Lincoln, holds 33 offers, from the likes of Alabama, Notre Dame, UW and others. And tight end Chance Bogan is a UW commit. Lincoln was fresh off a state tournament semifinal appearance in 2019 and rostered a young squad during the 2021 spring season, without Julien Simon, who decided not to play in the spring, opting to enroll early at USC instead. There were some growing pains with how young Lincoln was this year. But with Johnson having a more firm command of the offense and more players now upperclassmen, the Abes like their chances to get back on top of the 3A PCL.
The big boost for Lakes this season is the return of ultra-versatile Devon Nofoa-Masoe, who missed last spring with an ACL injury. Nofoa-Masoe was a first-team selection to The News Tribune’s 2019 All-Area team as a sophomore, when he rushed 78 times for 786 yards and 12 touchdowns, caught 24 passes for 396 yards and four touchdowns and had 48 tackles on defense. He was also the team’s punter and returned kicks. His return gives senior quarterback Justin Brennan a unique weapon at his disposal. And Brennan will have full command of the offense in his senior season, after starting the past two seasons for the Lancers. Expect a big season.
SAVE THE DATE
Lincoln at Spanaway Lake — Thursday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m.
TOP PLAYERS TO WATCH
QB Gabarri Johnson, Lincoln, jr.
TE Chance Bogan, Lincoln, sr.
DE Jayden Wayne, Lincoln, jr.
DB KeeKee McQueen, Spanaway Lake, sr.
DB Jasiah Wagoner, Spanaway Lake, jr.
QB Dempsy James, Spanaway Lake, jr.
LB Eugene Camacho, Spanaway Lake, jr.
DL TJ Fiame, Spanaway Lake, jr.
DL Trishion Sullivan, Spanaway Lake, sr.
OL Noah Ruiz, Spanaway Lake, jr.
RB Devon Nofoa-Masoe, Lakes, sr.
OL Noah Koke-Mauga, Lakes, sr.
QB Justin Brennan, Lakes, sr.
DB Michael Westbrook, Lakes, sr.
WR David Wells, Lakes, jr.
RB Leo Pulalasi, Lakes, jr.
RB Navarre Dixon, Lincoln, soph.
OL Tua Tauiliili, Lincoln, sr.
TE Thomas Drenkel, Bonney Lake, jr.
RB Mason McBride, Bonney Lake, jr.
DB Connor Goff, Bonney Lake, sr.
LB Luke Woodworth, Bonney Lake, sr.
PROJECTED ORDER OF FINISH
Spanaway Lake, Lincoln, Lakes, Bonney Lake, Silas, Mount Tahoma, Stadium
