Week 8: What we learned from this week’s high school football games in the South Sound
In the eighth week of the high school football season in the South Sound, some programs wrapped up league titles while others dropped upset losses, and three teams remained undefeated.
Here’s what we learned from this week’s action.
WHICH LEAGUE TITLES HAVE BEEN WRAPPED UP?
Class 4A North Puget Sound League power Kennedy Catholic is one win away from wrapping up a fourth consecutive undefeated league title.
In five league victories so far this fall, the No. 7 Lancers have outscored their opponents — Kentwood, Decatur, Federal Way, Kentridge and Tahoma — 242-42.
In their latest win, the Lancers routed Tahoma, 50-7, on Friday night on the road, piling up 446 yards of offense and causing a pair of turnovers.
The Lancers host Mount Rainier on Saturday afternoon at Highline Memorial Stadium in Burien in the regular season finale, looking to keep a 22-game league winning streak going. Kennedy Catholic’s most recent loss in league play was in 2018.
Federal Way is the only 4A NPSL team that could still match the Lancers’ league record, should the Eagles win this weekend and Mount Rainier also win. But, the Lancers hold the tiebreaker over Federal Way, having won the head-to-head matchup, 40-8, the final week of September.
The 4A South Puget Sound League isn’t decided quite yet, but No. 6 Sumner (7-1) is in position to capture its first outright league championship since 2016 this weekend, as the only one-loss team remaining.
The Spartans, No. 2 Emerald Ridge and No. 8 Puyallup had matching records entering Week 8, but both the Jaguars (6-2) and Vikings (6-2) dropped upset losses on the road on Saturday.
Graham-Kapowsin bested Emerald Ridge, 35-25, on Saturday afternoon at Art Crate Field in Spanaway. Bellarmine Prep rallied past Puyallup, 13-12, following a weather delay Saturday night in Tacoma.
Sumner, meanwhile, posted a 42-0 shutout of Bethel on Saturday night at home, putting the Spartans in the driver’s seat heading into the final week of the regular season. A matchup against South Kitsap is still ahead Friday night at Sunset Chev Stadium.
Auburn (7-1) is the only remaining 3A NPSL team without a league loss, giving the program a chance to secure an undefeated league title this weekend.
Defending league champion Auburn Riverside (4-4) and Auburn Mountainview (5-1) each have one 3A NPSL defeat.
The Lions handed the Ravens their first league loss last weekend, in a 20-14 win Friday night at Auburn Memorial Stadium. Auburn Mountainview’s only league loss was to Auburn, 28-7, back in September.
Auburn and Auburn Riverside meet Friday night at Auburn Memorial Stadium.
Defending 3A Pierce County League champion No. 5 Lincoln (8-0) and Spanaway Lake (6-1) are both undefeated in league play heading into Week 9, and play Friday night at Art Crate Field in Spanaway for the title.
Undefeated Yelm, the top-ranked team in 3A, wrapped up the 3A South Sound Conference title with a 58-14 rout of Peninsula on Friday night at Roy Anderson Field in Purdy.
Yelm plays Gig Harbor this week, but even with an unlikely loss, the Tornados already hold the tiebreaker with wins over Peninsula and Timberline.
No. 2 Enumclaw had to wait until Monday night, but wrapped up the 2A SPSL title with a 70-7 win over Clover Park at Pete’s Pool in Enumclaw.
Enumclaw faces White River in the season finale, and holds the tiebreaker over Washington, currently second in the league, beating the Patriots 41-7 in Week 3.
No. 4 W.F. West locked up the 2A Evergreen Conference with a 42-15 win Thursday over Aberdeen. The Bearcats beat defending league champion Tumwater, 28-7, in late September for the first time since 2009, putting them in good position to secure the 2A EvCo title.
Cascade Christian (6-2) is one win away from sweeping the 1A Nisqually League. The Cougars hold tiebreakers over both East Jefferson and Bellevue Christian, which enter the final week with one league loss each.
Cascade Christian shut out Vashon Island, 71-0, in its most recent win last week and is averaging 47.8 points per game in league contests this season, while allowing only 5.3.
No. 8 Tenino (7-1) wrapped up its 1A Evergreen Conference schedule with a 38-23 road win over No. 4 Montesano last week, earning at least a share of the league title.
Montesano and No. 5 Eatonville enter Week 9 with one 1A Evergreen loss and one league game still to play. Eatonville’s one league loss to this point is to Montesano, Montesano’s is to Tenino and Tenino’s is to Eatonville.
SEVERAL UPSETS IN SOUTH SOUND
One of the biggest upsets of the week came courtesy of the defending 4A state champions.
Graham-Kapowsin defeated Emerald Ridge, 35-25, in a 4A SPSL clash Saturday at Art Crate Field in Spanaway to extend the series winning streak to seven games.
We can’t take credit for predicting the upset, but we felt if anyone were up for the challenge of slowing down Emerald Ridge’s passing attack, it would be the Eagles’ talented secondary, which is probably the best in the 4A SPSL.
Graham-Kapowsin extended the lead to 28-18 on Michael Toa’s 3-yard run with 10:13 to go in the game. One play later, Caden Smith intercepted Jaguars quarterback Jake Schakel and returned the ball 37 yards for another touchdown.
“They’d been running those same routes, and we’d watched a lot of film,” Smith said. “It all comes down to work. Put it in. Read it.”
For weeks, first-year Eagles coach Jeff Logan has liked what he’s been seeing from his improving team. Graham-Kapowsin lost a ton from last year’s historically dominant state championship team, thrusting a lot of inexperienced players into the spotlight this season.
As Graham-Kapowsin has gotten healthier and those players have gotten more varsity snaps under their belts, the Eagles are playing good football at the right time and should head into the postseason with plenty of confidence.
It wasn’t a good week for Puyallup School District teams. In addition to Emerald Ridge losing, Puyallup also lost a 4A SPSL contest to Bellarmine Prep, 13-12, on Saturday night in Tacoma. The Lions rallied from a 9-0 deficit following a weather delay.
In the 3A NPSL, Auburn Mountainview upset Auburn Riverside, setting up an interesting final week in the league.
LINCOLN, SPANAWAY LAKE TO PLAY FOR 3A PCL TITLE
The 3A PCL championship will be decided the final week of the regular season.
Both Lincoln and Spanaway Lake enter Week 9 with 5-0 records in league play, having swept Bonney Lake, Lakes, Mount Tahoma, Silas and Stadium.
The Sentinels edged the Lancers, 16-15, in Week 8 in their fifth league contest, while the Abes posted a 42-28 win over Lakes on Saturday afternoon at Lincoln Bowl in Tacoma to set up the title game.
Lincoln won the most recent meeting with Spanaway Lake, 41-14, last September as part of an undefeated 3A PCL championship run in the 2021 fall season. That was seven months after the Sentinels stunned the Abes, 34-7, on the way to an unbeaten league title in the shortened spring season.
The Abes have a 5-1 advantage in the series since the 3A PCL was created ahead of the 2016 season.
NO PLATT, NO PROBLEM FOR 3A SSC CHAMP YELM
Undefeated Yelm wrapped up the 3A SSC title with a 58-14 rout of Peninsula on Friday night at Roy Anderson Field in Purdy.
Just how dominant are the Yelm Tornados this fall?
Consider Yelm was without four-star running back and linebacker Brayden Platt (ankle) — perhaps the best player to come out of Thurston County since Jonathan Stewart walked the halls at Timberline — and it didn’t matter one bit.
Yelm racked up 453 yards of offense and before Yelm’s reserves entered the game, the Tornados had held Peninsula to 112 yards of offense. Yelm at will, leading 44-0 at the end of the third quarter. For the seventh consecutive game, the running clock rule went into effect for the program’s opponent.
Kyler Ronquillo was electric in every phase for the Tornados, scoring a rushing touchdown, a toe-tap receiving touchdown in the back of the end zone, and returning a kickoff 96 yards for another touchdown.
Yelm added Skyview transfer Isaiah Patterson — a three-star recruit who holds offers from Oregon and Washington State — to its roster ahead of this season. He may be the piece that puts Yelm over the top and into the state championship game this season. Patterson lived in Peninsula’s backfield, accumulating 4 1/2 sacks in the win.
Not many teams have the depth to be missing a four-star recruit and not miss a beat, but this team is loaded all over the field. The Tornados have outscored their opponents, 461-55, this season. Platt tried to play against Peninsula, participating in pregame warmups before telling coaches that he couldn’t go.
Yelm plays Gig Harbor this week in the regular season finale and Platt could be ready to return, but with the league title secured, we wouldn’t be surprised if Yelm just played it safe and held him out until the playoffs.
STILL UNDEFEATED
Three South Sound teams remain undefeated heading into the final week of the regular season.
Lincoln (8-0) kept its undefeated season rolling with a 42-28 win over Lakes on Saturday afternoon in Tacoma.
Yelm (8-0) routed Peninsula, 58-14, on Friday night in Purdy. The Tornados’ 461 points scored through eight weeks are the most of any 11-man football program in the state, while their 55 points allowed are the fewest in 3A.
Enumclaw (8-0) put up a season-high point total in a 70-7 rout of Clover Park on Monday night at Pete’s Pool in Enumclaw.
There are 19 teams across the state still carrying undefeated records, including Chiawana in 4A, five teams in 3A, three in 2A, two in 1A, two in 2B and six in 1B.
