High school football season preview: 2A South 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 now underway. The News Tribune is previewing different high school football leagues around the area as games continue. Up next: The Class 2A South Puget Sound League.
WHO’S THE FAVORITE?
There’s no clear-cut favorite, but we like Enumclaw’s chances to win the league this season. The Hornets, which dropped down from the 4A NPSL during the last reclassification cycle, dropped close games to Steilacoom and Eatonville last spring. Steilacoom graduated a lot of talent, and Eatonville has since dropped to Class 1A. It feels like the time for Enumclaw to take the next step, led by explosive two-way talent Dylan Watterson, who plays defensive back, slot receiver and a little running back for the Hornets.
Malcolm Harper is a reliable presence at quarterback and the Hornets will pound the ball with Dawson Harding until opponents tire. No team will be better prepared for league play than Enumclaw, either, after facing No. 1 Tumwater in week one and 3A power Lakes in week two. The Hornets lost to Tumwater, before bouncing back to beat Lakes in a thrilling, back-and-forth contest. 6-foot-1, 245-pound nose guard Keanu Lafaele is a load on the defensive line for the Hornets, which take plenty of pride in their line play.
WHO ELSE COULD BE A CONTENDER?
Steilacoom, which won the league last year, and Fife, which is always in the picture. Even without 2019 TNT All-Area player of the year Emeka Egbuka last spring (he enrolled early at Ohio State), the reigning 2A state tournament runner-up was a force to be reckoned with, averaging 36.7 points per game in the spring.
There’s a lot to replace from that group, however. Quarterback Chance McDonald (Western Kentucky) and receiver Logan Brady (Central Washington) were the league’s offensive co-MVP’s in the spring. Receiver Tre Horner (WSU walk-on) and linebacker D.J. Fryar (Arizona) also graduated. There’s a change at the top, too. Former head coach Colby Davies left just before the season to take an assistant coaching job at Portland State. Kyle Haller, who has been an assistant on the Steilacoom staff, takes over this season.
Despite all that change, Haller feels optimistic about this year’s group of athletes, led by receiver Cole Miller, who was a first-team all-league selection in the spring. Miller, who’s also a standout track athlete, played behind Egbuka and Brady in the past and came on strong toward the end of last season. The defensive line should be a strong point, returning 6-foot-2, 313 pounder Sam Stowers, who was the all-league co-defensive player of the year last year, and first-team selection Nick Barnes.
Look out for Fife, too. Tumwater isn’t the only program in the South Sound that runs the Wing-T. It’s Kent Nevin’s 20th year at the helm of the Trojans program, and one thing has remained constant for the past two decades: Fife doesn’t have much interest in tossing the ol’ pigskin around. Fife will run, run and run its way to wins this season, feeding senior running back Tino Asoau behind linemen Clayton Barnett, Rodney Ortquist, Jacob Keeney and Christian Polo.
SAVE THE DATE
Steilacoom at Enumclaw — Friday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m.
TOP PLAYERS TO WATCH
WR Dylan Watterson, Enumclaw, sr.
QB Malcom Harper, Enumclaw, sr.
RB Dawson Harding, Enumclaw, sr.
DL Keanu Lafaele, Enumclaw, sr.
OL Sam Stowers, Steilacoom, sr.
DL Nick Barnes, Steilacoom, sr.
WR Cole Miller, Steilacoom, sr.
RB DeAndre Napier, Steilacoom, sr.
TE Matai Sarte, Fife, jr.
OL Christian Polo, Fife, jr.
DL Rodney Ortquist, Fife, sr.
DB Aidan Herd, Orting, sr.
RB Colby Lalone, Orting, sr.
DB Nate Peckham, White River, sr.
RB Payne Plaster, White River, sr.
RB Zavier Nixon, Washington, sr.
FS Jay’von Harrison, Washington, jr.
LB Hayden Hall, Franklin Pierce, sr.
LB Xavier Pulea, Clover Park, sr.
PROJECTED ORDER OF FINISH
Enumclaw, Steilacoom, Fife, Orting, White River, Washington, Franklin Pierce, Clover Park
This story was originally published September 16, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
