Week 6 football takeaways: Mount Tahoma rolls; White River in 3A NPSL title hunt
Week 6 of the Washington high school football season is in the books. TNT high school sports reporters Jon Manley and Tyler Wicke discuss what stood out from this week’s action.
BIGGEST TAKEAWAY FROM WEEK 6
Manley: We’re entering the final stretch of the season, and it’ll be fun to see league races shake out. Here’s what the races look like:
- 4A NPSL: Kennedy Catholic is cruising to another league title, 4-0 in league play with 42+ points scored in each contest, all blowout wins.
- 4A SPSL: No one is stopping Puyallup in the North and Graham-Kapowsin is closing in on the South title, setting the stage for the teams to meet in the 4A SPSL championship game.
- 3A NPSL: This is one of the more intriguing league races, with Enumclaw (6-0) and White River (6-0) likely to settle the league championship in the Battle of the Bridge rivalry game on Oct. 31 at Pete’s Pool.
- 3A PSL: Mount Tahoma is cruising to the 3A PSL Narrows title, while it doesn’t look like anyone is slowing down Lakes on the Nisqually side. Unlike last year, the league will have a true league championship game (shoutout to Mount Tahoma coach Keith Terry for lobbying for this).
- 2A SPSL: Orting is in the driver’s seat after its wild 43-42 win over Franklin Pierce in late September. The Cardinals likely won’t be tested again until the playoffs.
- 2A EvCo: Like every season, it’ll come down to Tumwater vs. W.F. West for the league title on Oct. 24. We like Tumwater’s chances.
- 1A Nisqually: Coming off a state quarterfinal appearance a season ago, Life Christian was the heavy preseason favorite, but Cascade Christian has been the league’s best this fall. The teams will meet on Nov. 1 for the league championship.
Wicke: I visited Mount Tahoma’s practice on Thursday, five days after their dominant win over Lincoln, 28-7, that planted the T-Birds’ flag as Tacoma’s best team. They were happy, no doubt. But it was easy to tell that even the biggest statements have become the standard in South Tacoma. Becoming Tacoma’s top team is just the first step. “We want to be the best team in the state,” three-star WR/DB Elijah Durr, a UW commit, told me. “We want to make it all the way to the chip. (Being Tacoma’s best) is cool to have at the start, but we know what the main goal is.” It’s always an uphill battle in the 3A tournament with the O’Deas, Eastside Catholics and Bellevues of the world, but the T-Birds have ascended to that tier. They ran wild over 3A PSL-rival Bellarmine Prep on Friday night, erupting for 303 team rushing yards and three touchdowns (9.5 yards per carry) as Durr added two touchdown catches and an interception on defense. “I feel like we have the best backs in the state,” QB Mikkah Cordero said Thursday. “With Felix Diaz, Naesirhc White, and KeShawn Hines, I feel like we have three people that just want to run the ball and just have passion running the ball.” Still undefeated (6-0), Mount Tahoma swept a three-team gauntlet of non-league 4A programs that included a stunner at Camas over the defending 4A runners-up, 49-22. “We’re not doing anything special. I’ll tell anybody that. We’re doing what we’re supposed to do,” head coach Keith Terry said. “What we’re supposed to do is be uncommon in our approach to coaching, our approach to playing, our approach to the way that we do everything. That’s our calling card. Just be uncommon. It takes an uncommon effort to win a championship. That has to be our approach on a weekly basis.”
WHICH TEAMS IMPRESSED MOST?
Manley: Lakes (6-0) hammered Peninsula, 48-7 on Friday night. That’s three straight blowout wins for Dave Miller’s Lancers in the 3A PSL. Freshman QB Jadis Lefono is playing good football — he completed 14-of-18 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown in the win and added a touchdown on the ground. There are games against Timberline and Capital to finish the regular season before a likely showdown with Mount Tahoma in the league championship game.
Wicke: White River steamrolled its first five opponents this fall, but Thursday night’s showdown with blazing-fast Federal Way was far and away their toughest test yet. Wyatt Evenson’s Hornets passed with flying colors, blanking the Eagles 17-0. White River QB Chaz Strickland entered as the South Sound’s leader in passing yards and touchdowns, but the offense’s pivot to a downhill run game was the formula for the program’s sixth-straight win, keeping them atop the 3A NPSL alongside crosstown-rival Enumclaw. WR Parker Fry ran for a 23-yard touchdown, Strickland found Ray Palmer for a 15-yard touchdown pass, and Palmer Beus added a 25-yard field goal in the fourth quarter that pushed White River’s lead to three possessions. It’s setting the stage for a potential 3A NPSL title game with Enumclaw on Halloween, if both arrive unbeaten.
WHICH WEEK 6 RESULT WAS THE MOST SURPRISING?
Manley: I thought White River would play a tight game with Federal Way, but I was surprised to see a 17-0 shutout win. I was curious to see if the start was the result of a favorable schedule or an indicator the Hornets were legit this year. It looks like Wyatt Evenson’s team is for real, off to a 6-0 start with two more big tests down the stretch with Decatur and rival Enumclaw. The game against Enumclaw — the Battle of the Bridge — could end up being the 3A NPSL title game this year. Hopefully the busted State Route 410 bridge is back open by then, but either way, we should be in for a fun game.
Wicke: For a second-straight week, the Curtis Vikings offense ran for 300+ yards in a 46-13 rout of Emerald Ridge. Tyce Kinley and Ryland Geldermann stole the show: Kinley took 15 carries for 171 yards and two touchdowns with a pick-six on defense, and Geldermann ran nine times for 96 yards and two scores. That’s an impressive win to keep Curtis undefeated in 4A SPSL play with big matchups against Sumner and Puyallup looming. Speaking of Sumner: The Spartans blanked Rogers, 50-0, for an ideal bounce-back win after a 58-22 loss at Puyallup in Week 5. Sumner’s Israel Nabors averaged 16.9 yards per carry, taking eight rushes for 135 yards and two touchdowns.
WHICH INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE STOOD OUT MOST IN WEEK 6?
Manley: It’s not necessarily the most eye-popping stat line, but I thought Mount Tahoma WR/DB Elijah Durr showed why he’s one of the state’s top players in a win over Bellarmine Prep. He caught two touchdown passes on offense and had an interception on defense. He should’ve had two picks on defense, if not for a poor pass interference call from an official. There aren’t many two-way players in the state who have the type of impact on a game that Durr does.
Wicke: I’ll take Curtis RB/LB Tyce Kinley, who was everywhere for the Vikings in their 46-13 win over Emerald Ridge on Thursday. Kinley had 15 carries for 171 yards and two touchdowns, returned an interception 54 yards for another score on defense, then punched in the two-point conversion after his pick-six for an “Octopus” — when a player delivers all eight points on a scoring drive. Make it three straight wins for the Vikings over 4A SPSL rivals: Rogers, South Kitsap, and Emerald Ridge, all by 26+ points. Another one: Tahoma QB Brady Bonnell totaled six touchdowns in Friday’s 50-14 win over Auburn, completing 17-of-26 passes for 267 yards and four touchdowns (no interceptions) with 153 rushing yards and two scores on the ground.
