5 takeaways from the sixth week of football in Thurston County and beyond

On a very wet weekend, we are officially in the midst of conference play. Tumwater and Black Hills both remain undefeated, the hunt for a 3A SSC title ramps up and much more happened.

Here are five takeaways from the sixth week of high school football in Thurston County and beyond.

1. Tumwater and Black Hills keep records clean

For the second consecutive week, No. 2 Tumwater put up 60 points. Last week it was a 63-0 win over Rochester. This time it was a 61-3 wallop of Aberdeen. That now means the T-Birds offense is averaging 53.4 points per game.

Junior running back Dylan Loftis scored on runs of 39 and 36 yards in the first quarter and added another one in the third quarter, to up his total to12 rushing touchdowns. Sophomore running back Turner Allen also ripped off long scores of his own, with 53 and 50 yard touchdowns in the first quarter as well. The T-Birds (6-0) led 41-3 at half.

Like their city-counterpart, No. 9 Black Hills also cruised to victory. The Wolves beat Centraila 43-7, led by Jaden Toussaint’s two touchdowns (one rushing, one kickoff return).

Running back Taylor Simmons continued his fine senior season, who is now up to 10 rushing touchdowns after scoring twice against Centralia.

The Wolves (6-0) solid start continues as they ready to play against Tumwater on Oct. 19 for the Pioneer Bowl, with great likelihood that both teams will be undefeated for the rivalry game.

Tumwater hasn’t lost a 2A EvCo game since 2009 when they fell to W.F. West — who they happen to face in Week 7. The Bearcats are 3-3 on the season. Black Hills takes on one-win Aberdeen.

2. Olympia’s playoff streak in jeopardy

For the past 14 years, one thing has remained constant in Olympia football: a playoff appearance. After opening with a 35-7 win over Emerald Ridge, the Bears have lost four games in a row. And in those losses, the Bears have been outscored by 116 points.

At 1-4, a playoff berth is looking unlikely. And the Bears play No. 4 Puyallup (4-1) on Saturday night, one of the top teams in Class 4A.

Second-year coach Steve Davis, who went 5-5 last year, is working with 30 juniors on the roster. While the team continues to gain experience, the schedule does Olympia no favors: They face No. Puyallup (4-1) next week and then close with Skyview (3-3), South Kitsap (0-6) and Curtis (5-1) in the upcoming weeks.

3. Capital beats Gig Harbor

Talk about a bounce back victory. After falling 41-27 to Yelm last week, Capital responded in a big way on Friday, easily taking down Gig Harbor 34-7.

Senior quarterback Grant Erickson paced the way 183 yards and three touchdowns on 11 of 16 passing. He also added 57 yards on the ground with a touchdown.

Two of those scores went to Erickson’s favorite target — senior wide receiver Chris Penner. The two-time Oympian all-area selection finished with two touchdowns and 128 yards on just three catches.

“He’s a special player,” coach Terry Rose said following the game. “He’s a guy that can do it all. More importantly, he comes in and he wants to score, but he’s also a team player. He knows when it’s his time and he knows when we have to do other things and he’s got to block for the other guys.”

The win moves the Cougars (5-1) into a three-way tie for second place in the 3A SSC. The hunt for a 3A SSC title is a crowded race, as Capital, Yelm and Timberline all share the same conference record and sit behind first place No. 10 Peninsula (5-1).

Next week, the Cougars visit two-time defending champion Timberline.

4. Tough losses for Elma, Rainier

Elma, at 5-0 and enjoying their best start in 21 years, had their perfect season end in devastating fashion.

With less than three minutes left in the game, the Eagles scored a touchdown to cut Hoquiam’s lead to 14-13. On the ensuing extra point attempt though, Hoquiam blocked it.

Yet, the Eagles (5-1) still had another chance to win the game when they lined up for a 30-yard field goal with 10 seconds left. And again, Hoquiam blocked the kick.

The Eagles were not the only local undefeated team to lose.

No. 5 Rainier took on No. 6 Onalaska in a match up between the two ranked Pacific 2B Mountain teams. Things were going the Mountaineers’ way in the first half as they led, 21-6, at the break.

But Onalaska rallied. Junior quarterback Lucas Kreger accounted for three total touchdowns in the second half to lead Onalaska to a 34-28 win.

Kreger’s last score was an 8-yard run with just over two minutes left in the game, which would be the deciding score. The loss puts Rainier at 5-1 as they play No. 1 Adna next week.

5. River Ridge in an unusual spot

Usually, River Ridge is a 2A SPSL contender. Since 2014, the Hawks have either finished in first or second place in the league.

Six games into this season, the Hawks are in fourth place at 3-3.

The Hawks have remained competitive in all of their games, losing by a combined 18 points in their three losses.

The last few weeks have impacted the Hawks’ standing in the league.

First, they were beatean by Steilacoom, 45-31, in Week 3. The Hawks won their next two games, but lost 23-20 to Eatonville (5-1) this past week.

And with only two games remaining in the regular season for the Hawks, the chances of finishing two top in the 2A SPSL are low.

The Hawks next face Clover Park (3-3) and Orting (3-3) to wrap up league play.

This story was originally published October 6, 2018 at 12:46 PM.