Week 12: What we learned from state quarterfinal football games in the South Sound
Four South Sound high school football programs are on the way to the state semifinals following wins in the quarterfinals Friday and Saturday.
Here’s what we learned from the 12th week of action in the South Sound and beyond.
TOP SEEDS ADVANCE
It looked different for all three of the South Sound’s top seeds. In the 4A bracket, Graham-Kapowsin had to rally from behind to win a 20-14 thriller against Gonzaga Prep, piling up three second-half touchdowns and a key stop in the game’s closing seconds to escape with the win. With 2.2 seconds left, Eagles’ linemen Jonathan Haas and Levi Turner combined for a sack to send Graham-Kapowsin to its third consecutive state semifinal. In 3A, Yelm never trailed against Mount Tahoma, but the T-Birds gave the host Tornados all they could handle, at one point cutting the lead to a point in the second half. Like the week prior, Yelm eventually pulled away late in the game. Quarterback Damian Aalona made clutch plays down the stretch, including the play of the game, when he threw across his body and across his field to find a wide open Jameson Patin, giving Yelm a 22-6 lead and putting the game out of reach. In 2A, Tumwater endured no such drama, posting a 42-6 rout of the Clarkson Pirates. Running back Peyton Davis rushed for 173 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries, all in the first half of the blowout.
STILL UNDEFEATED
Four South Sound programs, all league champions — Graham-Kapowsin (12-0), Yelm (12-0), Enumclaw (12-0) and Tumwater (12-0) — remain undefeated. In total, 12 teams in state brackets remain undefeated. The undefeated teams in brackets with Sound Sound teams are O’Dea (11-0) in 3A and Anacortes (11-0) in 2A. Enumclaw will travel to face Anacortes in a matchup of undefeated teams this week. Yelm has the longest active winning streak of any team in any of the state’s six classifications, now at 26 games. The defending 3A state champion Tornados have not lost a game since the 2021 state quarterfinals.
BACK IN THE SEMIS
Three of the four remaining South Sound programs will make it consecutive trips to the state semifinals. Graham-Kapowsin now has a three-year streak of advancing to the final four in the 4A bracket. The Eagles won an undefeated state title in 2021, routing Lake Stevens (44-7) in the final, and reached the semifinals last season before losing to the eventual champion Vikings (42-28). They host No. 4 Eastlake in this season’s semifinals Saturday in what will be the fourth semifinals appearance in program history. Defending 3A champion Yelm returns to the final four for a second consecutive season, and second time in school history, and will play No. 4 Eastside Catholic on Saturday — the team the Tornados beat for their first state title last December. Enumclaw is also making back-to-back final four appearances in the 2A bracket, and will travel to No. 2 Anacortes on Saturday. The Hornets’ trip to the semifinals last season was the best finish in program history. Tumwater is in the semifinals for the 18th time in program history — and has the most titles of any remaining South Sound program with six — but returning for the first time since 2021 following a first-round exit last year.
TITLE GAME REMATCH
Both defending 3A state champion Yelm and last season’s runner-up Eastside Catholic surely remember the play. In the closing moments of last December’s title game at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup, Yelm standout receiver Kyler Ronquillo ripped a sure interception out of an Eastside Catholic defender’s hands, and sprinted 28 yards up the sideline and into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown that lifted the Tornados to the first state championship in program history. Less than 12 months later, these 3A powers are set to meet again, this time in the state semifinals Saturday. Yelm topped Marysville-Pilchuck (38-13) in the opening round and 3A PCL champion Mount Tahoma (29-12) in the quarterfinals to return to the final four, while the No. 4 seed Crusaders shut out Lincoln (40-0) in the opening round, and bested Kennewick (17-7) in the quarterfinals to advance.
FAMILIAR OPPONENT
Tumwater is set to host North Kitsap in the semifinals, which is a replay of an early-season nonleague contest between the two 2A powers. The T-Birds posted a convincing 34-14 victory over the Vikings back in Week 2 in Poulsbo. That 20-point win is the closest margin of victory this season for the 2A EvCo champion T-Birds, who have rolled to 12 wins, and have the highest point total (644) of any 11-man football program in the state, averaging 53.7 per contest. The early September loss to Tumwater is also North Kitsap’s only loss this fall. The 2A Olympic champion Vikings have since posted 10 consecutive wins, including upending two-time defending 2A state champion Lynden, 34-28, in overtime in the quarterfinals Saturday.
This story was originally published November 20, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
