Week 7: What we learned from this week’s high school football games in the South Sound
In the seventh week of the high school football season in the South Sound, some games were postponed due to poor air quality, some programs picked up key late regular season wins and three teams remained undefeated. Here’s what we learned from this week’s action.
SEVERAL GAMES POSTPONED DUE TO AIR QUALITY ISSUES. WHO MAKES THOSE CALLS?
Unless you’re living under a rock, you’ve probably noticed the air quality in the South Sound hasn’t been great lately.
We’re having the driest October in these parts since the 1940s, which has prolonged the wildfire season. Relief looks like it could be on the way as early as this week, but last weekend, several games were postponed because of air quality issues.
Lakes’ home matchup against Spanaway Lake, one of the area’s biggest games of the week, was among the games impacted, moved to a Monday night doubleheader at Harry E. Lang Stadium in Lakewood.
So who exactly determines when games need to be canceled or postponed?
It’s not the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, contrary to popular belief. The WIAA doesn’t have an official smoke policy, it just relays the state Department of Health’s guidelines.
It’s up to individual school districts how they’d like to interpret those guidelines. The guidelines, which can be found on the DOH’s website, recommends athletic events and practices be canceled if the Air Quality Index (AQI) surpasses 100.
On Saturday, the AQI in Lakewood hovered around 138 at kickoff time, according to AirNow.gov. An AQI between 101-150 is considered “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” which includes children. An AQI between 151-200 is considered “unhealthy,” while anything above 200 is considered “very unhealthy/hazardous.”
Again, the state’s guidelines are merely recommendations, not rules. Some school districts have used an AQI of 150 as the threshold for canceling athletic events, while others have been more conservative in their approach. School district risk management professionals generally err on the side of caution, much to the displeasure of many high school coaches and athletes.
There’s healthy debate to be had about if and when games should be canceled due to air quality issues, but there’s one thing we can probably all agree on — the sooner the smoke leaves, the better.
SPANAWAY LAKE WINS BACK-AND-FORTH GAME AGAINST LAKES
Spanaway Lake made it three in a row in the series against the Lakes Lancers, winning a 16-15 game on Monday night at Harry E. Lang Stadium in Lakewood. The game was scheduled for Saturday but was postponed due to air quality issues.
The back-and-forth, turnover and penalty-filled contest ended when Spanaway Lake senior quarterback Dempsy James ran in a 1-yard quarterback sneak to put the Sentinels ahead for good. A long field goal attempt from Lakes in the final seconds of the game landed well short.
Spanaway Lake’s defense was up to the task, holding Lakes’ 1-2 punch of Leo Pulalasi and Ki’Marree Washington under 100 rushing yards. Senior corner Zion Jones, an Eastern Washington commit, fared well in his matchup against Lakes wide receiver David Wells, an Oregon State commit. Wells caught a pair of passes for 50 yards.
There may be no running back in the South Sound who runs with a nasty streak like Spanaway Lake sophomore D’Aryhian Clemons. He rushed for 135 yards in the win on 23 carries, averaging nearly six yards per carry. He doesn’t lack confidence, either.
“The coaches know if you put the ball in my hand, I promise you I’m gonna give you the outcome you want,” Clemons said after the game. “Everybody knows that.”
The win moves Spanaway Lake to 6-1 on the season and 5-0 in the 3A Pierce County League. Spanaway Lake’s lone loss came in the opener to Gig Harbor, but the Sentinels were without starting quarterback Dempsy James. Four-star recruit Jasiah Wagoner (hip) is still working back to full health and if he’s 100 percent by the time the postseason rolls around, this Spanaway Lake team has make a state tournament run.
Lakes, meanwhile, moves to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the 3A PCL with the loss. The Lancers will need to bounce back quickly: a matchup with league favorite Lincoln comes next on Saturday.
KENNEDY CATHOLIC BESTS AUBURN RIVERSIDE IN MEETING OF NPSL CHAMPS
Kennedy Catholic continues to run the North Puget Sound League.
In a matchup of last season’s 4A and 3A NPSL champions Thursday night at Auburn Memorial Stadium, the Lancers (6-1) built a touchdown lead by the break, and ran away from Auburn Riverside in the second half for an eventual 47-17 win.
The Lancers, winners of their past six after a season-opening loss to Eastside Catholic in September, piled up 470 yards of offense and reached the end zone six times in the win.
Kennedy Catholic is known for its high-scoring, high-flying offense. But, this season, the Lancers are just as dangerous on the ground. On some drives, they run their usual Air Raid offense. On others, they run the Wing-T.
Kennedy Catholic found success running both in a balanced win Thursday night.
The Lancers combined for 250 yards on 20 passing attempts, and 220 yards on 29 rushing attempts. Quarterback Devon Forehand completed 12-of-18 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns, while the Lancers also rushed for three scores — the last on a 97-yard keeper by Mason Hayes out of the Wing-T.
Kennedy Catholic resumes 4A NPSL play on Friday night at Tahoma, looking to take another step toward a fourth consecutive league title.
WASHINGTON COULD BE DANGEROUS POSTSEASON TEAM IN 2A
We felt before the season that Washington would surprise some people this fall. We even picked the Patriots to finish second in the 2A South Puget Sound League, behind Enumclaw. That prediction looked like it might not bear out when Washington started the season with three consecutive losses to North Thurston, Lakewood and a 41-7 rout at the hands of Enumclaw.
It would have been tempting to write Washington off at that point, but the Patriots had their best football ahead of them. Since stumbling out of the gate, the Patriots have won four straight, beating Clover Park, White River, Orting, and last Thursday night, knocking off No. 9 Fife at home, 28-21.
Senior quarterback Luke Elliott was on fire against Fife, passing for 291 yards and a pair of touchdowns and connecting four times for plays of over 30 yards in the win.
Washington is doing all this winning largely without the contributions of three-star running back Unterrio Latin-Henley, who has been sidelined with a rib injury most of the past month. When he returns, watch out. Washington could be a sneaky, dangerous contender in the 2A playoffs.
STILL UNDEFEATED
Three undefeated programs remain in the South Sound after seven weeks.
Lincoln (7-0) cruised by rival Silas in a 55-21 win Monday night at Mount Tahoma Stadium in Tacoma, and has now won each of its past five games by multiple possessions.
Lincoln hosts Lakes — which dropped its first loss of the season to Spanaway Lake on Monday night in Lakewood — in a key 3A PCL showdown Saturday afternoon at Lincoln Bowl in Tacoma.
Yelm (7-0) continued its dominant run through the 3A South Sound Conference with a 56-14 rout of a Timberline program that entered the game also unbeaten in league play.
William Carreto rushed for 204 yards and two touchdowns in the win, while Anthony Kiamco, Brayden Platt and Ray Wright also added rushing scores. Quarterback Damian Aalona threw for three touchdowns to Marius Aalona, Kyler Ronquillo and Tre Smith.
The Tornados, who have outscored their opponents, 403-41, through seven weeks, head to Peninsula this Friday in a game that will likely decide the 3A SSC title.
Enumclaw (7-0) kept its convincing run moving with a 49-13 rout of Orting, led by a 215-yard rushing performance from running back Emmit Otero.
The win over Orting was the fourth time in seven games Enumclaw has scored at least seven touchdowns.
The Hornets continue 2A SPSL play against Clover Park on Thursday.
Across the state, 22 programs still have spotless records. Chiawana remains the only undefeated team in 4A after edging Southridge, 21-20, last week. There are seven unbeaten teams left in 3A, four in 2A, two in 1A, two in 2B and six in 1B.
This story was originally published October 18, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
