Signing Day notes: South Sound sends 13 to Big Sky football programs
Emerald Ridge High School quarterback Jake Schakel and wide receiver Tony Harste have been standing on the same sideline throughout their football careers.
They’ve played for the same teams since elementary school. They spent their high school years building Emerald Ridge into a Class 4A SPSL and state contender. They put up prolific numbers on offense, and reset several program records.
They’ll continue to cheer each other on when they begin their Division I football careers next season too, but for the first time on opposing sidelines.
Both signed with Big Sky programs Wednesday morning, on the first day of this recruiting cycle’s early signing period, and celebrated their Emerald Ridge careers at the school Wednesday evening, while also looking ahead to their next chapters.
Schakel as a quarterback at Eastern Washington.
And Harste as a receiver at Idaho.
“It’s going to be fun,” Harste said. “They’re pretty big rivals. So, when we play them, it will be game time.”
“We’ll always have our little rivalry,” Schakel said.
They’ll also always be able to look back on what they achieved as high school teammates.
Schakel and Harste were both key in building Emerald Ridge’s program in recent seasons, which was a longtime goal of this graduating class.
The Jaguars reached the 4A state playoffs for the first time in program history last season, advancing to the semifinals, and returned to the first round again this fall.
“We became state contenders, made the (state) playoffs for the first time, and two times in a row, and that was everything,” Schakel said.
“It’s been awesome to see where it’s going now, and kind of leave a legacy,” Harste said.
Schakel was a four-year starter for the Jaguars, and completed an impressive career this fall with a 71.2 career completion percentage, 9,284 passing yards and 109 touchdowns in 40 games played.
He passed for 3,000-plus yards and 30-plus touchdowns each of the past two seasons, including completing 253-of-347 passes for 3,287 yards and 37 touchdowns this fall on the way to 4A SPSL offensive player of the year honors. Schakel is also a two-time TNT All-Area selection.
He committed to Eastern’s program in early July.
“It’s a dream come true to be on scholarship and be able to play at such a place like that with prestige for skill positions,” Schakel said. “I’m just super excited about it.”
Harste also announced his commitment to Idaho in early July, and is now set to continue his career at the Division I level.
“I’m super excited,” he said. “It’s not an opportunity that everyone gets. Now that I’m here and able to do it, it means a lot.”
What made Idaho the right destination?
“The coaches. The facility. And they’re winning right now. They’re doing great things at that program,” he said.
Harste was a 4A SPSL first-team selection this fall, pacing the Jaguars in receiving for a third consecutive season with 67 catches for 1,393 yards and 17 touchdowns.
He finished his impressive career with 206 catches for 3,277 yards and 39 touchdowns, and is also a two-time TNT All-Area pick.
Schakel and Harste are two of 13 high school football standouts across the South Sound who signed with Big Sky programs Wednesday.
“That’s fun,” Harste said. “We’re all going to be playing each other. And it’s like, ‘Man, I played those guys in high school,’ and now you’re going to be playing them again at the next level.
“It just kind of speaks to how good this area is at football, and how competitive it is.”
Idaho added the most players from the region on the first day of the early signing period, signing four.
Along with Harste, Olympia’s Cale Allen, Tahoma’s Kage Repenn and Yelm’s Kenji Scanlan are also set to join the Vandals for the upcoming season.
Allen, who is listed as a linebacker for Idaho, was a 4A SPSL first-team selection at linebacker and punter this season for a Bears team that reached the 4A district round, and is a two-time TNT All-Area pick.
Repenn earned 4A NPSL all-purpose player of the year honors this fall, and led the Bears to the 4A district round, piling up 1,422 all-purpose yards and 15 total touchdowns.
He led Tahoma in receiving with 72 catches for 797 yards and 11 scores, and is set to join the Vandals at receiver, and had another 25 carries for 222 yards and two rushing touchdowns. He also had two kick return touchdowns on special teams.
Scanlan joins Idaho as an edge rusher, and tallied 23 tackles for loss and 12 sacks this fall for a Yelm program that won an undefeated 3A SSC title and returned to the 3A state championship game. He was also a 3A SSC first-team selection on the defensive line.
Eastern Washington and Montana State each signed three South Sound standouts ahead of the 2024 season.
Schakel will be joined in Cheney by a pair of defensive backs in Puyallup’s Josiah Goode and White River’s Tyce Donovan.
Goode noted the ties he has to other players joining Eastern’s incoming group of defense backs at Puyallup’s ceremony Wednesday afternoon.
“It’s actually pretty funny,” he said. “Tyce Donovan is another safety, and then (Eastside Catholic’s) Ambrose Marsh, he’s a corner, and we all played little league football together on the same team.
“So, it’s pretty cool for us to come back together and go to Eastern, and go to the same school. It’s pretty fun.”
Goode earned 4A SPSL second-team honors at defensive back this season for a Vikings team that advanced to the 4A district round, and collected 33 tackles, a tackle for loss and interception, while also hauling in 18 catches for 237 yards and a touchdown at receiver.
After playing cornerback much of his career, Goode is set to join the Eagles as a safety, and is looking forward to the new opportunity.
“You can see over the whole field, and you’re really like the field general it feels like for the DBs, so it’s just really fun,” he said.
Donovan also joins Eastern at safety, and earned 2A SPSL honors at defensive back for the Hornets, collecting 113 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, two interceptions — including one returned for a touchdown — and caused six fumbles. White River reached the 2A district round this fall.
Montana State also added three signees from the area, including Graham-Kapowsin’s Jabez Woods, Auburn’s Luvens Valcin and Washington’s Unterrio Latin-Henley.
Woods, a two-time TNT All-Area pick and returning all-state receiver, led Graham-Kapowsin in catches (105) and receiving yards (1,299) this fall, and had 10 receiving touchdowns and another rushing. He is set to continue his career at receiver with the Bobcats.
“Honestly it’s been a dream,” he told The News Tribune in November, not long after committing to Montana State. “Being the first person to go out to college and play, for my family, it means a lot, and it gives me something to really play for.”
Woods was a 4A SPSL first-team selection this fall, tallying 1,632 all-purpose yards for an Eagles program that won an undefeated league title and reached the 4A state championship game.
Latin-Henly, a 2A SPSL first-team selection this season, joins the Bobcats’ backfield after piling up 55 carries, 327 yards and three rushing touchdowns, and adding another six catches, 129 yards and a score, as well as a passing touchdown, this fall. He also added 33 tackles, a sack and interception returned for a touchdown on defense.
Valcin, the reigning 3A NPSL MVP and a TNT All-Area selection, is set to join Montana State at tight end after playing receiver and defensive end for the Trojans.
“I think he’s going to be a mismatch for linebackers because they have to cover him running his routes, and the fact that his jumping ability is really going to set him apart in the middle of the field,” Auburn coach Aaron Chantler said.
Valcin posted 56 catches for 853 yards and 11 touchdowns for Auburn this fall, and added another 313 yards and four touchdowns on 40 carries. He also had 35 tackles, eight tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks on defense to lead Auburn to the 3A district round.
Valcin said he is “ready to go to work” at Montana State, and committed to the Bobcats’ program last month, not long after his official visit.
“They stuck with me throughout the whole process since they’ve been recruiting me,” Valcin said. “And when I got down there for my official visit, it was just like, ‘Man, I’ve got to be down here. I’ve got to feel this. I’ve got to be on this field.’ Just the fans, the people, the community, it just felt loving.”
After signing with the Bobcats early Wednesday morning, Valcin becomes Auburn’s first Division I football signee since the 2012 recruiting class, and noted the impact of the support he’s received from the Auburn community throughout his high school football and basketball careers.
“That really made me push myself to get to where I am today,” he said.
“I think the whole community of Auburn High School is really proud of him,” Chantler said.
Portland State added two players from South Sound programs in Mount Tahoma linebacker Jah-Jah Abdullah and Gig Harbor wide receiver Benjamin Stevens.
Timberline linebacker Darrell Gipson announced his commitment to Idaho State late Tuesday afternoon, and signed with the program Wednesday morning.
The 3A SSC defensive MVP recorded 106 tackles, 26 tackles for loss, four sacks and two interceptions, caused and recovered three fumbles, and blocked four kicks and a punt.
SIKORSKI SIGNS WITH OREGON STATE
Sumner four-year starting lineman Dylan Sikorski will continue his football career in Corvallis.
The 4A SPSL offensive lineman of the year, who is also a two-time TNT All-Area selection, committed to Oregon State in June, and signed with the program on Wednesday morning following conference realignment announcements earlier this year and coaching changes this winter.
“It just felt like the right place,” he said. “From the beginning, Oregon State — just the campus, the environment itself — it was just great.”
Sikorski has been a standout on both offense and defense throughout his career, and this fall blocked for a Spartans offense that led the 4A SPSL in rushing, and averaged 411 total yards per game with 55 total touchdowns in advancing to the 4A state first round.
“He just shows up and he loves his teammates and he loves Sumner football, and he’s just a fun guy, and I’m going to really miss him because he makes practice fun,” longtime Spartans coach Keith Ross said.
SOUTH SOUND TO AIR FORCE ACADEMY
Puyallup football’s Luke Faccone and Sumner swimming and diving’s Tanner Wilson will both continue their careers at the Air Force Academy.
Faccone, a 4A SPSL first-team kicker and TNT All-Area selection this fall, will join the Falcons as a kicker.
“I’m super excited,” he said. “I’m so pumped. I’ve gotten to be there a few times, got to see the whole game day, got to go through all of that. It’s just so cool. I just can’t wait to be a part of it.”
Faccone was 29-of-29 on PAT attempts this season, and 7-of-9 on field goal attempts, with a long of 50 yards. He also ended his final high school game at Sparks Stadium with a game-winning field goal in overtime to lift the Vikings past Curtis in a 4A SPSL contest.
Wilson is a four-time state placer at the 4A state swimming championships, reaching the podium twice at the 2023 meet as a junior and twice at the 2022 meet as a sophomore.
EXTRA POINTS
▪ Three South Sound standouts signed with future Big Ten programs Wednesday, including Yelm linebackers Brayden Platt (Oregon) and Isaiah Patterson (UCLA) and Mount Tahoma offensive lineman Marquise Thorpe-Taylor (UCLA).
▪ High school football players from more than 30 schools around the state signed with Division I programs on the first day of Wednesday’s early period.
This story was originally published December 20, 2023 at 9:16 PM.
