Week 4: High school football games of the week in the Olympia area

Week four of the high school football season is upon us. Here are some of the top matchups to watch this week in the Olympia area.

No. 1 Tumwater (3-0) vs. Clackamas (Ore.) (1-1)

7 p.m. Friday at Clackamas (Ore.) High School

Tumwater High School is the top-ranked 2A school in this week’s Associated Press poll. The Thunderbirds have been punching above their weight and scoring knockouts all season.

First, the T-Birds (3-0) defended their home turf by scoring 55 and then 54 points against 3A state quarterfinalists Timberline and Yelm back-to-back. Last week, they went north to defeat a traditionally tough 4A Bellarmine Prep, 27-14.

This week, Tumwater will add more miles to its schedule when it visits Oregon 6A powerhouse Clackamas (1-1). In reality, Oregon’s 6A classification is the equivalent to 4A in Washington. The OHSAA begins its divisions with 1A and has no schools labeled “B” as does Washington.

But the Cavaliers may present a daunting challenge for Tumwater, which beat McNary from Oregon, 57-13, last fall. The T-Birds will travel 121 miles to the game, which will be Clackamas’ homecoming.

More to the point, the Cavaliers are 26-2 since the start of an undefeated 2017 season, in which they won the Oregon 6A championship. They started 12-0 in 2018 but were stunned in the state semi-finals by Sheldon of Eugene and lost to Lakeridge of Lake Oswego this season before bouncing back to dump Beaverton, 39-19, last week.

Quarterback Austin Atkeson passed for 261 yards and four touchdowns, while also rushing 64 yards, against the Beavers. Nick Kenwell caught two of the touchdown passes for Clackamas. Jake Spitulski has been the Cavs’ top running back.

Tumwater rode some timely passing, in addition to its typical wing-T ground game, to hold off Bellarmine.

Senior quarterback Cody Whalen completed 13 of his 19 passes for an interception-free 154 yards and a touchdown. Dylan Paine rushed for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Austin Terry was the T-Birds most productive receiver with six catches for 116 yards and a score.

The game will be Tumwater’s final non-league contest before the T-Birds begin their quest to regain the 2A Evergreen Conference championship next week at home against Rochester.

Gig Harbor (3-0) vs. Yelm (1-2)

7 p.m. Friday at Yelm Stadium

Yelm (1-2) showed its own intentionallytough pre-season schedule may have paid dividends when it shut out Central Kitsap, 28-0, to begin 3A South Sound Conference play.

But things get a bit tougher for the Tornados on Friday night when Gig Harbor (3-0), which received votes in the AP poll, comes to town after thrashing Timberline, 42-7.

Two-way star Trevor Zeitner led the Tides against the Blazers. Offensively, he rushed for 78 yards and two touchdowns while recording nine tackles on defense. Senior quarterback Cade Dessert had a career-high 185 yards passing, including two touchdowns. His top receiver was Ethan Williams, who gained 64 yards on four catches.

Meanwhile, Yelm’s own two-way star, Bradley McGannon, a lineman who occasionally carries the ball in short-yardage situations, continued to shine. Against Central Kitsap, which had been idle for two weeks after a threat of gun violence resulted in the cancellation of its game against Lakes scheduled for Harry Lang Stadium on Sept. 13, McGannon scored his third and fourth touchdowns of the season on a fumble return and a three-yard run.

Ben Hoffmann threw touchdown passes to Sylas Franklin and Carson Amendt for the Tornados’ other scores.

The Gig Harbor game will be streamed live online on ESN/NFHS Channel 3, with a pre-game show starting at 6:45 p.m.

Capital (1-2) vs. North Thurston (2-1)

7 p.m. Friday at South Sound Stadium

They say it’s nice to have options.

When Capital (1-2) makes the short trip to Lacey to play North Thurston (2-1), fans will have the option of rooting for one of two triple option offenses, both coached by guys named Terry with four-letter last names who are relatively new to their jobs.

Terry Rose took over at Capital last season and installed a version of the triple option once used by the University of Nebraska, in the days when the Cornhuskers were dominant. Terry Shaw, who coached 2B Rainier the past six season, arrived at North Thurston intent on rolling out his own version.

The Rams got off to a fast start, blasting West Seattle and Port Angeles in non-league games before falling to defending 3A SSC champ Peninsula, 38-12, in a league opener.

North Thurston usually starts junior quarterback Keeton Maggard, though last week running back Zach Porter moved over behind center at the beginning of the Seahawks game. Both suffered slight injuries in the fourth quarter, but are expected to play against Capital.

Porter, Jase Marcott and Kris Hernandez have been among the standouts in a deep corps of Rams’ ballcarriers.

Capital splits time between quarterbacks Tristan Redman and Elijah Hoffman. Clayton Grady is capable of game-breaking runs and Grady Lindekugel is among the top Capital receivers.

This story was originally published September 26, 2019 at 6:00 AM.