High school football season preview: 3A South Sound Conference
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 SOUTH SOUND CONFERENCE
Who’s the favorite?
Yelm, the reigning co-league champion. Yelm and Peninsula shared league championship honors last season. COVID issues forced the cancellation of the game, which would have decided the league title. We like Yelm’s chances to not only win the 3A South Sound Conference this fall, but also to make a deep run in the 3A state tournament.
Everywhere you look, the Tornados are loaded. Yelm returns 3A SSC MVP Kyler Ronquillo, an electric receiver and defensive back who recently committed to Portland State. This group of linebackers might be the best in the state, led by Ray Wright, last year’s 3A SSC defensive MVP and first-teamers William Carreto and junior Brayden Platt. Platt is considered a four-star recruit by 247sports.com and holds offers from UW, Oregon, Michigan and others. Add Skyview junior transfer Isaiah Patterson, who holds offers from Oregon and WSU, and this defense could make the leap from good to great.
“We’re bigger, faster, stronger. We’ve been perfecting our craft. We’re on another level,” Ronquillo told The News Tribune last week.
Yelm will have a new quarterback in junior Damian Aalona, but he’ll have veteran receivers to throw to in Ronquillo and Aden Schaler. Platt is tough to bring down at running back. Yelm’s typically tough offensive line is anchored by senior Kolby Henry and junior Landen Barger.
Any other contenders?
You can always count on Ross Filkins’ Peninsula teams to contend for league titles, and this year should be no different. Gonzaga baseball commit Payton Knowles will play quarterback for the Seahawks and has a big arm. Senior running back Brady Laybourn and junior running back Connor Burton should have holes to run through behind a typically strong Peninsula offensive line, led by three-year starters Grady Johnson and Tanner Staben.
Peninsula’s balance always makes the Seahawks a difficult matchup for opposing defenses. Expect Knowles to comfortably air it out to his receivers, led by 6-foot-3 senior Dane Meddaugh. Johnson called his quarterback a “gunslinger” during The News Tribune’s preseason practice tour.
“(Payton’s) a baseball player, so he’s got a really good arm,” he said. “He’s going to bring a change in our quarterback role from last year.”
Peninsula will be tested out of the gate with a home matchup against Enumclaw, considered the favorite to win the 2A South Puget Sound League. Peninsula plays Gig Harbor in the annual Fish Bowl rivalry game on Sept. 16.
Gig Harbor has one of the league’s best all-around athletes in quarterback Will Landram and returns a veteran offensive line. The Tides led Peninsula in last year’s Fish Bowl, 28-0 at halftime, before Peninsula mounted a ferocious comeback and ultimately won the game, 35-28. Timberline looked like another possible contender in the 3A SSC, but Blazers’ quarterback Jackson Brown will miss the entire season with a UCL injury. The loss of Timberline’s top player makes contending a taller task.
Save the date
Thursday, Sept. 1 — Enumclaw vs. Peninsula, 7 p.m. at Roy Anderson Field
Friday, Sept. 2 — Spanaway Lake vs. Gig Harbor at Roy Anderson Field
Friday, Sept. 2 — Camas vs. Yelm, 7 p.m. at Yelm High School
Thursday, Sept. 29 — Timberline vs. Gig Harbor, 7 p.m. at Roy Anderson Field
Friday, Oct. 21 — Yelm vs. Peninsula, 7 p.m. at Roy Anderson Field
10 players to watch
OL Aidan Anderson, North Thurston, sr.
RB Kouper Hall, Central Kitsap, sr.
OL Grady Johnson, Peninsula, sr.
QB Payton Knowles, Peninsula, sr.
QB Will Landram, Gig Harbor, sr.
LB Johnny Mapu, River Ridge, sr.
LB Isaiah Patterson, Yelm, jr.
LB Brayden Platt, Yelm, jr.
WR Kyler Ronquillo, Yelm, sr.
LB Ray Wright, Yelm, sr.
Predicted order of finish
Yelm, Peninsula, Gig Harbor, Timberline, Central Kitsap, Capital, River Ridge, North Thurston
This story was originally published August 26, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
