High school football roundup: Orting runs through Steilacoom, remains unbeaten
Results, recaps and more from Week 5 high school football contests around the South Sound will be posted on this page on Friday night. Looking for more scores? Find them on our statewide scoreboard here.
ORTING 35, STEILACOOM 26
They call Carson McCall and Shiron Seniours “Thunder and Lightning” in Orting — a forecast of running backs that can flip games with a single strike.
It starts with a rumble, and ends with a flash. McCall bullies through contact and churns for yardage before Seniours hits the home run, a threat to take any touch to the house. Friday’s win over Steilacoom was a textbook illustration of both skillsets in action: McCall and Seniours each scored two touchdowns and the Cardinals pulled away from the Sentinels in the second half for a 35-26 win at Cardinal Stadium.
There’s a new solo leader in the 2A SPSL. Orting (5-0) has successfully completed a three-week gauntlet through Fife, Franklin Pierce, and Steilacoom in their quest for the program’s first league title since 2019.
“It wasn’t our cleanest game by any means, but they’re super talented. Steilacoom, you can’t sleep on them,” Orting head coach Cody Baskett said. “They’ve got athletes everywhere. It was a tough matchup, but it’s nice being in first.”
Last weekend’s thrilling 43-42 win at Franklin Pierce was The Kyle Curtis Game, when Orting’s quarterback totaled five touchdowns and directed the game-winning drive in the final two minutes. But Friday night was more defined by the Cardinals rushing attack, powered by multiple backs in a Pistol Wing-T offense that never slowed.
Midway through the first quarter, the lightning arrived before the thunder. Both teams punted on their opening drives before Seniours struck, fielding Steilacoom’s punt and dashing up the right sideline with blockers ahead.
“It looked broken,” Seniours described. “Broken plays, a lot of times, turn out good.”
So did this one.
“It slowly opened up, I made my way to the sideline, and got a touchdown.”
The 5-foot-8 junior erupted 63 yards for a touchdown, weaving through defenders after the initial burst for an early score that put Orting ahead, 6-0.
“The lightning effect,” Baskett said.
Knotted at six in the second quarter, McCall zipped through the line and kept his balance for a 14-yard touchdown run, capping a drive that featured multiple bulldozing runs. Orting’s senior back tallied 101 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries, pleasing a packed house on Homecoming Night where hundreds of fans overflowed to the surrounding fenceline.
“Just going straight downhill, never stopping your feet,” McCall said. “Just keep them going, and you’ll get yards from it.”
Orting’s Israel Shrode gashed Steilacoom’s defense for a 47-yard touchdown run in the closing moments of the first half, discovering a gap on the right side before cutting upfield for six. McCall’s two-point rush lifted the Cardinals to a 21-14 lead at the break.
Seniours scored again the third quarter, a three-yard rush to the left edge. McCall added a three-yard touchdown of his own on the first play of the fourth, ballooning Orting’s lead to 35-20.
Shrode took six carries for 77 yards and a touchdown. Steilacoom RB Noah Maxwell had two first-half touchdowns; Sentinels wideouts Jason Freeland (seven yards) and Jaleo Johnson (39 yards) scored in the second half before Orting slammed the door.
“I think it (means) a lot that Orting’s finally No. 1,” McCall said, “and we were able to show what we can do out here.”
BETHEL 36, SPANAWAY LAKE 0
Before the Bison’s defense even stepped onto the field, they found themselves winning 22-0 Friday in a 4A South Puget Sound League game against the Sentinels at Art Crate Field.
Bethel received the ball first, drove the field and scored. Sophomore kicker Luke Mackay then perfectly placed the kickoff in no man’s land where it was recovered by Bethel and eventually led to a touchdown.
On the ensuing kickoff, Mackay did it again. And again, Bethel recovered and eventually scored, giving the Bison a 22-0 lead.
“We put it where they weren’t and jumped on them,” Bethel coach Travis Dosmer said. “It was a good win. We finally put four quarters together.”
The win is the fourth in a row for Bethel (4-1, 2-0), which won 14-3 a week ago against Olympia in a game where the Bison turned the ball over four times in the first half. That didn’t happen in Week 5, as Bethel was clicking in all facets of the game.
“We were executing and flying around and it was good for us to finally play four quarters of quality football,” Dosmer said. “(Spanaway Lake) is really physical and they play hard. They will surprise some people, but I’m proud of how our guys played. We had fun tonight.”
Running back Ethan Schuppener scored twice on the ground, while Evan Barnes threw for two touchdowns.
GIG HARBOR 35, SILAS 8
Linebacker Henry Blake was a human highlight reel Friday as the Tides picked up their first 3A Puget Sound League victory against the Rams at Stadium Bowl.
Blake blocked two punts, had two sacks and a game-high eight tackles to lead Gig Harbor back into the win column.
“It was a solid win from start to finish,” Gig Harbor coach Jeff Scoma said. “We played extremely well and getting the league win is huge. Anytime you get one, it is a big bonus.”
Troy Arnold and Max Schwab each scored a touchdown for the Tides (3-2, 1-1), while Sawyer Hayes came off the bench and helped jumpstart the offense according to Scoma.
The Rams (3-2, 0-2) dropped their second consecutive game after winning the first three games of the season.
“We didn’t want to take them for granted at all,” Scoma said. “They were 3-1 and are a much-improved team.”
This story was originally published October 4, 2025 at 12:18 AM.
