Week 2: What we learned from this week’s high school football games in the South Sound
Week 2 of the high school football season is in the books. TNT high school sports reporters Jon Manley, Lauren Smith and Tyler Wicke discuss what stood out from this week’s action.
What’s your biggest takeaway from Week 2?
Manley: Curtis has arrived as a 4A SPSL title contender. The Vikings have been trending upward since Darren McKay took over the program four years ago. McKay knew the Vikings would take their lumps when he named Rocco Koch the starting QB as a freshman. But he saw something special in Koch, even then. That decision has proven prescient, evidenced by a tantalizing Koch performance in Friday night’s road win against reigning league champion Sumner. Koch’s line: 17-of-20 passing for 240 yards and a touchdown; 28 carries for 173 yards and four more touchdowns. Sumner coach Keith Ross compared Koch to former Camas great Jack Colletto, who went on to a successful career at Oregon State and now plays for the San Francisco 49ers. Lofty praise.
Smith: Last season, three programs were considered top-tier teams in the 4A SPSL. Sumner, a regular in the state bracket, won the league for the first time since 2016 and reached the state quarterfinals. Graham-Kapowsin, then the defending 4A state champion, advanced to the semifinals. So did Emerald Ridge. This fall there certainly appear to be four elite teams in perhaps the state’s toughest league. Curtis entered the season as a team to watch in the 4A SPSL race after advancing to the district playoffs last fall, and the Vikings’ 38-33 win over the Spartans on the road Friday night solidifies their spot in the league’s top tier. Four of the remaining five matchups between these four programs are in Weeks 3, 4, 5 and 6, which will start to give an indication of what the top of the 4A SPSL standings will look like in 2023. Can any program in this league end the regular season undefeated will be a question moving forward.
Wicke: No Kyler Ronquillo, no problem: Yelm’s offense looked just as elite on Friday night as their 3A title-winning group did in 2022. It took a week to find their groove — they eked by Camas, 8-7, last week and needed a blocked field-goal by Anthony Kiamco at the buzzer to win it — but the Tornados just piled 62 points on 4A Union and appear very much in the running for a repeat.
Which team impressed you most in Week 2?
Manley: Again, Curtis, but I’ll mention a couple others that stood out. Graham-Kapowsin already looks in postseason form — and the Eagles haven’t even had their 2022 all-state receiver Jabez Woods (team discipline) through the first two games of the season. With Malachi Durant in the fold this season and Woods returning — in addition to receivers Khris Norris and Mika Roberson — there’s an embarrassment of riches for quarterback Daveon Superales. In 2A, Tumwater was really impressive, dominating North Kitsap on the road, 34-14. Tumwater doesn’t air the ball out often, but has big-play potential when it does, and QB Ethan Kastner took advantage, throwing two touchdowns and a perfect 10-for-10 passing.
Smith: Also Curtis. Friday’s statement victory over Sumner was the Vikings’ first over the perennial 4A SPSL power since the Spartans joined the league in 2016. The Spartans entered the game with a perfect record against Curtis in 4A SPSL play the past seven seasons, and won most of those contests by multiple TDs. The Vikings’ 38 points in the contest are the most Sumner has allowed in the recent series between the two programs, and the most the Spartans have allowed to any opponent since the 2021 state quarterfinals.
Wicke: It’s hard to imagine a better start for Rocco Koch and the Curtis Vikings, now 2-0 with league victories over Olympia and Sumner. They’re in a loaded 4A SPSL — and Graham-Kapowsin can compete for a state title, too — but it sure looks like the Vikings will go as far as Koch takes them.
Which Week 2 result was the most surprising?
Manley: Orting blowing out Washington, 46-6. Washington looks like it’s rebuilding after reaching the 2A state tournament last season. Orting has officially announced itself as a 2A SPSL title contender after season-opening league wins against Fife and Washington. Freshman RB Shiron Seniours looks like the real deal. He totaled four TDs — two rushing, two receiving — in a breakout game for the Cardinals.
Smith: Tumwater is a perennial state contender, so while the T-Birds’ victory over North Kitsap isn’t necessarily surprising, posting a 34-14 win over last year’s 2A state runner-up on the road is impressive. The T-Birds tallied five passing TDs against a Vikings program that returned six defensive starters from the group that allowed 7.2 points per game in 2022 — including limiting Tumwater to a single TD in an eventual 8-7 win for the T-Birds in Week 2 last September. Tumwater is the first team to score 34 points against North Kitsap since Week 1 of the 2021 fall season — and that still resulted in a 50-36 win for the Vikings over Central Kitsap. North Kitsap hadn’t allowed that many points in a loss since 2019.
Wicke: Emerald Ridge notched its first-ever state appearance in 2022, and so far, has fielded a state-caliber squad in 2023. Most recently was a 34-0 shutout of SPSL-rival Olympia, which followed their week-one win over Puyallup. QB Jake Schakel continues to find his pair of all-league wideouts in Tony Harste and Gio Kafentzis, plus a defense that returned seven starters and has allowed 23 total points in two games.
Which team should be on every opponent’s radar moving forward?
Manley: Tumwater not only looks like the heavy favorite to win the 2A EvCo now — the T-Birds once again look the part of a state championship contender in Willie Garrow’s first season at the helm. The offense is firing on all cylinders and LB Dane Iversen and co. have held Tumwater’s first two opponents to just 22 total points through two games.
Smith: Curtis is 2-0 and one of three remaining undefeated teams in the 4A SPSL following Friday’s win over defending league champion Sumner. Upcoming matchups with a pair of returning 4A state semifinalists in Emerald Ridge (Week 4) and Graham-Kapowsin (Week 6) will offer big tests for the Vikings. Orting made another statement in the 2A SPSL with a 40-point win over Washington. The Cardinals have a pair of victories over returning state playoffs teams in the first two weeks, after also besting Fife in Week 1. Mount Tahoma might be 0-2, but the two losses were by a combined 10 points to two programs in North Kitsap (2A) and Eastlake (4A) that reached the state bracket in 2022. T-Birds are expected to contend in the 3A PCL, and begin league play next week.
Wicke: Enumclaw reestablished itself as a 2A contender with a statement victory over 3A Peninsula and, most recently, a suffocation of league-rival Franklin Pierce (six points allowed). The Hornets returned a boatload of starters — QB Gunnar Trachte and WR Karson Holt included — and are again poised for a deep run. It sure looks like Orting has closed the gap, though, and Tumwater might run away with the 2A EvCo. It’ll be a fun season for 2A fans in the South Sound.
Which individual performance stood out most in Week 2?
Manley: For me, it has to be Curtis QB Rocco Koch. His line: 17-of-20 passing for 240 yards and a touchdown; 28 carries for 173 yards and four more touchdowns. We’ve all known Koch is a relentless runner, but I was equally impressed with what I saw from him in the passing game in Friday’s win. He made several big-time throws to receivers Parker Mady and Xavier Ahrens to keep drives alive and extend them. The Vikings didn’t punt a single time in the win. Through two games, Koch is completing a ridiculous 88 percent of his passes. Right now, this offense looks unstoppable. I’ll also mention Yelm WR Marius Aalona. After Yelm’s offense struggled against Camas in Week 1, the Tornados hung 62 in a win over Union in Week 2. Aalona hauled in 11 catches for 138 yards and three TDs.
Smith: Curtis QB Rocco Koch has delivered stellar performances in back-to-back wins, piling up six TDs in a convincing victory over Olympia in Week 1, and then five more in the statement win over Sumner in Week 2. Through two games, Koch has an 87.5 completion percentage, has thrown for 400-plus yards and six TDs, and has rushed for 300-plus yards and five more scores.
Wicke: Orting’s freshman RB Shrion Seniours scored four touchdowns in just his second-ever high school game, two receiving and two rushing, in a blowout over Washington. Head coach Tom Bannan told me on on Aug. 22, as Seniours took rushing reps at practice: “This kid’s gonna be good.” It’s looking like it already, and as a dual-threat. The Cardinals look the part of a 2A contender, too.
