State semifinals football roundup: Tumwater blanks East Valley, rolls into 2A championship
Results, recaps and more from Week 13 state tournament semifinal high school football contests around the South Sound will be posted on this page on Saturday night. Looking for more scores? Find them on our statewide scoreboard here.
CLASS 2A SEMIFINALS
No. 2 TUMWATER 42, No. 3 EAST VALLEY (YAKIMA) 0
The trip to Husky Stadium is turning into an annual tradition.
Wide receiver Wyatt Chase caught two touchdowns and Tumwater’s well-oiled Wing-T machine rolled East Valley in Saturday’s 2A semifinals, 42-0, at Tumwater District Stadium — reaching the championship game in Seattle for a third straight year.
“Any time you can hold an explosive offense like EV to a shutout is really impressive,” T-Birds head coach William Garrow said. “Those guys were electric on film, so kudos to our coaches and kids for the work that they did.
“Our defensive coaching staff has done an incredible job over the past 13 weeks taking this young defense and helping them grow and learn and believe in their techniques and the schemes.”
Tumwater (11-1) raced to a 28-0 halftime lead and never looked back, powered by an offensive line that impressed Garrow from start to finish. Four T-Birds RBs struck paydirt: Tyler Briscoe, Peyton Davis, Jayden Hinchcliffe, and Grady Wall.
Will the third time be the charm? Tumwater fell to Anacortes in back-to-back championship games in 2023-24, but the two-time defending champion Seahawks fell to Archbishop Murphy in Saturday’s adjacent 2A semifinal. The undefeated Wildcats (12-0), considered the tournament’s favorite, cruise into their first title game since 2016.
“What an incredible challenge that will be,” Garrow said. “They have so much talent and size on that roster. It is not your normal 2A group certainly, but we are looking forward to the chance to compete for another four quarters in Husky Stadium, this time from the visitor sidelines.”
CLASS 4A SEMIFINALS
No. 2 LAKE STEVENS 44, No. 6 GRAHAM-KAPOWSIN 35
Lake Stevens QB Blake Moser totaled four touchdowns and the No. 2 Vikings outlasted Graham-Kapowsin, 44-35, in a duel between two of the state’s top quarterbacks.
Moser’s 2-yard touchdown run in the final minutes lifted the Vikings ahead by two possessions, 44-35, sealing a back-and-forth shootout in the 4A semifinals at Lake Stevens High School. The back-to-back 4A champions in 2022-23 are going back to the big dance.
Graham-Kapowsin QB AJ Tuivaiave threw four touchdown passes and ran for another, completing 25-of-39 passes for 341 yards. Leading Eagles receiver Jayce Halasz had six catches for 167 yards and two scores.
