High school football: 10 can’t-miss games in South Sound in 2023
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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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The high school football season is upon us, and league titles and bragging rights will be on the line.
Each week will feature intriguing matchups for local programs. These 10 games, in particular, are sure to entertain fans in the South Sound this fall.
PENINSULA SEAHAWKS VS. ENUMCLAW HORNETS
7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 31 at Pete’s Pool in Enumclaw
Peninsula is touting this as its “revenge game” after losing to Enumclaw at home last year, 29-27. That was the first of 12 straight wins for Enumclaw, which didn’t lose until the 2A state semifinals, to eventual champion Lynden. Enumclaw returns QB Gunnar Trachte and a handful of other all-league players. Look for senior WR Karson Holt to be Trachte’s top target. Peninsula will hope it can stay healthier this season after being bit by the injury bug in 2022. TE/DE Levi Semler and TE/DL Cole Muilenburg are impact players for the Seahawks. Both teams are state tournament-caliber programs.
LINCOLN ABES VS. AUBURN RIVERSIDE RAVENS
7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1 at Auburn Memorial Stadium
This Week 1 contest matches a pair of South Sound programs expected to contend for their respective league titles this fall — the Abes for a third consecutive 3A PCL crown, and the Ravens in the 3A NPSL — and is a rematch of last September’s nonleague contest in Tacoma. Lincoln scored early in that meeting but had to hold off a fourth quarter rally to close out a close, 28-21 victory. Abes graduated 3A PCL MVP, TNT All-Area player of the year and all-state QB Gabarri Johnson but bring back six starters on both offense and defense, and QB Sione Kaho is set to run Lincoln’s Air Raid as a freshman. Auburn Riverside also returns key playmakers, including four-star recruit Jonathan Epperson.
YELM TORNADOS VS. CAMAS PAPERMAKERS
7:15 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1 at Doc Harris Stadium in Camas
This Week 1 matchup should give us a good idea of where the reigning 3A state champions are. Camas might not be a 4A title contender this year, but the Papermakers are always a strong program and Doc Harris Stadium will be packed and hoping for an upset. How will Yelm replace the offensive production of WR Kyler Ronquillo, now at Princeton? This nonleague contest should give us some answers.
CURTIS VIKINGS VS. SUMNER SPARTANS
7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8 at Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner
Sumner has won all seven meetings with Curtis since joining the 4A SPSL in 2016 but needed a four-touchdown second-half performance to rally past the Vikings, 35-28, last season in University Place. Both the defending 4A SPSL champion Spartans and Vikings eventually advanced to the postseason and return top playmakers from their 2022 groups. Sumner brings back RB/LB Matthew Spurbeck, the league’s reigning MVP, and Curtis the co-offensive player of the year in QB Rocco Koch. It sets up another tough matchup this fall. This Week 2 contest might prove pivotal in the league standings, which could get crowded at the top.
MOUNT TAHOMA T-BIRDS VS. SPANAWAY LAKE SENTINELS
7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14 at Art Crate Field in Spanaway
The 3A Pierce County League feels wide open this year. The league only has three playoff bids, which means this game could be a pivotal early-season matchup for these postseason hopefuls. Mount Tahoma is confident its offense will be explosive ; 6-foot-5, 315-pound OT Marquise Thorpe-Taylor, a UCLA commit, sets the tone. The T-Birds will have to find a way to slow down Spanaway Lake RB D’aryhian Clemons, who is eager to prove doubters wrong this fall.
GRAHAM-KAPOWSIN EAGLES VS. SUMNER SPARTANS
7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28 at Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner
The annual meeting between these two 4A SPSL programs continues to deliver thrilling matchups season after season — and last fall the 4A state powers met twice. Sumner snapped Graham-Kapowsin’s five-game winning streak in the league series with a 34-31 win last September on the way to the 4A SPSL title, but the Eagles answered with a 28-21 victory when the programs were paired up in the 4A state quarterfinals two months later. This year’s Week 5 showdown could be pivotal in the 4A SPSL title race again and is set to feature some of the South Sound’s top talent, including a pair of returning TNT all-state picks in Sumner RB/LB Matthew Spurbeck and Graham-Kapowsin WR/DB Jabez Woods, who were the rushing and receiving leaders, respectively, in both meetings last season.
TUMWATER T-BIRDS VS. W.F. WEST BEARCATS
7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29 at Bearcat Stadium in Chehalis
W.F. West won the league last year and Tumwater, which returns 15 starters, is hungry to return to the top of 2A EvCo. Tumwater’s linebacking corps is a strength, led by Dane Iversen and Beckett Wall. The game is happening in late September, so we think it’ll be the de-facto league title game. W.F. West graduated a handful of impact players, but first-team wideout Gage Brumfield moves to quarterback. If the T-Birds want to get back on top of the 2A EvCo, this is the game they have to win.
LINCOLN ABES VS. LAKES LANCERS
7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20 at Harry E. Lang Stadium in Lakewood
We’re fascinated to see how the 3A PCL shakes out this year. It feels more wide open than it has in years, but Lincoln and Lakes are always at or near the top of the standings. Both teams are stacked at linebacker and both programs feature promising young quarterbacks: Lakes QB Legend Galeai is entering his second season starting for the Lancers and Lincoln freshman QB Sione Kaho takes the reigns for the Abes, replacing 2022 TNT All-Area player of the year Gabarri Johnson.
GRAHAM-KAPOWSIN EAGLES VS. EMERALD RIDGE JAGUARS
7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21 at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup
Get ready for a late regular season 4A SPSL matchup that could have league title implications and features two programs that advanced to the 4A state semifinals last November and are gearing up for postseason runs again in 2023. The Eagles are set up for a high-flying passing attack, led by second-year starting QB Daveon Superales and multiple pass catchers with Division I offers, including receivers Jabez Woods, Malachi Durant and Khris Norris, and TE Noah Flores. Emerald Ridge brings back fourth-year starting QB Jake Schakel, an Eastern Washington commit and last year’s 4A SPSL co-offensive player of the year, as well as Schakel’s top two receiving targets in Idaho commit Tony Harste and Gio Kafentzis. The Jaguars add a Mat Classic champion in RB Navarre Dixon to the backfield. Graham-Kapowsin won last season’s meeting, 35-25, has an active seven-game winning streak in the series, and a 15-1 all-time record against the Jaguars.
TIMBERLINE BLAZERS VS. PENINSULA SEAHAWKS
7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27 at Roy Anderson Field in Gig Harbor
We’d be surprised if reigning 3A SSC and state champion Yelm doesn’t run the league table again in 2023. That makes the matchup between Timberline and Peninsula the likely second-place fixture. The Seahawks and Blazers have provided entertainment every time they’ve met in recent years. Peninsula’s last three games against Timberline — all Peninsula wins — have been decided by a total of eight points. Peninsula beat Timberline 24-21 in overtime last year, 35-33 in 2021 and 24-21 in overtime in 2019 (the teams didn’t meet in 2020 during COVID).
This story was originally published August 30, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
