High school football roundup, Week 2: Bethel rallies to beat Emerald Ridge
Results, recaps and more from Week 2 high school football contests around the South Sound will be posted on this page on Thursday night. Looking for more scores? Find them on our statewide scoreboard here.
THURSDAY’S RESULTS (SEPT. 11)
BETHEL 31, EMERALD RIDGE 21
Down 21-0 in the second quarter, it felt like a long night was in store for Bethel against visiting Emerald Ridge on Thursday night at Art Crate Field.
But the Bison had no plans to go quietly into the night. Bethel stormed back, putting together defensive stops and scoring 31 unanswered points in a 31-21 win.
“I think the passing game … we really needed to lock that down,” said linebacker Ethan Schuppener. “We had the run on lock the whole time, we just really needed to get into that defending the pass mindset. That’s what we did.”
And Schuppener made plays on the other side of the ball, ripping off three second-half touchdown runs, including the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter, untouched down the right sideline for 42 yards.
“He’s a dude,” Bethel coach Travis Domser said. “He’s a guy that can get us yards. … He’s good, he’s special. … He gave us the spark.”
Schupenner felt good things were coming in the second half.
“I know if I’m not gonna quit on my teammates, they’re not gonna quit on me,” he said. “We had to bring that energy up. I just know that as soon as I get into that end zone, it’s only good from there.”
It’s worth wondering whether the result might have looked different if not for an early second-half injury to Emerald Ridge starting quarterback Brayden Paulino, who put together a productive first half passing the ball. Emerald Ridge’s offense sputtered in the absence of Paulino, a Puyallup transfer who was also solid in a Week 1 win over Kentwood.
“The way those guys came out, it’s unfortunate that he had to leave,” Domser said. “We would’ve liked to have battled him. Hopefully he’s OK.”
Bethel moves to 1-1 on the season, while Emerald Ridge drops to 1-1. Domser hopes it can give the Bison a momentum boost into next week.
“I saw our potential in the second half,” he said. “Credit to our guys to come back and get a win, second half shutout, 31 unanswered. We feel like we can do that but it’s up to us if we want to or not.”
Lincoln 36, Yelm 14
YELM – The Abes bounced back from a tough season-opening loss to roll past the Tornadoes in nonconference action Thursday.
Yelm jumped out to a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter when Sam DeJiacomo blocked a field goal attempt and Jacob Ford returned it 83 yards for a 7-0 lead. The Tornadoes maintained that lead into the second quarter, when the Abes offense clicked into gear.
“We try to put them in tough situations all the time and they are used to persevering,” Lincoln coach Masaki Matsumoto said. “(Tonight’s win) shows that they believe and they believe in each other.”
Jadeon Scranton scored three touchdowns out of the backfield, while Ilaikimi Malafu and quarterback Sione Kaho connected on two touchdown passes. The key to the game, though, was the Lincoln defense which held Yelm in check throughout.
“We were able to stop the run,” said Matsumoto, whose team allowed more than 300 yards on the ground last week in a loss to Franklin Pierce. “That was our emphasis from last Friday – so that was good to see.”
On Thursday, after Scranton tied the game with his first touchdown run, the Abes jumped on top when Kaho hit Malafu on a short pass and after he made a defender miss, Malafu went 74 yards for a 14-7 lead.
Scranton then scored again and caught a deflected two-point conversion attempt to make it 22-7 before Malafu caught a 16-yard touchdown from Kaho.
Scranton closed the scoring for the Abes from 3 yards out. Yelm quarterback Owen Sletten connected with Jay Sumich for a 15-yard touchdown to wrap the scoring.
White River 48, Fife 10
BUCKLEY – The Hornets had this game circled for the last 364 days.
Ever since getting shutout a year ago by the Trojans, White River coach Wyatt Evanson and his squad have been preparing for a rematch.
On Thursday, the Hornets got their rematch and a blowout win to go with it. Blake Bargelt had three rushing touchdowns, Chaz Strickland passed for two more and White River rolled 48-10 against Fife in nonconference action.
“We were more physical from the get-go,” Evanson said. “We had a really good, balanced attached and ultimately, we wanted that game more than they did.”
Ever since Evanson arrived in Buckley, the Hornets have been known as an Air Raid team – slinging the ball all over the field.
On Thursday, though, they came out and threw screens and ran out of their H Back set, feeding the ground game and catching Fife a bit off guard.
“Our first four scores were all on the ground,” Evanson said. “Then they crowded the box and we were able to take some shots over the top.”
Strickland threw for more than 200 yards, mainly in the second half.
Timberline 54, Washington 6
LACEY – After the Blazers big victory Thursday night, an unnamed player stood in the locker room and let out a whoop and said how much difference a year makes.
So very true.
Timberline rolled past Washington in nonconference action with a balanced offensive attack and a stifling defense, keeping the Blazers undefeated on the season and already giving them more wins in 2025 than they had all last season.
“I am super excited about the growth and the work that the kids have put in and the coaches have put in,” Timberline head coach James Jones said. “We’re going to go out and play and put our foot on the gas as much as we can, and that is what we did tonight. I was so proud of our guys.”
Cooper Jones rushed for three touchdowns, as the Blazers rushed for 197 yards as a team and passed for 230 more. Defensively, they only gave up 104 yards of offense to the Patriots.
“We played pretty stingy on defense,” Jones said. “We were able to be more balanced this week offensively and were able to spread it around to lots of different players.”
This story was originally published September 11, 2025 at 10:36 PM.
