Manley: 3 South Sound teams that have the best shot to win state championships
High school football state tournaments begin Friday in Washington and the brackets are littered with South Sound teams. Here are three teams I think have the best shot to win it all at Husky Stadium on Dec. 7.
Sumner Spartans (4A)
Record: 9-1 overall, 6-0 4A SPSL
Signature wins: 31-28 (OT) over Lake Stevens on Sept. 6, 17-14 over Puyallup on Oct. 3, 23-11 over Graham-Kapowsin in 4A SPSL title game on Nov. 1.
Key players: TE Carter Cocke, RB Steele Isaacs, WR Braylon Pope, S Taylor Rebar, DE Shaun Griffith.
State tournament seed: No. 2
Making the case for Sumner: This may be the best team Keith Ross has had in his 23 years as the head coach at Sumner. The Spartans are balanced on offense with RB Steele Isaacs and several weapons in the passing game, led by Montana State commit and TE Carter Cocke. The biggest reason for optimism, though, is the defense. Ross has one of the state’s elite groups this year, talented on the line, at linebacker and in the secondary. Defense travels and this group is good enough for Sumner to win the whole thing.
Why the Spartans could fall short: For all the firepower and options, the offense has been inconsistent. Sumner squeaked by with wins over Puyallup and Curtis by a combined five points, scoring 17 and 14 points in those wins, respectively. Ross is content to win low-scoring games in the postseason, but Sumner is likely going to need to put more points on the board against some of the state’s best teams to win the state title.
Kennedy Catholic Lancers (4A)
Record: 10-0 overall, 7-0 4A NPSL
Signature wins: 22-6 over Bothell on Sept. 7, 42-0 over Tahoma on Sept. 20, 58-3 over Mount Si on Nov. 8.
Key players: RB Indiana Jones, QB Devon Forehand, OL Lowen Colman-Brusa, DL Derek Colman-Brusa, CB Landen Kahai.
State tournament seed: No. 4
Making the case for Kennedy Catholic: All the pieces are here for a title run for Pat Jones’ group and I really like Kennedy’s experience at key positions. It feels like QB Devon Forehand has been running the show forever, RB Indiana Jones is a matchup issue as both a runner and pass catcher and brothers Lowen and Colman-Brusa are nasty, physical game-wreckers for the Lancers. Jones’ group has one other thing working for it: the Lancers run both Wing-T and spread offenses, which is challenging for teams to prepare for on short notice.
Why the Lancers could fall short: I wonder how this team stacks up against some of the state’s best competition. Kennedy Catholic can only play the teams on its schedule, but the 4A NPSL doesn’t stack up to some of the best 4A leagues in the state, so it’s hard to gauge just how good this group is. The Lancers are finally going to be tested at some point in the state tournament — how do they respond?
Tumwater T-Birds (2A)
Record: 10-0 overall, 4-0 2A EvCo
Signature wins: 56-6 over Puyallup on Sept. 6, 38-27 over Eastlake on Sept. 19, 52-0 over W.F. West on Oct. 25.
Key players: DL Malijah Tucker, LB Beckett Wall, LB Cash Short, RB Peyton Davis, CB Jaylin Nixon.
State tournament seed: No. 1
Making the case for Tumwater: The T-Birds are well deserving of the No. 1 seed in this year’s 2A bracket. Tumwater beat the big boys, collecting a blowout win over 4A Puyallup in the season opener and a comfortable win over 4A Eastlake. Tumwater didn’t allow opponents to score a single point in 2A EvCo play this year, which included a 52-0 shutout of a good W.F. West team. This year’s team is improved from last year’s, runs the ball down opponent’s throats in the Wing-T, has a legitimate passing game to lean on when necessary and has an elite defense led by WSU defensive line commit Malijah Tucker and LB Beckett Wall.
Why the T-Birds could fall short: It feels like Tumwater and Anacortes are on a collision course to meet for a state championship rematch. It didn’t go well for the T-Birds last year. Anacortes marched up and down the field and torched Tumwater’s secondary in a 60-30 win. The Seahawks return brothers Brady and Brock Beaner, who are committed to Montana. They can take over games in a hurry. I have a sneaking suspicion that Tumwater coach Willie Garrow and his staff have been preparing for an eventual rematch with Anacortes and I’d expect we’ll see a tighter game and better defensive effort this time around, if the teams do in fact meet for a state championship rematch.
This story was originally published November 14, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
