Streak snapped: 3 takeaways from Sumner’s 26-21 valley battle win over rival Puyallup
Sumner High School’s road football game against Puyallup was billed as one of the top games in the Class 4A South Puget Sound League this fall. The annual valley battle rivalry game at Sparks Stadium on Friday night didn’t disappoint.
Lead changes. Drama. Clutch performances. There was a fireworks show at the fairgrounds shortly after the game concluded. No correlation, sure, but let’s pretend it was a celebration of a fantastic high school football game.
It came down to the final play, with Puyallup having one last chance to score the game-winning touchdown on fourth down from the Sumner 22-yard line. Quarterback Micah Balzarini scrambled to his left and heaved a throw to the end zone. It was batted down, with Sumner hanging on to win, 26-21.
“I’m always thinking — as a defensive guy — I always want my defense in that position to win us the game and then I’m thinking, ‘Ooh, maybe I didn’t,’” Sumner coach Keith Ross said, laughing. “When he scrambled, it was scary because maybe somebody would leave somebody. But we got a body on him, Wing got on him and he threw it up high.”
“We talked about kids being legendary tonight. These are games that we’ll talk about for 10 years. Who made the plays against Puyallup to get the win?”
Here’s what we learned from the Spartans’ win.
PEYTON WING KEPT KNOCKING ON THE DOOR. THEN HE BLEW IT OPEN
For most of the night, Puyallup’s defense did an admirable job locking down Peyton Wing, Sumner’s running back and the reigning 4A SPSL MVP. He had managed a modest 60 yards on 16 carries, which by his standards, was a quiet night.
Then in the fourth quarter, Wing took a run off the left tackle and broke it 23 yards for what ultimately became the game-winning touchdown.
“It’s a game of inches with this team,” Wing said. “It’s two legit teams going at it. It’s whoever is going to be mentally tough the whole game. We stuck through it.”
Ross knew his players would have their hands full with a big, physical defensive front from Puyallup.
“They’re big up front,” Ross said. “We knew that. We thought we could run our inside zone but they were stuffing it. We ran an outside zone which we just started running a couple weeks ago and that’s what Wing scored on. I saw him get around and was like, ‘Ooh, he’s got the first down.’ Then I saw him break a tackle and said there he is. He’s money. That is a warrior. That’s a spartan warrior. He’s trained for years for this. It paid off tonight.”
PLENTY TO LIKE FROM PUYALLUP
The Vikings will be disappointed their win streak against rival Sumner was snapped at four. But there was plenty to like from Puyallup, despite the loss. The defensive line played lights out. Balzarini showed glimpses of his arm strength, making some difficult throws against a talented Sumner secondary.
And Jordan Dwyer is flat out one of the top playmakers in the SPSL and the area. Dwyer racked up 106 yards on just five catches, his first catch of the night going for 71 yards. He has the respect of Sumner’s players, too. On the final play of the game, Sumner double-teamed Dwyer. If they were going to get beaten, it wasn’t going to be by Dwyer.
“He’s a stud,” Wing said of Dwyer. “He’s legit.”
SUMNER HAS THE PIECES TO MAKE A RUN. A MATCHUP WITH GRAHAM-KAPOWSIN LOOMS LARGE
This felt like it’d be Sumner’s year. On paper, it’s a senior heavy roster with a lot of talented pieces. Like Wing, the reigning league MVP. And defensive lineman Andrew Tillett, an Air Force commit. And Arizona State commit Tristan Dunn, a safety. Quarterback Bo Carlson is a gamer. Junior Jay Mentink makes an impact at receiver and defensive back. He had a key interception and on offense, had four catches for 50 yards and a touchdown in the win.
“Sumner’s going real far,” Wing said. “Solid team, a lot of depth.”
The win sets up a showdown with Graham-Kapowsin on Oct. 16. It’ll most likely decide the league title.
“It’s always been on our mind,” Ross said. “We knew these two weeks were big games for us. That’ll be an epic game if we both get to that game. We’re both the same style, physical, senior-dominated, hungry. It’s going to be awesome.”
This story was originally published September 17, 2021 at 11:49 PM.
