Week 5: What we learned from high school football in South Sound
Week five of the high school football season is in the books in the South Sound. Here’s what we learned from this week’s action, as the season passes the halfway point.
BELLARMINE WINS IMPORTANT PLAYOFF POSITIONING GAME IN 4A SPSL
The Class 4A South Puget Sound League has six playoff spots this fall. The top four from the league earn first-round home games. It’s crowded up top, with Graham-Kapowsin, Sumner and Puyallup. That meant games against Olympia and Emerald Ridge would be important in fighting for the league’s fourth spot. Bellarmine passed both tests, beating Olympia 30-27 in the season opener and beating Emerald Ridge 23-20 on a last-second field goal at Sparks Stadium last Thursday night.
The game itself featured a wild ending. Pinned deep in its own territory, tied 20-20 with under 20 seconds to go in regulation, Emerald Ridge lined up for a punt on fourth down. Everyone in the stadium expected the Jaguars to punt the ball and play for overtime.
But that’s not what the Jaguars did. Instead, Emerald Ridge tried a fake punt. The throw fell incomplete to the receiver — who likely would’ve fallen short of the line to gain, even if he had caught the pass — and Bellarmine suddenly has the ball in the Emerald Ridge red zone with a chance to win the game in regulation. The Lions ran one running play to center the ball for a field goal, took a timeout and sent Max Walker out to kick the game-winning field goal. He drilled it, giving Bellarmine the 23-20 win as the clock hit zero.
Turns out, that fake punt should have never happened. It wasn’t the play call Jags coach Adam Schakel wanted.
“We had some miscommunication,” Schakel said. “Unfortunately, it cost us. We didn’t want a fake punt there. We had a miscommunication in our calls. It wasn’t intentional but it happened.
“We didn’t mean for that to be the call,” Schakel said. “We were talking about doing a fake earlier in the game on that 4th and 2, if they gave us a certain look. They didn’t give us the look so we punted it. It was fresh in the mind, it was called out. … That’s not on the kids. That’s on us as coaches to fix that.”
Bellarmine’s Tristan Warner, who started the season at quarterback but has since moved to running back because of injuries around him, put in a workhorse performance for the Lions. In Thursday’s win, he rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries. Defensively, he had a first-half interception that led to a Bellarmine field goal, just before the halftime break.
Bellarmine will now face the SPSL 4A gauntlet: Graham-Kapowsin on Oct. 8, Sumner on Oct. 23 and Puyallup on Oct. 30 in the final regular game of the season. Could the Lions sneak a win in any of those three? They’ll be the underdogs, but it’s why they play the game, as they say. Either way, the crucial wins over Olympia and Emerald Ridge put Bellarmine in fine position heading into next month’s postseason.
EATONVILLE FINALLY TESTED
Eatonville, the No. 2 ranked team in 1A, was finally tested on Saturday when No. 7 Tenino came to town for a 1A Evergreen Conference showdown between unbeatens on Saturday afternoon. The game lived up to the billing, with Eatonville ultimately hanging on for a 24-22 win.
“We knew coming in they were a good team at what they do,” Eatonville coach Gavin Kralik said of Tenino. “They present you with some unique things you’re not used to. Takari Hickle (an Oregon State commit, who would lead the Beavers with 94 yards on 20 carries) is a great player.”
Tenino quarterback Kysen Knox found a wide open Bryan Budsberg in the end zone for the go-ahead score. After a two-point conversion, Tenino led 16-14. But Job Kralik, who rushed for two touchdowns, answered with a score on a fly sweep, going 35 yards into the end zone untouched to give Eatonville the 24-16 lead.
This was an important test for a talented Eatonville team that has dreams of lifting the 1A state championship trophy this fall, and the Cruisers passed.
LAKES GETS A BOOST FROM QB BRENNAN’S RETURN
Justin Brennan has been in the process of appealing an ineligibility decision handed down by the WIAA. He appealed for a hardship waiver and a fifth year of high school eligibility and Thursday, received news he had won his appeal.
He suited up for Lakes the next day and started at quarterback against Stadium. He completed 9-of-10 passes for 248 yards and five passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown.
Brennan’s return gives Lakes an instant boost. Devon Nofoa-Masoe started at quarterback against Enumclaw in the team’s opener, but went down with a knee injury in the second half. It thrust running back Leo Pulalasi into the starting quarterback role and turned the offense into a heavy running, Wildcat style offense.
Pulalasi, who is one of the league’s best running backs, filled in admirably in the quarterback position, but he’s not a natural quarterback or thrower. Brennan, on the other hand, is both of those things and was a first-team QB selection in the 3A Pierce County League last spring.
Lakes has plenty of talent on its roster, but wasn’t likely going to contend for the 3A PCL title with Pulalasi in at quarterback. With Brennan back in the fold, Lakes has a chance to contend with Lincoln for the 3A PCL crown.
IS THE 2A SPSL TITLE ON THE LINE THIS FRIDAY?
We felt before the season that Enumclaw and Steilacoom were the most likely contenders for the league title in the Class 2A South Puget Sound League and nothing we’ve seen so far has done anything to prove otherwise.
Steilacoom beat White River 14-0 on Thursday, moving to 3-0 in the 2A SPSL, with a good win a week earlier against Orting. The win against White River might not have been pretty, but it’s hard to be too upset about pitching a shutout against a league opponent.
“We’re going to need more offense,” Steilacoom coach Kyle Haller said. “But our defense comes to play every day. That gives the offense time. We’ve got some work to do.”
Ultimately, Steilacoom quarterback Caleb Crider threw two touchdown passes as he completed just six of 21 passes overall for 109 yards. But the Steilacoom defense held the Hornets to just 138 yards of total offense.
Enumclaw (4-1 overall, 3-0 SPSL 2A) meanwhile, has scored at least 49 points in each of its wins in the 2A SPSL, beating Washington 60-14, Franklin Pierce 49-7 and Clover Park last week 49-14. The Hornets also beat Lakes in non-league play and lost to Tumwater, the state’s top-ranked 2A team.
This will be a much stiffer test for Steilacoom’s defense and it’s hard to imagine 14 points being good enough to beat Enumclaw on the road. If the offense can get going, it should be a fun one.
