High school football season preview: 3A North Puget Sound League
High school football is back in the South Sound. Practices are underway as programs across the state prepare for the beginning of the 2022 season in September.
The News Tribune and The Olympian will be visiting schools in the area and previewing local leagues as the first week of games approaches.
Follow along with us throughout the two-week preseason for previews on the 4A NPSL, 4A SPSL, 3A NPSL, 3A PCL, 3A SSC, 2A SPSL, 2A EvCo and more.
3A NORTH PUGET SOUND LEAGUE
WHO’S THE FAVORITE?
It’s no secret that Jace Villers, the speedy Auburn Riverside receiver, can fly. He returns for Auburn Riverside, the reigning league champion and favorite to repeat this fall.
In 2019, then-freshman Villers was already starting, lined up at wideout for the Ravens offense. The 6-foot-3, 195-pounder led his team in receiving as a junior – grabbing first-team honors at the position in 2021 – and the three-star recruit was also a dominant cornerback, earning second-team league honors as a defensive back.
“He can get over the top and make plays,” said Ravens coach Greg Herd. “He can catch the ball in traffic, and can take short passes and take them a long way.
“Last year, he took some short, intermediate passes and took those things from eight-to-12 yard catches into 40-50 yard touchdowns.”
He might just be able to help the Ravens secure the 3A NPSL title.
Auburn Riverside was the league’s lone undefeated program in 2021, going 5-0 in the white division and finishing 7-1 overall. They overcame a 21-point halftime deficit to stun Auburn, 42-38, last Sep. 17, and handled Auburn Mountainview on Oct. 14, 28-21, to lock up the league crown.
The Ravens graduated four first-team all-leaguers, including former quarterback Payton Accetturo. But there’s plenty of upcoming depth to step into their shoes, including the speedy Villers and senior safety Carter Rhooms.
Two-way dual-threat Thyrou Umi-Tuato’o returns for a junior season, assuming the tailback role once held by graduated-older-brother Thaddeus, who was the white division’s player of the year in 2021. But Thyrou wasn’t exactly in his brother’s shadow, grabbing first-team all-league honors as a sophomore linebacker.
He’s the third and youngest Umi-Tuato’o brother to suit up for Auburn Riverside’s football program – both of Thyrou’s brothers were first-team all-leaguers – and Herd says he could be the best yet.
Perhaps the school’s standout recruit is offensive lineman Nate Pritchard, who committed to WSU in April. Described by Herd as a “mauler,” the 6-foot-5, 285-pound Pritchard is considered the face of a team movement prioritizing strength and discipline.
Pritchard moves the line of scrimmage and dominates anyone lined up across from him – and has fun while doing it.
“He’s grown a lot as a leader, too,” Herd added of the state’s 18th-ranked player and, arguably, the league’s best lineman. “Holding the guys at the position accountable, because they look up to him.
“He’s the guy that’s gonna go play PAC-12 football next year and have his school paid for.”
Of the Ravens’ 2022 slate, a pair of meetings with local rivals Auburn Mountainview (Oct. 21) and Auburn (Oct. 28) conclude the season. They’ll be played tough, no matter the standings on game night, Herd said. And the Fugate Trophy will be at stake, which is awarded to the best team in the city each year.
But the Ravens also open the schedule with 3A-contender Lincoln on Sep. 2. In week two, they travel to face 4A North Creek (Sep. 9) and later host 4A Kennedy Catholic (Oct. 13). All are considered by Herd and the team as “great measuring bars” for the program.
“We want to come out and compete with the best, you know? If you want to be the best, you have to compete with them,” Herd said. “When you get your opportunity, you have to go out there and you have to deliver. That’s just as simple as it is.”
ANY OTHER CONTENDERS?
It could be Auburn’s year. There’s a problem for opposing defenses when game planning and scheming for Auburn quarterback Amari Goodfellow.
Trojans coach Aaron Chantler called it “picking your poison” – either play soft and defend the many weapons in Goodfellow’s disposal, or rush the signal-caller to suffocate his dual-threat running capability.
But leaving the middle of the field open for the senior’s arm may prove fatal for opponents. In 2021, Goodfellow was the blue division’s player of the year in a shuffled NPSL last season. He rushed for four touchdown passes and tossed three more (seven total) in Auburn’s season-opening blowout win over Stadium last September, and returns for a third year as the starting quarterback.
“He’s extremely dynamic,” Chantler said of Goodfellow. “When he makes his decisions, and he puts his foot in the ground and goes... it’s hard to bring him down. And when he makes decisions with his arm, he’s a more-than-capable passer and very much a dual-threat.”
There’s “positive momentum” circling Auburn’s program, enough to make the 3A NPSL title the team’s goal. Their lone pair of losses in 2021 came to city-rivals Auburn Mountainview and Auburn Riverside, the latter coming down to the contest’s final play.
Protecting Goodfellow is senior offensive lineman TJ Wilson, a first-teamer on both sides of the ball last season. They return senior Utu Kamaunu, the league’s reigning offensive lineman of the year, as well as reigning defensive back of the year Kaiden O’Neal.
And Goodfellow will have the league’s all-purpose player of the year handy in receiver Lateibreon Chandler, who also grabbed eight interceptions as a first-team defensive back in 2021.
In all, Auburn welcomed back 10 returning starters on offense when practices commenced last week.
“We haven’t really ever been a veteran-heavy team since I’ve been here,” Chantler said. “And this will be the first group that’s pretty senior-dominant.”
Auburn’s offense came out firing in numerous first halves last season, but fizzled out after intermissions. They owned a 21-point lead at halftime over Auburn Riverside before failing to score in the second half, losing by four. In a winner-to-state game with O’Dea, the Trojans trailed a contending Fighting Irish by just a single score at halftime, but wound up losing by 40.
“We had some moments where we played up and down to our opponent or the situation, instead of being just consistent,” Chantler said. “We’ve got to figure out what we do and where we fit and then play that way for four quarters. And we showed that in glimpses.
“Against Kent Meridian, we scored almost 60 points in the first half. We came out, and it was like a buzzsaw. And I was like, ‘that’s what you’re capable of.’”
SAVE THE DATE
Friday, Sept. 2 — Auburn Riverside vs. Lincoln, 7 p.m. at Lincoln Bowl (Tacoma)
Friday, Sept. 16 — Auburn vs. Auburn Mountainview, 7 p.m. at Auburn Memorial Stadium
Thursday, Oct. 13 — Kennedy Catholic vs. Auburn Riverside, 6 p.m. at Auburn Memorial Stadium
Friday, Oct. 21 — Auburn Riverside vs. Auburn Mountainview, 7 p.m. at Auburn Memorial Stadium
Friday, Oct. 28 — Auburn vs. Auburn Riverside, 7 p.m. at Auburn Memorial Stadium
DID YOU KNOW?
Auburn Riverside’s game-winning fumble recovery on the final play of an instant-classic win last Sep. 17 spelled heartbreak for rival Auburn, who held a 21-point halftime lead and failed to score after.
Auburn opened the floodgates with 32 second-quarter points, and by intermission, led 38-17. The Ravens chipped away, and suddenly down four, Trojans quarterback Goodfellow fumbled a 4th-and-goal keeper on the final play.
For Auburn Riverside, it was a monumental comeback victory. And for Auburn, it was a devastating collapse.
“The last two minutes of that game were absolutely nuts,” Ravens coach Greg Herd recalled. “Great one to be a part of, obviously, when you come out on the right side of those. It always feels a lot better than coming out on the wrong side of it.”
That left Auburn coach Aaron Chantler on the losing side of a valiant effort, one featuring 260 yards and a passing touchdown from Goodfellow. This year, the Ravens and Trojans meet for a rematch of the shootout. And this time, it caps the regular season on Oct. 28.
The stars would need to align, but there’s an added possibility the rivalry rematch determines the 3A NPSL champion.
“Having that possibly be for a league title… we’re not overlooking anybody else,” said Auburn coach Aaron Chantler. “But the chance that that could be the two Auburn schools, or two of the three Auburn schools kind of duking it out, week nine, for the championship, could be pretty fun for the whole community.”
10 PLAYERS TO WATCH
WR/DB Ryder Alfrey, Auburn Mountainview, sr.
WR/DB Lateibreon Chandler, Auburn, sr.
QB Amari Goodfellow, Auburn, sr.
LB Kaiden O’Neal, Auburn, sr.
OL Nathan Pritchard, Auburn Riverside, sr.
DB Carter Rhooms, Auburn Riverside, sr.
LB Jakobe Tuiasosopo, Kent-Meridian, soph.
RB/LB Thyrou Umi-Tuato’o, Auburn Riverside, jr.
WR Jace Villers, Auburn Riverside, sr.
OL/DL TJ Wilson, Auburn, sr.
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
Auburn Riverside, Auburn, Auburn Mountainview, Thomas Jefferson, Todd Beamer, Kentlake, Kent-Meridian
This story was originally published August 24, 2022 at 4:07 PM.
