TNT’s Week 7 football power rankings: Graham-Kapowsin, Decatur climb
Six weeks are down in the high school football season in the South Sound and across Washington state. The News Tribune’s high school sports crew is ranking the top teams again this fall.
Teams from every classification are considered for the Top 10 list, which will be updated throughout the season. We’ll consider a variety of factors when adjusting rankings, not just wins and losses. Did a team lose because its star quarterback was hurt and didn’t play? Maybe that team won’t slide. Is a team lower in the standings than others teams in the league because of a more difficult non-league schedule? We’ll consider that, too.
Here’s the Week 7 Top 10, plus “The Next Five.”
1. Sumner (5-1) — We’ll chalk up a narrow win against Puyallup to the emotions of rivalry games. Spartans bounced back with a 56-8 blowout of Rogers the following week. Sumner defense has given up just 28 points over last three contests.
2. Kennedy Catholic (6-0) — Again sleepwalking through the 4A NPSL. Indiana Jones (582 rushing yards, 12 TDs; 278 receiving yards, 4 TDs) is leading team in both rushing and receiving.
3. Graham-Kapowsin (4-2) — That’s the Graham-Kapowsin we’ve been waiting for. A 57-36 shootout win over Yelm showed what freshman QB AJ Tuivaiave is made of. He threw a school record seven touchdown passes in the win.
4. Tumwater (6-0) — Three blowout non-league wins for T-Birds against 4A schools Puyallup, Eastlake and Union showed us Tumwater can go toe-to-toe with anybody in the state, regardless of classification. The only real league test looms: at W.F. West on Oct. 25.
5. Decatur (6-0) — No one has been better at pulling out wins in close games than Decatur this year, which came back to beat a good Skyview team earlier this month, 15-14.
6. Yelm (5-1) — QB Parker Myers still directs one of the area’s more dynamic offenses with size on both lines, but Graham-Kapowsin QB AJ Tuivaiave’s seven-touchdown performance at Yelm in a 57-36 loss two weekends ago bumps the Tornados down a peg. A pair of remaining 4A SPSL tests with Bethel (Oct. 18) and Olympia (Oct. 25) should tell us more.
7. Lakes (6-0) — Lancers overcame five red-zone turnovers and the absence of QB Willie Nash (head) for a road win over Peninsula last weekend at Roy Anderson Field, 21-15. Sophomore LB Michael Pulalasi wrecks games and the offense features plenty of skill-position talent around RBs Toetu Moliga and Sentoa Leapai. Lakes has a real shot to complete an undefeated regular season with Timberline and Capital on deck.
8. Lincoln (4-2) — QB Sione Kaho’s growing rapport with pass catchers (471 yards, 7 TD last two games) is a welcomed development for one of the area’s brightest dual-threat prospects. RB Jadeon Scranton is excelling as the physical, downhill back (6.3 YPC), and the Abes control their destiny in the 3A PSL Narrows.
9. Enumclaw (5-1) — Hornets more than recovered from a Week 1 loss at Decatur, now enjoying a five-game win streak by a combined score of 296-25. RB Louis Chevalier’s four total touchdowns led the way in last weekend’s 71-0 rout of Kent-Meridian.
10. Olympia (5-1) — Bears captured five straight wins before QB Cameron Downing exited Friday’s loss to Spanaway Lake with an undisclosed injury in the first quarter. Olympia’s hopeful one of the South Sound’s top passers can return for the late-season playoff push.
‘The Next Five’
Bethel, Emerald Ridge, Franklin Pierce, Mount Tahoma, Tahoma
