Streak snapped! Puyallup beats Graham-Kapowsin, handing Eagles first loss since 2019
Subdued. Decidedly subdued.
The Puyallup Vikings reached their locker room at Bethel High, just outside Art Crate Field, at halftime on Friday night without any whoops and hollers, no laughing or loud shouts of any kind despite the decidedly un-subdued turn of events that saw the Vikings holding a nine-point lead on the defending state champs.
“Don’t get cocky, men,” one white-jerseyed participant said as the Vikings filed through the door.
They didn’t. Instead, Puyallup threw the first huge, shocking punch of the young 2022 season. The Vikings took that halftime lead and built it into a 30-13 South Puget Sound League victory over the Eagles.
The loss was the first in 22 games for Graham Kapowsin (1-1), which no longer controls its own destiny in the 4A South Puget Sound SPSL for the first time since 2018. Instead, it’s the Vikings (2-0) who now own the inside lane to a league title.
“Our kids are gutsy,” Puyallup coach Brian Grout said. “We’ve convinced our kids they are Puyallup kids. There’s a lot of things that come with being a Puyallup kid. We talked earlier in the week. We knew we were facing some adversity as a group. But our belief in each other were going to carry us through this game.”
Just a week ago, the Vikings needed a last-second score to come back and beat Emerald Ridge, 29-28. No such heroics would be necessary on Friday, however.
Instead, the big plays came early and then they just kept on coming. Puyallup scored three of its four touchdowns through the air, and all three scoring plays covered 64 yards or more.
That made quarterback Jacob Velasco’s 3-yard dive for the last Vikings score with 2 minutes, 24 seconds to play, almost anti-climatic. Velasco also had touchdown passes of 79 and 64 yards, part of a 9-for-13 night for 208 yards through the air.
“It’s pretty crazy,” Velasco said. “Last year, we pretty much came in here and got whooped.”
A HISTORIC VICTORY
The Vikings weren’t the only ones that fell victim to large deficits when playing Graham-Kapowsin a year ago. The Eagles, in fact, outscored their opponents 687-110 over their 15 games. And 36 of those points came against Georgia 7A state champion Collins Hill, during a nationally-televised GEICO State Champions Bowl Series game in Las Vegas after the regular season.
The G-K winning streak goes back even further, though. Friday marked the first time the Eagles felt a loss in nearly three years – a 30-27 state semifinal loss to Bothell on Nov. 23, 2019. G-K was 5-0 during the pandemic-delayed spring 2021 season.
“It is a new feeling,” first-year Eagles head coach Jeff Logan said. “Last year’s group is gone. I told them, I’d much rather have this happen in Week 2 than in Week 10, 11 or 12. It shows us what we need to work on. I think the last time we lost was 2019. You’ve gotta give credit to Puyallup, as well.”
It’s been even longer since Graham Kapowsin had lost a league game. The Eagles came into Friday night riding a 26-game SPSL winning streak, a string that dated back to Sept. 21, 2018, when they lost a 41-34 overtime thriller to … the Puyallup Vikings.
PLAY OF THE GAME
The entire, wacky third quarter could have served as the highlight reel’s best of the evening. But even in a quarter that saw GK receiver Jabez Woods return a kickoff 94 yards for a score, the Vikings first play from scrimmage in the third felt decisive.
Puyallup had just stopped an Eagles drive at the Viking 20-yard line on a fourth-and-goal where two big penalties pushed Graham Kapowsin back. With the ball on the 20, Donte Grant went in motion for Puyallup coming left to right. As he reached Velasco, the ball was snapped and Velasco shoved it into Grant’s gut.
Instead of continuing to race around the right end, though, Grant stopped and looked up to see senior receiver Micah Bach running alone down the sideline. Grant heaved the ball. Bach caught it around the 45 and raced 80 yards for the touchdown that extended Puyallup’s lead to 23-7.
“I knew he was going to be open,” Grant said. “Nobody back there. He was wide open. I knew it was coming.”
After that play, the Puyallup sideline and stands erupted. The very un-subdued celebration lasted the rest of the evening and into the Puyallup locker room after the game.
“Oh my gawd, yeah,” Velasco said.
UP NEXT
The Eagles hit the road for the first time this season to face the Olympia Bears at 7 p.m. on Friday Night. The Vikings return home to host the South Kitsap Wolves at 7 p.m. on Saturday night.