High school football: Five things we learned at 4A SPSL Media Day in Ruston
On a picture-perfect Tuesday morning, coaches and players from the South Sound’s strongest high school football league gathered for the second-annual 4A SPSL Media Day at The Ram Restaurant on the Ruston waterfront — discussing the upcoming season with both reporters and local radio stations.
From head coaching changes to potential title contenders, here’s what The News Tribune learned:
SUMNER DEFENDS 4A TITLE: ‘WE’VE TURNED THE PAGE’
When Keith Ross sat down for the bus ride home from Husky Stadium after claiming the 4A championship last December, Sumner’s longtime head coach couldn’t believe what he saw — 272 unread text messages from family and friends. Austin Ferencz’s game-winning field goal lifted the Spartans over Camas, 27-24, as time expired to complete a storybook run and capture the program’s first state title in 47 years.
“People I went to college with 30 years ago (reached out),” Ross said. “It’s a small enough town, it’s a proud town, and people know that we won the state championship. When I got on the bus… I looked down at my phone and went, ‘Wow!’ People care.”
A year later, Sumner’s next chapter begins.
“We’ve already turned the page,” senior linebacker Austin Glivar said.
“They better have,” Ross joked.
Sumner spent plenty of time celebrating, and for good reason. The Spartans rolled through one of the state’s toughest leagues with an undefeated in-state record in 2024, returning as the presumptive repeat favorites. Ross is still waiting for free coffee in town, but the Spartans enjoyed a championship parade and partied like it was 1977, with words of support and congratulations continuing to pour in.
“We had to go up on the right side (of Husky Stadium) after the game — they funneled some up there if we wanted to go in the crowd — and my wife happened to be on the far other side,” Ross said. “And to be honest with you, once I was done with my team down there, I just wanted to find my wife. It was a special moment for us, because we’ve been grinding at this for a long time.
“And I couldn’t get to her because every single person wanted a picture. I didn’t even know these people. I was starting to get frustrated. But then I realized this is why we do what we do. I finally just said no. I’ve got to go find (Tracie).”
Can Sumner put the pieces together in their quest to go back-to-back? Ross returns eight defensive starters and fills out the rest with three all-league transfers, including two-way Davis standout Lance McGee (RB/LB) — a perfect fit for The Valley’s ground-and-pound philosophy.
“As soon as workouts started, we knew it was time to go,” Glivar said. “It’s a whole new team. We don’t have those same guys that we had last year… and some of the guys we lost had big roles on the team. We’ve got to fill those big roles and bring everybody together like we (did) last year.”
PUYALLUP VIKINGS EMBRACING NEW HEAD COACH
From his very first summer practices at Sparks Stadium, DJ Mims sent a message. Puyallup’s new head coach plastered “56-6” on the home scoreboard — a not-so-gentle reminder of the 50-point road loss at Tumwater in Week 1 of last year.
Mims wasn’t part of that 2024 squad — he was still guiding 3A Mercer Island into the postseason — but the 32-year-old South Sound native is pulling out all the stops to ensure the Vikings don’t fall victim to a rerun of the blowout.
First up on Puyallup’s 2025 schedule? A rematch with Tumwater, this time at Sparks Stadium on Sept. 5.
“They weren’t too happy,” Mims said Tuesday. “If you want to change that, it starts on September 5.
“And to do that, you’ve got to put in the work.”
Film study began in June for the Tumwater’s Wing-T offense that ran over the Vikings last September. On-field scheming began in early July. And Mims is certainly more familiar with the formation than most, a former KingCo head coach where the Wing-T is prevalent.
Puyallup rattled off five straight wins and won a playoff game following their brutal 1-4 start in 2024, and a mixture of returning standouts and exciting transfers could keep the momentum going. They’ve embraced Mims, who directed a dynamic, air-raid Mercer Island offense before accepting the Puyallup job in April. Among the newcomers is All-Area Lakes LB Michael Pulalasi, the reigning 3A PSL Nisqually Defensive Player of the Year with 136 tackles (13 TFL) and three interceptions.
“I was happy when I heard about (Mims’ hiring),” WR/DB Jayden Woodland said. “It brings new everything, to be honest. Now, we’re just building team chemistry and figuring out what works and what doesn’t.
“We have way too much talent not to do something with it. It’s just, how bad do we want it now? We’ve got to stay disciplined and stay prideful.”
Don’t expect Mims to match the 50 pass attempts per game he called at Mercer Island — but Puyallup could see brief Luke Parker sightings at quarterback in 2025, the backup who admirably stepped in for Brayden Paulino when injuries struck last year.
“I feel like (Mims is) creating a culture of ambition,” Parker said. “It brings a lot of energy to practices and every workout. I’m just excited.”
ALL EYES ON GRAHAM-KAPOWSIN QB AJ TUIVAIAVE
Growing pains were expected when Graham-Kapowsin’s freshman quarterback AJ Tuivaiave won the starting job last summer, but it took mere weeks for the three-star prospect to show the South Sound why he’s already considered one of the state’s best signal-callers.
The breakout party took full form in Week 5, when Tuivaiave snapped Yelm’s 37-game regular season win streak with 435 passing yards, seven touchdown passes, and no turnovers in a 57-36 stomping of the Tornados.
“It really did light a fire in me,” Tuivaiave said of last year’s performance in Yelm.
With a year of experience under his belt, what’s in store for Tuivaiave’s sophomore campaign? And where can he take the Eagles, a year-after-year contender with championship aspirations?
“I’m feeling great,” he said. “I’ve gotten a lot bigger, stronger. A little bit faster. I’m watching film a lot.
“Every night, I rewatch (our plays) on Hudl.”
Tuivaiave returns one of the area’s premier receivers in junior captain Kase Betz, a cornerstone WR/S who caught 11 touchdowns on 50 receptions in 2024. We’re expecting more of the same from Graham-Kapowsin’s top offensive duo.
“(Kase is) my go-to guy,” Tuivaiave said.
Betz says the connection is only growing.
“In the offseason, running routes and getting chemistry down,” he said. “We figure out what routes didn’t work well in spring ball, go work on them, and fix them. We work on timing. It’s definitely gotten a lot better.”
SOPHOMORE LEADS CURTIS QB BATTLE
It’s a new-look Vikings offense without the services of graduated star receivers Parker Mady and Xavier Ahrens, but Curtis’ sophomore QB has the lead in an ongoing quarterback battle ahead of Year 2.
QB Sam Patterson projects to return as the Vikings QB1 after guiding Curtis to a postseason appearance in 2024, head coach Darren McKay told reporters at Tuesday’s 4A SPSL Media Day in Ruston.
“Patterson is ahead right now,” McKay said, “and he’s going to get the majority of those reps as a result of that.”
What’s new in University Place? Expect the Curtis lines to shine underneath the Friday night lights with Division-I commits Kingston Kerkhoff and Robby Lavata’i — ideal protectors for lead RB transfer Ryland Geldermann.
“I want us to impose our will on teams more than we did last year,” Kerkhoff said. “We had a good O-Line group with a lot of talent, but chemistry is everything and we didn’t have that, necessarily. This year, I think (that will) be the changing factor in our run game.”
BETHEL’S FRUEAN READY TO FILL SOUTH SOUND’S BIGGEST SHOES
You don’t replace players like Zaydrius Rainey-Sale — an explosive linebacker and pass-rusher named The News Tribune’s reigning All-Area Player of the Year after a mind-boggling 2024.
But Bethel has every reason to be just as excited about Ramzak Fruean.
“He’s the next big-time linebacker at Bethel,” head coach Travis Domser told The News Tribune last fall.
The three-star recruit and fifth-ranked prospect in the state’s 2026 class committed to UCLA in June. He’s considered by scouts as one of the West Coast’s more versatile defenders. Fruean assumes Rainey-Sale’s spot on the depth chart, now his turn to grab headlines as a Power-4 commit in grey and crimson.
“(I want to) be a leader, a role model to my teammates,” Fruean said Tuesday.
And what did he learn from Rainey-Sale last year, both on and off the field?
“My biggest takeaway from him was that violence he has on the field. He brings it every day, every practice, 100 percent effort. Just how he uplifts everybody around him and makes everybody better.”
Senior QB Evan Barnes aims for a 3,000-yard passing season around a balanced offense: “I’m super confident. I feel really comfortable. … I’ve got the guys to (throw for 3,000).”
This story was originally published August 20, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
