High school football roundup: Puyallup beats Graham-Kapowsin for 4A SPSL title
Results, recaps and more from Week 9 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.
PUYALLUP 43, GRAHAM-KAPOWSIN 14
When the dust settled on undefeated Puyallup’s 4A SPSL championship road win over unbeaten Graham-Kapowsin on Friday night at Art Crate Field, only one question remained: Can anyone in the state beat Puyallup this year?
Graham-Kapowsin has a proud history. The Eagles won the Class 4A state championship in 2021, rostering one of the most dominant teams Washington has ever seen. Jeff Logan is a good coach and has one of the state’s top teams again this year. The Eagles have plenty of talent of their own, with a blossoming star sophomore quarterback and skill position players who will play on Saturdays.
And yet, Puyallup, like it has been against everyone on its schedule this season, was just better on Friday night. Like the matchup against reigning 4A state champion Sumner earlier in the month, the Vikings have turned every highly-touted matchup into a lopsided breeze. This time, it was a 43-14 win, which gave them the 4A SPSL crown and a possible No. 1 seed in the playoffs, which begin next week.
“Man, it’s emotional,” said 6-foot-3, 270-pound left tackle Gecova Doyal, who is a Power Four recruit. “Our players, our coaches, we did it tonight. Coming from last year, it wasn’t great, but winning this championship really means something and I think we just made a statement by doing that, for sure.”
It started disastrously for Graham-Kapowsin. On the first play from scrimmage, the snap sailed over quarterback AJ Tuivaiave’s head and into the end zone for a safety. On the ensuing drive, on Puyallup’s first offensive play, quarterback Noah Smith connected with Lawson Looker for a 73-yard touchdown on a slant. Just like that, it was 9-0, before fans in attendance could blink.
“It gave us some momentum that we needed to win this game and yeah, it was crazy,” Doyal said.
Puyallup coach DJ Mims said fast starts are a point of emphasis for his team.
“Sometimes, that’s all you need is to get ahead early, create the momentum, because it’s going to swing back their way eventually, and it did,” he said. “We were able to persevere and play some good football.”
Puyallup scored two more times early on a 2-yard run from Briytan Bailey and 32-yard run from Jayden Woodland on a reverse.
But after trailing 23-0 in the first quarter, G-K clawed back, scoring on an 18-yard pass from Tuivaiave to Jayce Halasz, then again on a 10-yard run from Blake Pearson to cut the Puyallup lead to nine points.
“You spot a team 23 points in the start like we did, it’s gonna be hard to dig yourself out, but we did,” G-K coach Jeff Logan said. “We had opportunities, we missed a few of them.”
Puyallup, which has rarely been challenged or faced any momentum swings of note through two months, reveled in the opportunity for a fight.
“I love the competition,” Doyal said. “When we’re not doing as well as we need to, I love the comeback, show them that we’re here and that we’re business.”
It was all Puyallup the rest of the way: a field goal, a touchdown pass from Noah Smith to Jayden Woodland, another Bailey run and another field goal. Final: 43-14.
“We haven’t really been tested, in terms of being in a close game all year, and I wanted to see how my kids are gonna respond in those moments, because that’s what playoffs are like,” Mims said. “We did that, I was very happy with our defense coming up with a few key stops.”
MOUNT TAHOMA 28, LAKES 7
Felix Diaz spent his rain-soaked Halloween waiting for a crease. Mount Tahoma ran the ball at will in Friday night’s 3A Puget Sound League Championship, even when splash plays arrived few and far between.
But Diaz was patient. And when the stars aligned in the second half, Mount Tahoma’s feature back seized his opportunity. A quick cut and broken tackle propelled Diaz into the second level, erupting for a 56-yard touchdown that brought a bundled crowd to its feet.
It was Diaz’s second touchdown, far and away the game’s longest play from scrimmage that ballooned the score midway through the fourth quarter: Mount Tahoma 28, Lakes 0. It was all T-Birds, all night.
“They were really blitzing the gap, so I was just trying to stay behind my lead blocker and squeeze it through the middle because the middle was wide open,” Diaz said. “They had no safeties over the top. They were splitting safeties. The middle was open every time.
“I just had to be patient and go when I had the chance.”
Diaz posted a game-high 138 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and Mount Tahoma (9-0) conquered the conditions to run over Lakes, 28-7, in Friday night’s 3A PSL Championship. Tacoma’s best team claimed their second league title in three years (2023), entering the district playoffs unbeaten.
It wasn’t a night built for fireworks. Constant rain saturated the turf at Mount Tahoma’s George Nordi Field, washing away a potential shootout through the air.
If anything, the script fell perfectly in Mount Tahoma’s lap. Rain or shine, there’s one guarantee in South Tacoma: The T-Birds aren’t afraid to run into you. It’s their identity.
“We love this brand of football,” T-Birds head coach Keith Terry said. “We got to be physical tonight (and) control both sides of the ball. For me, that’s how I think you win a state championship. This kind of game really prepares us for that.”
A combination of the conditions and Mount Tahoma’s relentless pass rush plagued the Lakes offense, limiting their pass game to 29 total yards. The poised, confident freshman Lakes QB Jadis Lefono spent most of his Friday night escaping the pocket and evading pressure, outmatched up front by a T-Birds line that made Lancer life miserable.
Mount Tahoma struck first when RB Naesirhc White plunged through the middle for a seven-yard touchdown in the game’s opening minutes. T-Birds QB Mikkah Cordero moved the chains with a 17-yard completion to WR Elijah Durr on fourth down earlier in Mount Tahoma’s opening drive.
Cordero added a one-yard touchdown in the second quarter, doubling Mount Tahoma’s lead. Lakes, meanwhile, struggled to move the football beyond the line of scrimmage, let alone score.
“I feel like we’ve got the best defense in the state, to be honest,” Diaz said. “And when the offense plays with the momentum, who’s going to stop us?
“Nobody.”
Diaz veered outside the left tackle for a 21-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, a preview of his 56-yard score that put Friday night’s league championship on ice. Chants from the home bleachers ensued: “Beat-the-traffic!”
Lakes RB Korben Reed scored from two yards with less than a minute remaining in regulation, avoiding a shutout.
Diaz took 10 carries for 138 yards and two touchdowns. White had 15 carries for 63 yards and his seven-yard score.
Lakes RB Toetu Moliga rushed for 99 yards on a dozen carries.
Mount Tahoma can add Lakes to their list of powerhouses that have fallen victim to this dream season. They routed reigning 4A runner-up Camas in Week 2, outlasted Mount Si in Week 3, and stormed past city-rival Lincoln in Week 5.
“I want us to be prepared,” Terry said. “If we’re going to say that we can compete at that level, we’ve got to do it in the season. We can’t wait until the postseason. We’ve played a powerhouse in 4A. We’ve played some 3A powerhouses. We played O’Dea in the playoffs last year. We know where we’re at.
“We think we’re going to be prepared to play with whoever down the stretch in the playoffs.”
They’re all but guaranteed to host an undetermined opponent at George Nordi Field in next weekend’s 3A Round of 32. A win would punch their ticket back to state.
“We’ve just been preparing for this moment,” Diaz said. “This offense is on us, and we’re just ready to do it the rest of the season.”
WHITE RIVER 21, ENUMCLAW 14
The last time White River won the Battle of the Bridge, none of their players had been born and their head coach was a junior in high school himself.
The Hornets from Buckley toppled their archrivals Friday night for the first time since 2007 to win the 3A NPSL title at Pete’s Pool in Enumclaw.
“When we won it was crazy,” White River coach Wyatt Evenson said. “It felt like the entire town was out there (on the field). I didn’t know who 90 percent of them were, but everyone wanted photos with the trophy. It was an unbelievable feeling.”
Enumclaw (8-1) had won 14 consecutive matchups by an average score of 36-12 (no game was played in 2020) and were the favorites coming into this game.
“We just knew we were going to win,” said Evenson, whose team is 9-0 for the first time since 2004. “We weren’t sure how, but we knew we were going to.”
White River scored on a Ray Palmer run on its opening drive to go up 7-0. On Enumclaw’s ensuing possession, they threw an interception in the red zone. After a short White River drive, Enumclaw was driving before a handoff issue caused the ball to hit the turf where White River linebacker Brad Burbank picked it up and scampered 99 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
“Brad is the epitome of a high school football player,” Evenson said. “He’s a senior and a captain, and I was so happy to get to see him play that way.”
Enumclaw cut the lead in half as time expired in the second quarter and then tied the game on its opening drive of the third quarter. The teams traded possessions until Palmer scored the game-winner early in the fourth quarter and the defense made it stand up.
“We had a Wildcat package for Palmer we had been saving all season,” Evenson said. “We put the ball in his hands and ran some outside zone and it kept them off balance.”
After the celebration on the field, Evenson planned on taking the trophy to Applebee’s in Bonney Lake to celebrate with his players and coaching staff.
LINCOLN 48, TIMBERLINE 15
Jadeon Scranton ran for five touchdowns and more than 200 yards on the ground as the Abes rolled to a 3A Puget Sound League crossover victory at Lincoln Bowl.
Scranton scored on runs of 10, 5, 44, 1 and 1 yards in the rout to lead Lincoln, which will play a Class 3A state playoff game next week against an opponent yet to be determined.
“We were able to really run the ball and take control of the game,” Lincoln coach Masaki Matsumoto said. “With the weather it was nice to not have to throw the ball today. We felt like we could run the ball on them and that was the plan, so we just leaned on them and Jadeon had a big night.”
The Abes (6-3) had three interceptions, including a Ramon Jones 53-yarder for a touchdown, while Tyrone Jones had a long punt return to set up Scranton’s fourth touchdown.
“Our defense was younger in some spots early in the season, but they are starting to grow up and we feel pretty good going into the playoffs,” Matsumoto said. “I feel like we are getting better and our offense is finding their rhythm.”
Timberline (4-5) had its season come to an end with the loss.
This story was originally published October 31, 2025 at 10:30 PM.
