Week 5: High school football games of the week in Olympia area

Week five of the high school football season is here. Here are the top games to watch this week in the Olympia area, highlighted by a matchup in the Class 3A South Sound Conference on Friday night at Ingersoll Stadium.

Yelm (2-2) vs. Capital (2-2)

7 p.m. Friday at Ingersoll Stadium

Less than two weeks ago, the game shaped up as a mid-season clash of 3A South Sound Conference also-rans.

Capital High School had been whipped twice in pre-season, by Lakes and W.F. West. Yelm had gone down hard against Skyview and Tumwater.

When the teams play this week, though, the winner will retain at least a share of the 3A SSC lead with Peninsula, should the Seahawks win a Thursday night road match-up with Timberline. If the Blazers prevail, the Capital-Yelm winner will be alone in first place.

Since the league season began, both teams have found their offensive mojo. After blowing out visiting Shelton, 50-20, the Cougars went on the road and rallied past North Thurston, 30-23. Yelm shut out Central Kitsap, 28-0, on the road and returned home to upset previously undefeated Gig Harbor, 42-18.

Though it sets up in a run-first offense, the triple option, Capital was on fire through the air last week, with senior quarterback Tristan Redman completing 15 of 25 passes for a career-high 330 yards and four touchdowns, two to Grady Lindekugel, who totaled eight catches for 188 yards. Lindekugel and sophomore Troy Collard each had a pair of touchdown catches.

Yelm left no doubt in its win over Gig Harbor, which came in 3-0 and receiving votes in the statewide Associated Press 3A poll. The Tornados jumped to a 20-0 lead and never were in danger on a cold, breezy night on the prairie.

Ben Hoffmann completed 13 of 21 passes for 186 yards and three long touchdowns, two to Sylas Franklin and one to Auzzie Schaler. Hoffmann also had a pair of runs for scores. Carson Amendt, who led the Tornados in rushing with 87 yards on 19 carries, scored the other Yelm TD.

Peninsula (2-2) vs. Timberline (1-3)

7 p.m. Thursday at South Sound Stadium

The Blazers’ offensive struggles during league play – just one total touchdown in losses to Gig Harbor and Central Kitsap – may make their matchup with league-leader Peninsula seem like an uphill struggle.

The game is, however, a rematch of one of the most exciting contests in the short history of the 3A SSC, Peninsula’s 28-27 victory in overtime last season at Roy Anderson Field. The one-point head-to-head win was enough to give the Seahawks the conference championship when they ended the season tied with Timberline at 6-1.

Last week, the teams played very different games.

The Blazers traveled to Central Kitsap, a team that has yet to score a touchdown in league play, losing 5-0 when the Cougars broke a scoreless tie with a third-quarter safety and a fourth-quarter field goal.

The Blazers’ defense held Central Kitsap to only 163 yards of total offense, but Timberline’s offense produced just 127 yards and turned the ball over three times. The Blazers were penalized 20 times for 166 yards.

Peninsula hosted Shelton in its homecoming game and rolled, 55-0, limiting the Highclimbers to 63 yards of offense. Sean Skladany rushed for three Seahawks’ touchdowns, while quarterback Peyton Bice completed 7 of 10 passes for 163 yards and a TD.

The game will be streamed live online over ESN/NFHS Network Channel 1 with a pre-game show at 6:45 p.m.

Doubleheader

Gig Harbor (3-1) vs. North Thurston (2-2)

4:45 p.m. Friday at South Sound Stadium

Eatonville (2-2) vs. River Ridge (1-3)

8 p.m. Friday at South Sound Stadium

Lacey fans can see two of the city’s three public school teams play back-to-back. With all three schools at home this week, the North Thurston district scheduled a rare doubleheader rather than force one school to play on a Saturday.

The opener matches teams coming off disappointing defeats.

Gig Harbor shaped up as a league favorite and a statewide 3A standout but was never really in its 42-18 loss at Yelm. North Thurston, which seemed much improved after a 2-0 non-league season and playing hard in a loss at Peninsula, squandered a second half lead in losing at home to Capital.

Quarterback Cade Dessert was the highlight for the Tides last week, completing 15 of 26 passes for 178 yards. Keeton Maggard threw two touchdown passes to Nathan Hulett for North Thurston against Capital.

The Rams and Tides will be streamed live online over ESN/NFHS Network Channel 1 with a pre-game show at 4:30 p.m.

In the nightcap, River Ridge looks for its second win of the season against an Eatonville team that has been strong in recent seasons. Hawks’ junior running back Darion Brown has been a bright spot, averaging 8.6 yards per carry while junior wide receiver Dontae Owens has grabbed 15 passes for 232 yards.

Eatonville senior Zach Smith has a quarterback rating of 115.0 and has rushed for 280 yards on 35 carries, an 8.0 average. Alex Brymer has rushed 71 times for 333 yards and four touchdowns.

The Hawks and Cruisers will be streamed live online over ESN/NFHS Network Channel 3 with a pre-game show at 7:45 p.m.

Olympia (2-2) vs. No. 5 Graham-Kapowsin (4-0)

7 p.m. Friday at Art Crate Stadium in Spanaway

Olympia has righted the ship with two straight wins after helping Emerald Ridge and Sumner beat them with multiple turnovers in their first two games. Graham-Kapowsin, which blanked the Bears 35-0 at Ingersoll last season won’t be an easy matchup even though four-year starting quarterback Dylan Morris is gone, on the squad at the University of Washington.

The Eagles are off to a perfect start behind senior Nate Thomas, who has completed nearly 70 percent of his passes and averages 13.1 yards per attempt. Senior running back Shabro Johnson is averaging 9 yards per carry.

Graham-Kapowsin comes in off a come-from-behind 27-13 victory over Puyallup.

The Bears won their second straight game to even both their overall and 4A SPSL records at 2-2, blowing out winless Bellarmine Prep, 34-6, at Ingersoll Stadium. The Bears were outgained by the Lions, 340-265, but forced five Bellarmine turnovers while giving it away only once. Nathan Hermann threw two touchdown passes to Will Anderson while Max Tuitele scored a rushing TD and Ben Kraznokutsky returned an interception for a score.

This story was originally published October 3, 2019 at 6:00 AM.