State football roundup: Graham-Kapowsin overwhelms Kennedy Catholic
Results, recaps and more from Week 11 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 4A
No. 6 GRAHAM-KAPOWSIN 34, No. 11 KENNEDY CATHOLIC 7
All George Woods could do was shrug.
Graham-Kapowsin’s freshman safety lifted his palms, shook his head, and held up three fingers like it was all too easy — like he had done it countless times before.
“Three!” he shouted. “That’s three!”
When a tipped Kennedy Catholic pass fell into Woods’ arms, he corralled more than his third interception of Saturday’s state opener. He had sealed the game, handing the football back to the Eagles with a 27-point lead in the fourth quarter.
It’s a hat trick for the up-and-coming speedster: Woods snagged three interceptions, Eagles QB AJ Tuivaiave threw four touchdown passes, and the No. 6 Eagles ran away from the Lancers, 34-7, on a clear, chilly night at Art Crate Field.
“I pray to God every day. I just pray that my opportunity is coming,” Woods said. “And today, I stood on that, and I took every opportunity I (got).”
Graham-Kapowsin forced seven Lancer turnovers — four fumble recoveries with Woods’ three picks — in what head coach Jeff Logan said “hands down” was their best, all-around performance of the year. The high-flying Eagles flew to the football, pressured Lancers QB Dante Saladino, and punished a rotation of running backs in Kennedy Catholic’s Wing-T scheme.
Woods’ second interception was his best, soaring to jump a Lancers out route up the right sideline early in the fourth quarter. It was also his favorite.
“It was blown coverage, but I had to come back and recover,” Woods said. “I had to get that.”
Tuivaiave, meanwhile, conquered the daunting task of avoiding Kennedy Catholic pass rusher Derek Colman-Brusa, a UW commit considered the state’s best player. The game is slowing for the Eagles sophomore, who looked calm and confident in the pocket despite the game-wrecking force hunting him.
“My line really showed out today, probably against the No. 1 player in the state [Colman-Brusa],” Tuivaiave said. “All credit to my team.”
Tuivaiave completed 13-of-25 passes for 165 yards without a turnover, scattering four touchdown passes to four different receivers. The 6-foot-4 signal-caller has thrown 25 touchdowns with just one interception this fall.
“There’s just been such a jump in his poise and his posture from his freshman year to this year,” Logan said. “He knows what he’s supposed to do with the football, where he’s supposed to go with it, when he’s supposed to get there with it.
“He’s grasping everything. For a kid who admittedly hasn’t played a ton of quarterback, that’s just something that’s going to continue to build for him. He’s got all of the intangibles and things you can’t teach.”
Tuivaiave capped a surgical second drive with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Blake Pearson for the game’s first score, a quick throw toward the left pylon.
Sophomore receiver Jayce Halasz beat his defender for a 34-yard touchdown grab in the second quarter. Perhaps Tuivaiave’s best throw of the night came next, a 17-yard touchdown to TE Quinncey Ratteray through a tight window in the left corner. The Eagles led 19-0 at halftime.
Graham-Kapowsin squibbed their second-half kickoff, botched by the Lancers and recovered by Chisimdi Njoku — the Eagles’ fourth of seven forced turnovers that plagued Kennedy Catholic from start to finish.
“We played really physically tonight,” Woods said. “(Defensive coordinator Muckie Foreman was) preaching it all week. We’ve got to out-physical them, and that’s exactly what we did every time.
“Just blow it up every time.”
Eagles receiver Kase Betz won a 50-50 ball for a 27-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter, and Pearson added a seven-yard score on the ground in the fourth.
Lancers WR Jordan Noel found a tipped Lancers pass over the middle and raced 46 yards for Kennedy Catholic’s only touchdown on the final play of the third quarter.
Halasz posted team-highs in receptions (4) and receiving yards (78) with his second-quarter touchdown. Betz had four catches for 48 yards and a score.
Pearson took 13 carries for 102 yards and a touchdown, and RB Randy Reyes rushed for 48 yards on 11 carries.
Colman-Brusa couldn’t stop the tears, still processing the finality of it all. The three-year Lancers starter and two-time 4A NPSL Player of the Year played his final game in the South Sound, but not in Washington: He committed to his hometown University of Washington in May, joining his brother, Lowen, on the Husky sidelines next year.
“(Derek) didn’t have any turnovers,” Kennedy Catholic head coach Pat Jones chuckled.
“I think more than anything, he’s really a good human,” Jones continued. “He does a nice job with kids. … Just a fabulous young man. He’ll do well no matter what he does in life.”
Logan and Graham-Kapowsin’s coaching staff paused their postgame handshakes for a moment with Colman-Brusa, a nod of respect for the state’s No. 1 recruit. The Power-4 skillset was on display in a losing effort, offering the Eagles everything he had.
“He’s so much fun to watch,” Logan said. “I looked at (our coaches) and said, ‘He looks like J.J. Watt.’ That’s exactly what he looks like. And he plays with such discipline, technicality.
“I watched him throw a kid with a back-armed swing against Bothell onto the ground. That’s something you’d see out of a movie when Thanos gets pissed or something.
“I’m a Huskies fan. I said (to Derek): Go find your brother and bring one back to Seattle.”
Graham-Kapowsin meets No. 3 Gonzaga Prep for a 4A quarterfinal in Spokane next weekend.
SUMNER 49, RICHLAND 14
The defending state champions appear to be peaking at the right time as the Spartans steam-rolled the visiting Bombers in a Class 4A state playoff game at Sunset Chev Stadium.
Running back Lance McGee scored four first-half touchdowns and the Sumner defense continued its eye-popping run.
“We’re really fine-tuning our offense to fit the playoffs,” Sumner coach Keith Ross said. “We are getting bigger with our tight ends and running the ball with Lance and (Israel Nabors).”
With the win, the Spartans (8-3) will host Glacier Peak (9-1) in the Class 4A quarterfinals next weekend. Glacier Peak advanced by upsetting Chiawana 38-18 on Saturday, giving Sumner the surprise home game.
On Saturday, the Spartans came out in 13 personnel with three tight ends and ran McGee up the middle multiple times until he scored. He punched it in four times to make it 28-0 midway through the second quarter.
“Lance McGee was special today,” Ross said. “He was stiff-arming people and out-running them or running them over or tiptoeing into the end zone. It makes you shake your head. This kid is special.”
Braylon Pope added a 43-yard touchdown reception from Nate Donavan and Owen Tobin capped the first half with a 61-yard fumble return.
“It was a good game. We played well in all phases and I’m really proud of our kids,” Ross said. “Richland is a storied program and we aren’t trying to embarrass anyone, but it is the playoffs and we wanted to make sure the kids were ready to go.”
Nabors scored on a long touchdown run on the first play of the second half to cap the scoring for the Spartans, who gave up two late touchdowns with the second string in.
Those were the first points the Spartans had allowed since Week 7 and the most they had allowed since their last loss, a 58-22 drubbing at the hands of Puyallup in Week 5. Since then, Sumner has outscored opponents 309-17 while winning six in a row.
“After the Puyallup beating, we just really had to look in the mirror,” Ross said. “We were trying to do too much. We weren’t playing disciplined football or Sumner football. So, we just really went back to old school Sumner defense – back to base stuff so they could just react.
“The defense has responded and are playing at an elite level. They care so much and have a sense or urgency and it has been incredible these last six games.”
Richland, which finished second in the Mid-Columbia Conference regular season, had its season come to an end with the loss.
CLASS 3A
SEDRO-WOOLLEY 28, WHITE RIVER 7
The Hornets jumped out to an early 7-0 lead and were driving with a chance to go up two scores in a matchup of undefeated teams in the first round of the Class 3A state playoffs at Sedro-Woolley High School.
Ultimately, though, mistakes cost White River a chance at the state quarterfinals for the first time in more than a decade.
“We just had too many self-inflicted wounds,” White River coach Wyatt Evenson said. “They are a good team, but I think we’ve played better this season. They did an incredible job of capitalizing on every single one of our mistakes and using the clock. They know who they are and have an identity.”
Evenson cited dropped passes, some bad snaps, a failed hook-and-lateral as plays that he hasn’t seen his team make this season.
“It was just uncharacteristic football for us,” Evenson said. “It was a great year for our program, now we just need to take another step.”
Blake Bargelt scored on a touchdown run midway through the first quarter, but the Cubs tied it up on a touchdown pass in the final seconds of the first quarter.
Ray Palmer then intercepted a pass to get the ball back in the second quarter, but the Hornets couldn’t capitalize, eventually allowing a touchdown in the final seconds of the first half to trail 14-7 at the break.
After a scoreless third quarter, Sedro-Woolley iced the win with two touchdowns in the fourth.
The Hornets wrap up a banner season which saw them reach 10-0 for the first time since 2004, defeat arch rival Enumclaw for the first time since 2007, win the 3A NPSL regular-season title and reach the state playoffs for the first time since 2013.
Sedro-Woolley (11-0) will face top-seeded O’Dea (9-1) in the quarterfinals next week at a time, date and place to be determined.
KENNEWICK 28, ENUMCLAW 7
Paxton Patterson scored on a 3-yard run to pull the Hornets within 14-7 early in the third quarter, but the defense couldn’t get off the field and the offense couldn’t get back into the end zone in a Class 3A state playoff loss to the Lions at Lampson Stadium in Kennewick.
After Patterson scored, Kennewick (9-2) chewed up nearly the entire third quarter, capping a long drive with a touchdown for a 21-7 lead.
“We didn’t play great on either side in the first half,” Enumclaw coach Mark Gunderson said. “We put together a good drive and then the next series we let them go right down the field and suck up nearly the entire third quarter. They capitalized on critical downs and we couldn’t get off the field when we needed to.”
Enumclaw (9-1) had a few more chances, but turned it over on downs with seven minutes left in the game on the 20. After forcing a punt to get the ball back, the Hornets then threw a pick-six to seal the game.
“It’s a bittersweet feeling,” Gunderson said. “I’m really proud of these kids and this staff. We worked our tails off this year, but you’ve just got to play well this time of year to keep playing, and we weren’t able to play well enough tonight.”
The Hornets were in the state playoffs for the fourth consecutive season after a 26-year gap for the program, something which Gunderson and his former players talked to the team about Saturday.
“It’s pretty heartbreaking and heart-warming when you have kids around that are helping coach now and that can express to this team that it hasn’t always been this way – playing for league titles and in the state playoffs,” Gunderson said. “How fortunate for these kids that they are able to have all of that to play for. It seems like it is a yearly routine now.”
Gunderson’s team lost to arch rival White River in the de facto 3A NPSL championship game in Week 9, but otherwise ran the table until Saturday.
“We feel like we left one out there with the Battle of the Bridge game,” Gunderson said, “but outside of that I am super proud of our kids and our senior group and what they were able to do – which was put us in position to play for a league championship.”
Enumclaw had advanced to the Class 2A state semifinals in each of the last two seasons and the quarterfinals in 2021. Before that you had to go back to 1995 for the last time the Hornets had made the state playoffs.
Kennewick will now face three-seed Eastside Catholic (8-1) in the state quarterfinals at a time, date and place to be determined.
This story was originally published November 15, 2025 at 9:23 PM with the headline "State football roundup: Graham-Kapowsin overwhelms Kennedy Catholic."
