High school football season preview: 2A South Puget Sound League

By Doug Drowley

Updated August 31, 2023 10:13 AM

High school football is back

The News Tribune is visiting schools in the area and previewing local leagues as the first week of games approaches.

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High school football is back in the South Sound. Practices are underway as programs across the state prepare for the beginning of the 2023 season.

The News Tribune 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.

2A SOUTH PUGET SOUND LEAGUE

Who’s the favorite?

Just a year ago, things felt wide open in the 2A SPSL. After a two-year stretch where Enumclaw got to the state quarterfinals and to the semifinals before losing last November to eventual state champ Lynden, the Hornets have the consensus from league coaches and us here at The News Tribune.

Sure, 2A SPSL MVP Emmit Otero and 2A SPSL offensive lineman of the year Zeke Luchi are gone. But, the cupboard is anything but bare for 12th-year coach Mark Gunderson. Luchi’s front-line mate Ryan Fehr, also a 2A SPSL first-team selection in 2022, returns for his senior year. Fehr and company will be blocking for a cadre of running backs, including second-team selection Louie Chevalier, who is still just a junior. Senior fullback Seamus Twohey and senior tailback Tristin Donovan also will get carries for a team that may find more offense through the air this season.

That passing game will come via the strong arm of senior quarterback Gunnar Trachte, a 6-foot-4 signal caller who earned 2A SPSL second-team honors as a junior despite a largely run-oriented attack.

The Hornets bring back seven starters on the defensive side of the ball. Junior defensive lineman Fernando Reyes, a two-time first-team pick, leads that group. In the linebacking corps, junior Colton Paulson steps in to take over for league defensive player of the year Austin Paulson, his brother, as Enumclaw looks to make a third consecutive deep run in the playoffs.

Any other contenders?

Yes, plenty. In fact, five teams believe they have the stuff to finish second behind the Hornets this season. Steilacoom, with senior running back Jaycion Cain leading the way, has talent on both sides of the ball. Cain will be complemented on the outside by receiver Jaydus Green. The linebacking corps is led by another physical threat in Deidrick McCrayton.

Cain was named the 2A SPSL offensive player of the year as a junior after he rushed for 1,125 yards and 15 touchdowns for the Sentinels. Green caught 40 passes from returning quarterback Drew Macdonald for 888 yards and 13 touchdowns.

The potential surprise of the group hangs out down in Orting. For the second straight year, the Cardinals return a plethora of starters — seven on each side of the ball — which has Orting feeling like it may have the experience and talent to even challenge Enumclaw for a league title. Defensively, the Cardinals have 2A SPSL first-team selection Michael Berry back at defensive end and they will welcome back linebacker Kaiden Whitaker from the injury he suffered midway through the season. When Whitaker was hurt in Game 5 he already had 54 tackles after having 95 as a sophomore.

Fife returns six starters on offense and seven on defense from last season’s state playoffs group. Senior Zach Robertson, a 2A SPSL first-team selection last fall, is among several running backs returning to Fife’s hybrid Wing-T this fall. The program also returns experience up front, bringing back two starting offensive linemen, and more who played rotational roles in 2022.

Franklin Pierce is into its second season with its new, run-heavy offense as coach Trevor Hanson has thoughts of two 1,000-yard rushers in 2023. To help, Hanson brought in a guy who knows the offense inside and out, former Tenino head coach Cary Nagel, as offensive coordinator.

And finally, there’s Washington, led by the athletic Unterrio Latin-Henley, who will split time between receiver and running back in 2023. If he stays healthy and available, he’s one of the league’s most dynamic players. The Patriots also are experienced with six returners on offense and five on defense, led by two-way TE/LB Dan Novak and OL Jordan Pelupelu.