High school football roundup: Curtis’ Rocco Koch throws 5 TDs, runs for another in Week 1
Results, recaps and more from Thursday night’s high school football contests around the South Sound will be posted on this page throughout the evening.
Find Week 1 scores from games across Washington on our statewide scoring sheet, which will be updated live all weekend.
CURTIS 45, OLYMPIA 13
Curtis High School quarterback Rocco Koch, last season’s Class 4A South Puget Sound League co-offensive player of the year, piled up more than 300 yards and scored six total touchdowns Thursday night in University Place to lead the Vikings to a convincing season-opening victory.
Curtis scored twice in the second quarter to take a narrow lead into halftime, then scored on each of five second-half drives to eventually post a 45-13 win over visiting Olympia at Viking Stadium.
“We were just ready,” Koch said of the Vikings’ quick start to the season, which also gives them an early win in 4A SPSL play.
Koch, a senior, tossed Curtis’ first touchdown of the fall on the first play of the second quarter, connecting with junior Xavier Ahrens on a 43-yard pass.
He gave the Vikings what turned out to be the game’s final lead on their next offensive play less than two minutes later, sprinting up the right sideline on a keeper for 68 yards.
Curtis led 14-13 at halftime, and added four more touchdowns on their next four possessions.
Koch tossed two more scoring passes to Ahrens in the third quarter of 12 and 37 yards, then twice connected with junior Parker Mady in the fourth on touchdowns of 24 and 45 yards.
Ethan Bell closed out scoring for the Vikings with a 30-yard field goal late in the final quarter.
Koch finished 11-of-12 passing for 207 yards and the five touchdowns, and added 128 yards and another score on 15 carries. He at one point threw touchdowns on four consecutive passes — and three consecutive offensive plays.
“That’s probably the best Rocco has thrown the ball,” Curtis coach Darren McKay said. “He’s put in some work in the offseason, obviously not just this year, but in the years past.”
Ahrens had three catches — all touchdowns — for 92 yards, and added a pair of interceptions on defense, while Mady had five catches for 100 yards and the two scores.
“It’s amazing,” Koch said. “I’m glad for my last year to have them back. Just two superstars.”
Olympia controlled possession early, and took the game’s first lead late in the first quarter on a 45-yard pass from Drew Carlson to Coen Cronk.
After Curtis took a 14-7 lead with 9:59 remaining in the half, the Bears answered, driving into the red zone on 12 plays. Olympia’s starting center left the game with a serious ankle injury during the drive, and was assisted by medical staff on the field as teammates rallied around him.
“They love each other,” Olympia coach Nick Mullen said. “They take care of each other.”
Carlson scored the Bears’ second touchdown on an 8-yard keeper with 3:12 to play in the second quarter to make it 14-13.
Carlson led Olympia with 13 carries for 94 yards and the rushing touchdown, and was 6-of-12 passing for 84 yards and the one touchdown.
Olympia hosts Emerald Ridge in another 4A SPSL contest next Friday, while Curtis travels to play league rival Sumner.
ENUMCLAW 20, PENINSULA 13
Shamus Twohey put the ball in the end zone, then he put the game away for the Enumclaw Hornets in their 2023 season-opener at Pete’s Pool on Thursday night in Enumclaw.
Twohey’s second touchdown of the game, a 5-yard bull run off the right side, put Enumclaw in front of visiting Peninsula, 20-13, with 3:30 left in the fourth quarter. Four plays later on defense, Twohey burst through the Seahawks line and sacked Peninsula quarterback Mana Smythe for a 12-yard loss with about two and a half minutes left.
“I think that people know we want to give it to him,” Enumclaw coach Mark Gunderson said. “And I don’t think it matters.”
After a timeout, on second-and-22 from the Peninsula 23-yard line, Smythe dropped back to pass and threw over the middle into the waiting hands of Enumclaw defensive back Alec Johnson. Smythe’s second interception of the game with 2:01 left meant the Hornets needed one first down to end the game.
“Just a real fun opener,” Peninsula coach Ross Filkins said.
Enumclaw got the needed first down and ran the clock out with two kneel-downs from quarterback Gunnar Trachte.
“We know that we can play a lot cleaner game than that,” Gunderson said. “For us, it was just never quit to take that thing all the way.”
Twohey finished with 78 yards rushing and the two second-half touchdowns on eight carries. Tristan Donovan added 83 yards and the only score of the first half on 14 carries for the Hornets.
Landon Watson ran it 13 times for 58 yards and the touchdown that put Peninsula up, 7-6, with 3:14 to go in the third quarter. Smythe connected with Henry Ganisin for an 80-yard touchdown pass with 9:16 left that gave the Seahawks a 13-12 advantage.
GRAHAM-KAPOWSIN 49, ROGERS 10
Malachi Durant wasted no time in his Graham-Kapowsin debut — the Puyallup transfer and Oregon State commit took the game’s opening kickoff 90 yards to the end zone, and the Eagles flew away with a 49-10 victory at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup to open their 2023 schedule.
Graham-Kapowsin quarterback Daveon Superales tossed six touchdowns — two to Durant — the stars of Thursday night’s rout of 4A SPSL rival Rogers.
Just before halftime, Durant broke free and secured a 35-yard touchdown — all alone. His third total touchdown put the Eagles ahead by 35.
Durant paced all receivers with 109 yards on four catches, two receiving touchdowns, plus his season-opening kickoff return.
Rogers’ lone touchdown came on Martyn Hernandez’s dueling 95-yard kickoff return in the second quarter.
Superales completed 18-of-24 passes for 296 yards and six touchdowns in a stellar season debut. Khris Norris, Mika Roberson, Kase Betz and Quinncey Ratteray caught one touchdown apiece.
ORTING 28, FIFE 14
Orting’s rushing attack gave coach Tom Bannan no choice but to pound the rock, over and over again. A touchdown-deficit evaporated in the second half when, in a change of play-style, the Cardinals attempted only one pass after halftime.
“We got to basics,” Bannan said. “We ran the ball every play. … We started hitting off-tackle stuff, and they just couldn’t stop it.”
Bannan’s defense posted a second-half shutout and Orting emerged victorious, 28-14, over rival-Fife in the season-opener.
Two-way lineman Jashaun Pena tallied two sacks, and second-half defensive adjustments prevented any Fife rally. Former middle linebacker Whyatt Phelan, meanwhile, impressed Bannan in his first-career start at nose guard.
The campaign continues next week at Washington in another 2A SPSL contest.
“They’re probably going to try to throw the football a little bit,” Bannan said of the Patriots. “We’ll have to stop the pass.”
FRANKLIN PIERCE 14, WHITE RIVER 7
Franklin Pierce’s run game set the first-half tone, and its defense suffocated the Hornets en route to a road win at White River High School.
The Cardinals fumbled four times in the second-half, the game nearly slipping away — but their defense preserved the lead and sacked White River quarterbacks five times in the same span.
Cardinals tailbacks Jeremiah Olione and CJ Goode converted first-half rushing touchdowns.
“Tip of the hat to what White River was doing defensively to stop us,” Franklin Pierce head coach Trevor Hanson said. “(They) played really physical and fast … their linebackers were blitzing us consistently through the night.
“White River might surprise some people and win some games this year.”
Yet Franklin Pierce prevailed in Thursday’s season-opener, now on to title-contending Enumclaw for their 2A SPSL opener on Sept. 7.
What needs to look different?
“Trust and discipline,” Hanson said. “We have to be more violent through the forward pass on our offensive side.
“Again, defense is why we won tonight.”
DECATUR 48, KENTLAKE 7
The Gators opened their season in style — a dominant, 48-7 win over Kentlake in a nonleague contest at French Field.
A statement win on the road, Decatur’s defense posted a first-half shutout and trotted into the locker room with a 28-point halftime lead.
Decatur QB/FS Spencer Holloway flashed dual-threat versatility just before halftime. He escaped a collapsing pocket and rolled to his right, hitting WR Jaliel Anderson for a last-minute touchdown in the back corner. The Gators led, 28-0, and never looked back.
Decatur’s 48 points are the most in a game since 2019, per Ben Ray of the Federal Way Mirror.
Spanaway Lake 26, Gig Harbor 21
With under two seconds left on the clock, D’aryhian Clemons called game. On third-and-goal from the 1-yard line, the Spanaway Lake running back and rising junior recruit bounced a run to the outside and walked into the end zone at Art Crate Field against visiting Gig Harbor, sealing a 26-21 win for the Sentinels.
It was Clemons’ third touchdown of the night -- twice as a rusher, plus a 25-yard interception return in the secondary. He established Spanaway Lake’s run game with 15 carries for 77 rushing yards and two scores, adding two receptions for 32 yards.
Sentinels safety Laron Paige forced and recovered a Tides fumble, part of a seven-tackle and four-assist performance in the season opener.
Spanaway Lake will face Mount Si on the road next Friday night, before opening 3A PCL play at home against Mount Tahoma on Thursday, Sept. 14.
This story was originally published September 1, 2023 at 12:03 AM.
