Week 4: What we learned from this week’s high school football games in the South Sound
Week 4 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 4?
Manley: I thought Curtis would be pretty good this year. I didn’t know the Vikings would be this good. Curtis not only looks like a contender to win the 4A SPSL now — the Vikings might go win the whole dang thing if the offense keeps playing like this. QB Rocco Koch is on the shortlist for TNT All-Area player of the year honors. He accounted for 485 yards in Curtis’ win over Emerald Ridge and led the Vikings in both rushing and passing, racking up six total TDs. His line: 15-of-19 for 273 yards and 3 TDs and 212 rushing yards and three more TDs on 31 carries. This offense looks unstoppable right now.
Smith: Eight South Sound programs remain undefeated — and all of them posted convincing wins in Week 4. Curtis posted a 50-34 victory over Emerald Ridge, while Graham-Kapowsin shut out Bellarmine Prep, 35-0, as the only two remaining undefeated 4A SPSL teams. Defending 3A state champion Yelm routed River Ridge, 59-7. Defending 2A SPSL champion Enumclaw rolled to a 37-7 win over Orting. Tumwater opened 2A EvCo play with a 55-7 victory over Centralia. Cascade Christian posted a second consecutive shutout with a 74-0 victory over East Jefferson to open 1A Nisqually League play. And Chief Leschi (58-6 win over Oakville) and Northwest Christian (68-19 win over Evergreen Lutheran) both improved to 3-0.
Wicke: My goodness, Curtis. The Vikings hosted unbeaten Emerald Ridge on Friday night, only to drop 50 points in what was supposed to be a closely-contested matchup between state contenders. Curtis may have elevated itself to favorite-status, or at least one of few. QB Rocco Koch is playing MVP-caliber football, responsible for six total TDs in the 50-34 win. Their home matchup with Graham-Kapowsin on Oct. 6 makes a strong argument as the game to watch in the South Sound this fall.
Which team impressed you most in Week 4?
Manley: Bonney Lake hammered Spanaway Lake, 42-14. The Panthers are firmly in the 3A PCL title race and look good on both sides of the ball. I like the balance on offense, too: QB Brayden Palmer is a good dual-threat athlete and running back Marcus Lloyd has put together an impressive season. Bonney Lake’s next two games against Lincoln and Mount Tahoma will be big tests.
Smith: Signature win for Mount Tahoma against Tacoma Public Schools rival Lincoln this week, rallying for a 24-20 victory after recovering an onside kick, and scoring the game-winning TD on a 14-yard pass from Tre Walker to Anthony Quintanilla in the final moments. The T-Birds not only improved to 2-0 in 3A PCL play with the win, but also handed the two-time defending league champion Abes their first league loss since the shortened 2021 spring season, ending Lincoln’s 15-game streak in 3A PCL contests.
Wicke: Mount Tahoma recovered a last-gasp onside kick and mounted a game-winning touchdown drive to stun rival Lincoln for the first time since 2011. It’s a big win in a 3A PCL that suddenly feels wide open. Bonney Lake impressed me with a 42-14 rout of Spanaway Lake, a week removed from an even larger statement — a road win over perennially-great Lakes. Mount Tahoma and Bonney Lake, the two remaining unbeatens, meet on Oct. 6.
Which of the remaining undefeated teams has been the most impressive?
Manley: After being held to just eight points in a road win over Camas in Week 1, defending 3A state champion Yelm has ripped off three straight blowout wins, averaging 59 points per game during that stretch. After being limited the first few weeks of the season with an injury, Brayden Platt scored three TDs in Yelm’s win over River Ridge last week. RB Anthony Kiamco has been putting together a good season behind that line, too.
Smith: The two remaining undefeated 4A SPSL teams — Curtis and Graham-Kapowsin. The Vikings have scored five or more TDs in four convincing wins, and have already bested a pair of returning 4A state playoffs teams in defending league champion Sumner (38-33) in Week 2 and Emerald Ridge (50-34) in Week 4. QB Rocco Koch has already passed for 13 TDs and rushed for nine more to lead a Vikings offense that has been nearly unstoppable so far. Graham-Kapowsin has rolled to four multi-touchdown wins, led by an offense that is averaging 406.8 yards per game. QB Daveon Superales has completed 76.1 percent of his passes for 1,146 yards and 16 TDs, and four Eagles have multiple receiving TDs. Graham-Kapowsin’s defense is allowing nine points per game, and shut out Bellarmine Prep last week.
Wicke: Perhaps Enumclaw is just this good — the Hornets dominated Orting, 37-7, in a Friday-night meeting between two unbeatens. Orting’s best chance to hoist a 2A SPSL trophy required this upset over the reigning champion and tournament contender, but Mark Gunderson’s Hornets wanted no part of it as Enumclaw scored early and often. It’ll be interesting to see when (or if) a team can keep the scoreboard close against these Hornets.
Which individual performance stood out most in Week 3?
Manley: Sure, it came against a hapless East Jefferson squad, but this line from Cascade Christian’s Byson Vasquez almost seems made up: three receptions for 66 yards and a TD, two carries for 42 yards, 16 tackles on defense, 7.5 sacks, five forced fumbles and a safety. That all happened in the first half of Cascade Christian’s 74-0 win. Also: Curtis QB Rocco Koch, again. What a machine.
Smith: Curtis QB Rocco Koch continued his impressive season — he has now collected 1,500-plus total yards and 22 TDs through four weeks — with 485 total yards and six total TDs in a statement win over Emerald Ridge. Teammate Parker Mady had perhaps the play of the game, though, with a 75-yard punt return TD during which he evaded a group of about seven Jaguars defenders. Mady tallied 246 all-purpose yards, including leading the Vikings in receiving with 10 catches for 162 yards and two more TDs.
Wicke: Curtis QB Rocco Koch feels like the obvious choice — he flat-out dominated a good Emerald Ridge team for 485 total yards and seven total touchdowns. Yelm RB/LB Anthony Kiamco rushed for 110 yards (two carries), grabbed a 37-yard pick-six, and blocked a River Ridge field goal. Auburn QB Baylen Erdmann threw five touchdowns and rushed for a sixth in a 41-14 win over Mount Rainier; WR Luvens Valcin, a Division I recruit, grabbed nine receptions for 214 yards and four touchdowns.
Which league title race is the most intriguing to follow?
Manley: The best and deepest league in the state: the 4A SPSL. Curtis’ win over Emerald Ridge catapults the Vikings into the league title conversation, while Emerald Ridge is still alive with work to do. Undefeated Graham-Kapowsin remains the favorite, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Curtis won the league this year. Sumner faces an uphill climb without Matthew Spurbeck (ACL), but the Spartans are still capable of playing spoiler. Rocco Koch has been unstoppable and WRs Xavier Ahrens and Parker Mady are big-time playmakers. Graham-Kapowsin has won comfortably every week but enters a much tougher stretch of schedule now, with Sumner, Curtis and Emerald Ridge coming up in the next month. Circle your calendars for the game of the year: Graham-Kapowsin vs. Curtis on Oct. 6.
Smith: Will any team make it through the 4A SPSL undefeated? Stay tuned. Curtis and Graham-Kapowsin are both 4-0, and meet in Week 6 in a game that could eventually decide the league title. The Vikings already have wins over defending league champion Sumner and Emerald Ridge, while the Eagles face the Spartans in Week 5, and the Jaguars in Week 8. The 3A PCL appears to have several postseason contenders. Bonney Lake and Mount Tahoma are both 2-0 in league play, while Lakes and Stadium are both 1-1, and two-time defending champion Lincoln will look to regroup from its league-opening loss to the T-Birds.
Wicke: I’m keeping a close eye on the 3A PCL, which could turn a multitude of ways in the coming weeks. Mount Tahoma and Bonney Lake are the remaining unbeatens (they meet Oct 6), and Lakes and Lincoln linger behind with one loss apiece. Lakes has yet to meet Lincoln or Mount Tahoma; Bonney Lake meets Lincoln this Thursday.
