Five things to watch in prep football: Week 3

1. Simon surging

Lincoln running back Dionte Simon had eight carries for 103 yards and two touchdowns two weeks ago. He had 33 carries for 290 yards and two TDs last week. That’s 9.6 yards per carry over the two games. He faces Capital on Friday after having an 80-yard TD run in last year’s 32-10 win.

2. Undefeated!

Eighteen South Sound football teams won their first two games of the season, including two that didn’t reach the postseason last year — Yelm and Lakes, which enters Week 3 as the eighth-ranked Class 3A team in the state. We’ll see this week how they fare against teams in their own classifications.

3. Woe and two

Eight South Sound teams that reached the postseason last year are off to an 0-2 start. Three are from the 3A Narrows (Capital, Central Kitsap and Wilson), and three are defending league champs (Emerald Ridge, Federal Way and Franklin Pierce). But the latter three started 0-2 last year, too.

4. Healthy Henry

Charles Wright quarterback Henry Cheney, an honorable mention All-Area player last year, is expected to return against Vashon this week after a high ankle sprain kept him out of a 48-6 loss to Eatonville. Vashon is a 1A Nisqually League opponent, but it won’t count toward the league standings.

5. Ranking buster

Orting wasn’t supposed to beat then-seventh-ranked Eatonville to start the season. Nor third-ranked Cascade Christian last week. But here the Cardinals are, 2-0, after facing two of the toughest 1A teams in the state. And now Eatonville is unranked and Cascade Christian No. 10.

This story was originally published September 17, 2015 at 7:36 PM with the headline "Five things to watch in prep football: Week 3."