Week 11: What we learned from this week’s high school football games in the South Sound
Seven South Sound high school football programs are on the way to the state quarterfinals following wins in the first round Friday and Saturday.
Here’s what we learned from the 11th week of action in the South Sound and beyond.
4A SPSL DOWN TO ONE
The 4A SPSL sent four teams to the 4A state playoffs, tied with the 4A KingCo for the most qualifying teams in the bracket. But, only one program — No. 1 Graham-Kapowsin — remains following the opening round. The league’s other three qualifying teams — No. 7 Curtis, No. 11 Emerald Ridge and No. 13 Sumner — lost by a combined seven points. Emerald Ridge lost a 36-35 heartbreaker Friday night on the road in Kennewick, when No. 6 Kamiakin converted a two-point try in overtime, and a few minutes later, No. 10 Kennedy Catholic — last season’s 4A state runner-up — closed out a 37-34 upset of Curtis in University Place. Sumner then lost a close, 21-18 contest to No. 4 Eastlake on the road Saturday night in Sammamish. Undefeated 4A SPSL champion Graham-Kapowsin topped No. 16 Richland, 56-35, earlier in the afternoon as the league’s only team to advance. The league’s four bids proved the 4A SPSL was as deep as any league in the state, but a lack of elite defenses ultimately proved costly, leaving the nine-team league with one representative in the quarterfinals.
TOP SEEDS ADVANCE
Each of the three South Sound programs that entered their respective brackets as the No. 1 seed advanced with convincing double-digit wins in the first round. No. 1 Graham-Kapowsin played a back-and-forth contest with visiting No. 16 Richland in the 4A opening round Saturday afternoon in Spanaway before eventually posting a three-touchdown victory to reach the quarterfinals for the sixth consecutive season. QB Daveon Superales collected 500-plus total yards and seven TDs for the Eagles in the win. Top-seeded 3A program Yelm will return to the quarterfinals for the third consecutive season following the 25-point win over Marysville-Pilchuck. Oregon commit Brayden Platt (136 rushing yards, TD) led the way for a Tornados group that rushed for 300-plus yards in the win, while UCLA commit Isaiah Patterson had a pair of rushing scores. No. 1 Tumwater continued to roll, posting a season-high in points scored in a 70-12 rout of Port Angeles to advance to the 2A quarterfinals. Tumwater (602 points in 11 games) is the only 11-man program in the state to eclipse 600 points so far this season. RB Kooper Clark (149 rushing yards, three TDs) paced six T-Birds with rushing scores in Friday night’s win in Tumwater. Elsewhere in the state, three-time defending 1A champion Royal, the top seed in that bracket, shut out No. 16 Eatonville, 50-0, to advance. The top seeds in the 2B and 1B brackets, defending 2B champion Napavine and defending 1B champion Liberty Bell, both had byes in the first round.
UPSET ALERT
In the 4A bracket, the biggest upset was No. 14 Mount Si handling No. 3 Camas on the road, 31-14. No. 10 Kennedy Catholic beating No. 7 Curtis was a seeding upset, but felt like a game that could’ve gone either way, especially given Kennedy Catholic’s track record — the Lancers were in the 4A state title game a year ago. In 3A, most of the heavy hitters won comfortably. No. 10 Garfield pulled off the upset at No. 7 Mount Spokane, 28-21. No. 9 Mount Tahoma beat No. 8 Ferndale, 21-7. In 2A, there were no first-round upsets — and none of the games were particularly close contests, with the closest margin of victory at 23 points. In 1A, No. 10 Freeman beat No. 7 Montesano, No. 12 Seton Catholic beat No. 5 King’s and No. 9 Omak defeated No. 8 La Center for the most seeding upsets in a single classification in the first round. In 1B, No. 10 Naselle beat No. 7 Pomeroy.
SOUTH SOUND SHOWDOWN
Two South Sound league champions are set to meet in the 3A state quarterfinals. Defending state champion Yelm, the bracket’s top seed, which won another 3A SSC title last month, is set to host 3A PCL champion Mount Tahoma on Friday night. The Tornados were in a close contest with No. 16 Marysville-Pilchuck in the opening round, before eventually pulling away with a 38-13 victory Saturday in Yelm, and enters the meeting with Mount Tahoma on a 25-game winning streak. The No. 9 T-Birds, in the state playoffs for the first time since 1984, upset No. 8 Ferndale, 21-7, on the road Friday night, limiting the Golden Eagles to a season-low seven points. Mount Tahoma is now in the state quarterfinals for the first time since the program’s back-to-back 4A state championship wins in 1979 and 1980.
TITLE GAME REMATCHES
There will be a pair of 2022 title game rematches in the quarterfinals next week. In 4A, No. 10 Kennedy Catholic upset No. 7 Curtis, 37-34, in the opening round to set up a rematch with No. 2 Lake Stevens, which shut out No. 15 Woodinville, 41-0, in the first round. The defending 4A state champion Vikings edged the Lancers, 24-22, in the 4A title game last December. The quarterfinals matchup between No. 5 Lynden and No. 4 North Kitsap is a replay of last season’s 2A championship game, during which the Lions secured their second consecutive title with a 31-24 win over the Vikings. Lynden routed No. 12 Bremerton, 41-7, in the opening round this season to advance, while North Kitsap shut out No. 13 Ephrata, 49-0. There is also a possibility for more title game rematches in the weeks ahead in 3A, 2B and 1B. Defending 3A champion Yelm and Eastside Catholic could meet again in the semifinals, if both win this week. Defending 2B champion Napavine and Okanogan, which both had byes in the first round, are on opposite sides of the bracket, but could eventually meet again in the final. Defending 1B champion Liberty Bell and Neah Bay could also play again in the semifinals if both win this week.
