High school football roundup: Kennedy Catholic routs Kentwood in 4A NPSL opener
When Kennedy Catholic High School’s Zach Schell punched in a 1-yard rushing touchdown midway through the second quarter on Thursday night, much of the visiting bleachers at French Field erupted in celebration, like they had several times prior.
Schell crashed into the line of scrimmage before falling forward into the end zone, his second touchdown of the game.
The score pushed the Lancers lead to 37-0 in an eventual 44-13 rout of host Kentwood in the Class 4A North Puget Sound League opener for both programs, and Kennedy Catholic’s defense stifled the Conquerors all game, posting a shutout until the final minutes of the third quarter.
By intermission, Kennedy Catholic had nearly triggered the mercy-rule running clock. The Lancers’ defense swarmed Kentwood all night, pushing them back, at one point, to a fourth-and-42 near the end of the first half.
“Something coach (Sheldon) Cross tells us all … we should all be like bees,” two-way lineman and USC commit Micah Banuelos said. “When one attacks, we all attack. And that’s what you saw today.”
The Lancers are now winners of consecutive routs, first over Highline, 41-6, last week. Thursday’s win improved their record to 2-1, their only loss at the hands of perennial 3A state power Eastside Catholic to open the season.
Kennedy Catholic’s final touchdown perhaps encapsulated the entire contest, when defensive lineman Derek Coleman-Brusa pounced on a botched Kentwood snap in the end zone.
“It’s just fun seeing another brother’s success, man,” Banuelos said. “It just brings joy to the heart.”
Kentwood’s loss dropped the Conquerors to 0-3, after nonleague losses to both Lakes and Peninsula. Antoine Lee scored both Kentwood touchdowns Thursday night on second-half rushing scores up the middle.
That’s all the Conquerors could muster.
“It’s unbelievable,” Cross said of his defense. “Maui Borden, our defensive coordinator, has done a phenomenal job. We play fast, and I think now, it’s going into multiple years of us running the same scheme with the same defensive coordinator … he’s preparing these guys.”
By the end of the opening period, Kennedy Catholic had pounced for three touchdowns and led by 22. Starting quarterback Devon Forehand threw a first-quarter touchdown to Mason Hayes and the offense later turned to Payton Faker at the position.
“It’s been great. It’s been a luxury,” Cross said of the Forehand-Faker QB duo. “Honestly, we wanted to do right by them and work on some stuff and get some young guys in.
“We’ll celebrate this one tonight, and turn the page and get ready for (Decatur) starting tomorrow.”
Auburn Riverside 43, Thomas Jefferson 0
The reigning 3A NPSL champions opened league play with a shutout on the road Thursday night at Federal Way Memorial Stadium.
After dropping back-to-back nonleague losses to last year’s 3A PCL champion Lincoln (28-21) and 4A KingCo program North Creek (38-14) to open the season, the Ravens regrouped with a dominant performance in Week 3.
Andrew Wold connected with Jace Villers for a 9-yard touchdown in the first quarter, and the Ravens (2-0) rolled from there.
Auburn Riverside scored four of its six touchdowns in the second quarter, and took a 33-0 lead into halftime. The Ravens added one more touchdown and a field goal in the second half on the way to the 43-0 victory.
Wold threw for a pair of scores, while Kyree Wright and Alex Park each rushed for touchdowns.
The Ravens caused five turnovers on defense, including intercepting four passes. Both Villers — who also recovered a fumble — and Aaron Shabo returned picks for touchdowns.
Auburn Riverside resumes league play at home against Kent-Meridian next week, while Thomas Jefferson (0-3) hosts Auburn Mountainview.
Lakes 33, Bonney Lake 14
The Lancers had to wait an extra week to play their second game of the season, but put together another convincing performance in their 3A PCL opener on the road at Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner.
Following a 50-23 season-opening victory on the road against Kentwood earlier this month, Lakes ended up with a 13-day break before Thursday night’s matchup with the Panthers.
Last week’s scheduled home opener against River Ridge was canceled due to poor air quality.
Neither team scored in the first quarter, and the Panthers took an early lead in the second on a 48-yard pass from Brayden Palmer to Cooper Wilson, but Lakes scored the next six touchdowns, and cruised to the 33-14 victory.
Lakes running back Ki’marree Washington quickly answered the Panthers’ opening score with a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, and the Lancers took a 7-6 lead they never lost on Kalum Ford’s extra point try.
The Lancers scored twice more in the quarter — on a 76-yard toss from freshman quarterback Legend Galeai to BYU commit Leo Pulalasi and later a 2-yard run by Pulalasi — to lead 21-6 at the break.
Following a scoreless third, Pulalasi added his third touchdown on a 5-yard run early in the fourth and Washington found the end zone again minutes later on a 65-yard rushing score.
Peyton Lindgren added a 4-yard rushing touchdown for Bonney Lake late in the fourth, but the Lancers were well in control by then.
Lakes (2-0) continues league play next week at home against Stadium, while Bonney Lake (1-2) travels to play Spanaway Lake.
Eatonville 35, Cascade Christian 7
Eatonville moved to 3-0 on the season, cruising past 1A nonleague opponent Cascade Christian on Thursday night, 35-7.
Eatonville’s Dylan Norman got the scoring started with a 54-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter. In the second quarter, senior quarterback Job Kralik, an Army commit, connected with Walker Bruun for a 17-yard touchdown. Dylan Norman punched the ball in twice more on short runs to give Eatonville a 28-0 lead just before half.
“He’s a tough runner and he had a good night, really big part of our team,” Eatonville coach Gavin Kralik said of Dylan Norman. “Works really hard, great kid.”
In the third quarter, Kralik added a 3-yard rushing touchdown. Cascade Christian got on the board in the fourth quarter, when Cade Sando threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to receiver Kai Mingming. Eatonville slowed down a Cascade Christian offense that had averaged 40 points over its first two games.
“I felt like our defense played really well,” Kralik said. “Did a good job getting pressure on the quarterback (Cade Sando). He’s a really good player. Cascade Christian has a really good coaching staff. Being able to hold them to seven points was a big feat.”
Eatonville beat Olympic 47-27 in Week 1 before beating Orting 35-14 in Week 2. The Cruisers will face Bellevue Christian next week before opening 1A Evergreen Conference play on the road against Tenino on Sept. 30.
“We’re just trying to get better each week, as everybody is,” Kralik said. “We’ve got a lot of new starters. A lot of kids just trying to keep growing and keep getting better. That’s the race right now.”
Fife 36, Franklin Pierce 34
In a wild 2A South Puget Sound League between teams that came into the game with identical 2-0 records, Fife came out on top, 36-34 on the road on Thursday. With one second left on the clock in the fourth quarter, Franklin Pierce got one final crack at the end zone from around midfield, but the hook-and-ladder attempt fell short.
“It was just a bloodbath,” said Fife coach Kent Nevin. “Two teams throwing haymakers. It really came down to who could make the final stop. We had to make some adjustments on defense. They were running it down our throats. We had to put a little more pressure on their QB. They were very physical, they have some great powerful running backs.”
Fife running back Beau Fualaau rushed 10 times for 146 yards and three touchdowns for the Trojans. On defense, he had four tackles, an interception and a tackle for loss. In the week of practice leading up to the game, Nevin and Fife’s coaching staff had worked with Fualaau on his running vision. That progress showed up in a big way on Thursday night.
“He was all over the field tonight,” Nevin said. “Stuck his nose in on defense. Offensive side, he was really cutting back well. Hitting the hole hard and doing cubacks. What we coached is what he did. He had great vision tonight.”
Fife’s Jayden Raymond had an interception in the fourth quarter for Fife. Gavin Schneider scored a touchdown to give Fife the late lead. Franklin Pierce scored a late touchdown to pull within two, but failed to convert to the 2-point conversion.
Now Fife is 3-0, benefitted largely by having a normal weight room routine in the offseason for the first time in several years. It had been derailed in the recent past by the pandemic.
“Last year, I thought we were one of the weakest teams in the league,” Nevin said. “(This year), we averaged over 50 kids a day in the winter. In the summer, we were in the 60s. Kids really bought into getting stronger and made some big gains.”
FRIDAY (SEPT. 16)
Lake Stevens 63, Federal Way 21
The top-ranked program in 4A ran away with a win Friday night at Lake Stevens High School.
After Federal Way opened scoring early in the first quarter, the Vikings responded with 42 unanswered points before halftime, eventually cruising to a 63-21 nonleague win.
The loss was Federal Way’s first of the season after the Eagles (2-1) routed both Todd Beamer (60-6) and Thomas Jefferson (33-0) in their first two games.
Federal Way got on the board first Friday night, on a 24-yard pass from Jay O’Neil to Oregon State commit Andre Jordan Jr. which was set up by an Eagles fumble recovery early in the first quarter.
But, Lake Stevens tied the game on the next drive when Kaden Laplaunt connected with Cassidy Bolong-Banks for a 27-yard score.
The Vikings scored twice more in the first quarter on a 41-yard run by Bolong-Banks on a fourth-and-11, and later a 3-yard run by Notre Dame commit Jayden Limar to make it 21-7.
Three more touchdowns in the second quarter, on a 42-yard fumble recovery by Joseph McGinnis and rushing scores of 9 and 20 yards by Limar gave the Vikings their 42-7 lead at halftime.
Federal Way cut the lead back to three touchdowns in the third quarter, but never got closer.
O’Neil connected with Rahshawn Clark for a 59-yard score, and found Jordan for a second touchdown on a 30-yard pass midway through the third.
Limar responded with his fourth touchdown of the night on a 7-yard score on a fourth-down play.
Talha Rai added a 1-yard touchdown, and Esteban Sedano a 29-yard score in the fourth to close out the win.
Auburn 28, Auburn Mountainview 7
An early hiccup failed to faze Auburn in Friday night’s 3A North Puget Sound League opener, as the Trojans shut out rival Auburn Mountainview in the final three quarters to close out a 28-7 win.
“Every time we needed a big stop, we got one,” Auburn coach Aaron Chantler said.
Elijah Stafford put Auburn Mountainview on the board first with a 15-yard touchdown run, though it was all the Lions would muster.
Auburn quarterback Amari Goodfellow tied the game with a 4-yard keeper in the second, and his subsequent two-point conversion gave the Trojans a one-point lead at halftime.
“After the first touchdown, we just stayed calm, and stayed with the process and said, ‘We’re all right,’ ” Chantler said. “Our defense stepped up and got some stops, and we just kept chipping away.”
Auburn receiver Semaj Brown hauled in a 25-yard touchdown from Goodfellow in the third, pushing the lead to seven.
Easton Rutledge padded Auburn’s lead with a 17-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth, and Dominik Smith took a 43-yard run to the outside for the Trojans’ fourth touchdown of the game.
Auburn Mountainview had no answer, coughing up a fumble with two interceptions in the contest.
“The first few weeks, we threw the ball a lot. And this week, it was the run game,” Chantler said. “We ran for about 250 yards as a team.
“We just said we’re gonna do what the defense is going to give us tonight.”
Auburn (2-1) travels to play 4A NPSL program Mount Rainier next week in a nonleague contest.
Yelm 58, Central Kitsap 0
There has been no stopping the Tornados these first three weeks.
They opened the season with back-to-back statement wins against a pair of 4A Greater St. Helens League Powers in Camas (44-14) and Union (46-6).
Friday night in Yelm, they added another convincing win with a 58-0 shutout of Central Kitsap to open 3A South Sound Conference play.
Yelm (3-0) scored early and often, eventually building a 51-0 lead by halftime to signal the running clock in the final two quarters.
Four-star recruit Brayden Platt gave the Tornados a lead they never lost early in the first quarter with the first of his five rushing touchdowns. Platt finished with 178 rushing yards and scores of 4, 13, 3, 97 and 21 yards.
He has now scored 13 total touchdowns through three contests this season.
Yelm quarterback Damian Aalona finished 17-of-20 for 212 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Tre Smith (11 yards) and Aden Schaler (7 yards).
Portland State commit Kyler Ronquillo led the Tornados with seven catches for 126 yards, while sophomore Nathan Ford added 40 rushing yards on six carries.
Anthony Kiamco added a 1-yard rushing touchdown in the third to give Yelm its final 58-0 lead.
Yelm finished with 470 yards of total offense and the eight touchdowns. The Tornados piled up 414 yards and seven of those scores in the first half.
“We passed early and our quarterback was highly successful, which opened up our run game,” Yelm coach Jason Ronquillo said.
The Tornados’ defense also impressed, holding the Cougars out of the end zone for four quarters and to 111 yards of total offense for the game — including to just 23 yards on 27 plays in the opening half.
“They’re run-heavy if you allow them to be run-heavy, and then they’ll be pass-heavy if you allow them to do that,” Jason Ronquillo said. “So, we had to play two different games. We had to make sure our perimeter players were on point and the players that were in the box were on point.
“Being disciplined in both areas in the box and outside the box was critical.”
Isaiah Patterson led Yelm’s defense with seven tackles, while Ray Wright and freshman Jonah Smith each collected five. Landen Barger added a pair of sacks, and Onyx Carter a blocked punt to contribute to Yelm’s shutout.
The Tornados continue their league schedule on the road at River Ridge next week.
Tumwater 38, Kelso 19
There’s no official word yet, but Tumwater coach Bill Beattie shared a startling discovery about his 2022 offense, which is now off to a 3-0 record — he believes quarterback Alex Overbay has already surpassed his pass-attempt total from last season.
Tumwater’s signal-caller lobbed a pair of passing touchdowns in the second quarter, part of a 38-19 win over the Hilanders on Friday night at Schroeder Field in Kelso.
“I think that one is attributed to Alex really stepping up his game,” Beattie said. “You know, just doing a better job of understanding the passing game. That’s hard when you run the Wing-T offense.
“We just kept doing what we’re supposed to be doing. We didn’t radically change, or think we had to adjust to a whole bunch of different things. The kids just stuck with a plan.”
The Hilanders scored on the first play from scrimmage, but Tumwater’s defense held on. Kelso’s Connor Noah erupted for a 47-yard touchdown run following the opening kickoff, though the Hilander lead was short-lived.
Logan Cole’s 23-yard rushing score tied the game in the first quarter, and Overbay’s pair of passing touchdowns — the last to Mikah Sederberg — pushed Tumwater’s lead to 21-7 at intermission.
“Our kids just keep getting better and better each week,” Beattie said. “But more importantly, they’re just getting great experience right now.”
Kelso deflated Tumwater’s lead in the second half, first with Easton Marshall’s 25-yard touchdown catch in the third. Judah Calixte added a 7-yard touchdown in the opening minutes of the fourth.
Tumwater pulled away, eventually. Carlos Matheney broke loose for a 20-yard touchdown run in the final minutes, shortly after a 21-yard field goal. Ten unanswered T-Birds points pushed the score back to 31-19.
Jadin Allen’s 32-yard interception return inflated Friday night’s final score in the closing seconds.
“(Kelso’s) a good football team,” Beattie said. “We were just able to play great defense all night long, and just got enough going on the offense to keep them off-balance a little bit.”
Tumwater opens 2A Evergreen Conference play next week at Centralia.
Black Hills 34, Rochester 14
For the first time since 2018, Black Hills’ program sits at 3-0.
The defense impressed again on Friday night on the road, stifling Rochester in the Wolves’ 2A EvCo opener for a 34-14 win.
Black Hills toppled Montesano, 33-20, in its season-opener and shut out North Thurston, 15-0, last week.
Friday night’s victory featured a pair of opening-quarter touchdowns from tailback Johnnie Stallings, the latter a 25-yard dash.
Rochester responded with James Morris’ subsequent 3-yard touchdown rush in the closing minutes of the first quarter, though Black Hills would pile on.
The Warriors scored only once more, and not until the fourth, on Brady Baird’s short run.
Black Hills’ Tanner Parkinson broke free for an 8-yard scoring run in the second, pushing an early lead to 20-7.
Meanwhile, Rochester committed four first-half turnovers.
Black Hills hosts W.F. West next week in another 2A EvCo contest.
This story will be updated.
This story was originally published September 15, 2022 at 10:11 PM.
