Week 6: What we learned from this week’s high school football games in the South Sound
In the sixth week of the high school football season in the South Sound, the top-ranked Class 1A team was stunned, and leagues are approaching the finish line of the regular season. Things are about to get fun, particularly in the 3A Pirece County League and 3A South Sound Conference.
Here’s what we learned in Week 6:
4A SPSL APPROACHING FINISH LINE
After six weeks, the standings in the 4A South Puget Sound League look like this:
▪ Emerald Ridge: 5-1
▪ Puyallup: 5-1
▪ Sumner: 5-1
▪ Bethel: 4-2
▪ Graham-Kapowsin: 4-2
▪ Curtis: 3-3
▪ Bellarmine Prep: 2-4
▪ South Kitsap: 1-5
▪ Olympia: 1-5
▪ Rogers: 0-6
After Graham-Kapowsin ran the table in 2021, the parity has been fun this year in the 4A SPSL. There were no real surprises this week, with Emerald Ridge, Puyallup and Sumner all winning and Graham-Kapowsin pulling out a close one against Curtis.
Bethel kicked off the gauntlet of its schedule, losing 28-7 to Emerald Ridge, with Puyallup, Sumner and rival Graham-Kapowsin on the schedule the final three weeks.
An improved Curtis team is in good shape. The Vikings will be favored against Rogers and South Kitsap and the season finale against Puyallup is a compelling matchup.
Could Graham-Kapowsin throw one more piece of chaos into the season? A matchup against Emerald Ridge looms on Oct. 21, pitting the Eagles’ talented secondary against a Jaguars team that spreads the ball around.
3A PCL SHOWDOWNS COMING UP
Which program will win the 3A PCL this fall?
The decisive matchups are coming up in the next three weeks.
Similar to recent seasons, it seems one of three perennial 3A PCL powers will top the league when the regular season ends.
Reigning league champion Lincoln remains undefeated through six games, and has three league wins. Lakes also has three league wins, and hasn’t lost a contest through five games this fall. Spanaway Lake has four league wins, and is on a five-game winning streak since a season-opening nonleague loss to Gig Harbor.
The three programs have yet to face each other this season — but that changes on Saturday.
Week 7 is the first of three consecutive weeks that includes a 3A PCL clash that should prove pivotal in deciding the league title.
Lakes is set to host Spanaway Lake on Saturday in the first contest featuring two of these three programs this season. Lincoln is then scheduled to host Lakes in Week 8, and Spanaway Lake hosts Lincoln in the regular season finale in Week 9.
The Abes have won four of the six championships since the 3A PCL was formed ahead of the 2016 season, including winning back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2017, and topping the league again in 2019 and last fall.
Lincoln has finished 5-1 against both Lakes and Spanaway Lake in that span.
Lakes won the league title in 2018, and Spanaway Lake in the shortened spring season in 2021.
The Lancers are 4-2 against the Sentinels since the league was created, though Spanaway Lake has won the past two meetings.
WILL YELM BE TESTED IN REGULAR SEASON? WE’LL FIND OUT
Yelm has steamrolled its way through the weaker portion of the 3A SSC and will now face the best competition the league has to offer, facing Timberline at home on Thursday before a road trip to play Peninsula in Week 8.
Yelm has outscored its four league opponents, 260-7, pitching shutouts in three of the games, including a 71-0 beatdown of Capital on Friday night.
Last year’s South Sound juggernaut was 4A state champion Graham-Kapowsin, fielding one of the most dominant teams the state of Washington has ever seen, going undefeated and beating Lake Stevens in the 4A state championship game, 44-7.
Let’s be clear — that team was a once-in-a-generation type group. The 3A classification is tough. There’s no guarantee Yelm will win the 3A state title and even if the Tornados do, it’s unlikely Yelm rolls through the state tournament with the same type of win margins as last year’s Graham-Kapowsin team. The 4A SPSL was also a better league than this year’s 3A SSC and Yelm has so far only faced the bottom half of the league.
All that being said, Yelm sure looks the part of this year’s South Sound juggernaut. Through six games, Graham-Kapowsin’s 2021 team was beating opponents by an average of 43.8 points. Yelm in 2022? The Tornados are winning by an average of 53.8 points through six weeks.
We’ll find out if the Tornados will be tested in the regular season. Timberline (5-1) picked up a good win over Gig Harbor a couple weeks ago. The Blazers play tough and will be up for the challenge. After losing to 2A SPSL favorite Enumclaw in Week 1, Peninsula (5-1) has bounced back well, beating Gig Harbor in the Fish Bowl rivalry game before routing North Thurston, River Ridge and Central Kitsap. Coach Ross Filkins’ Seahawks teams always improve as the season goes on and Peninsula should be firing on all cylinders heading into its meeting with Yelm.
TOP-RANKED EATONVILLE STUNNED BY MONTESANO
Eatonville coach Gavin Kralik knew the Cruisers would be tested in this 1A Evergreen Conference stretch, playing Tenino and Montesano in back-to-back weeks.
Eatonville, the state’s No. 1 ranked team in 1A in the latest AP poll, beat Tenino last week in a close contest, but couldn’t get past Montesano, losing 42-21.
Coming into the game, Eatonville had only turned the ball over three times over the team’s first five games. Against Montesano, the Cruisers turned the ball over three times.
“It was a factor,” Kralik said. “They played really well, and (we) couldn’t get stops on defense. They executed their plan really well.”
Eatonville will need to bounce back quickly, facing 2A Evergreen Conference front runner W.F. West next.
STILL UNDEFEATED
Four undefeated programs remaining in the South Sound through six weeks.
Three 3A programs in the area — in 3A PCL powers Lincoln and Lakes, and 3A SSC favorite Yelm — still haven’t lost, while 2A South Puget Sound League favorite Enumclaw also remains undefeated.
Lincoln (6-0) added a 49-6 win over league rival Stadium on Saturday at Lincoln Bowl in a fifth consecutive double-digit victory.
The Abes have also posted 3A PCL wins over Mount Tahoma and Bonney Lake, and earlier nonleague victories over reigning 3A North Puget Sound League champion Auburn Riverside and 4A programs Skyline and Camas.
Lakes (5-0) also added another convincing win with a 52-7 rout of visiting Battle Ground on Saturday in Lakewood.
The Lancers have outscored their five opponents this season, 258-79, and put up at least 30 points in every contest. Lakes opened the season with a nonleague win over 4A program Kentwood before routing three league opponents in Bonney Lake, Stadium and Silas.
Yelm cruised by a fourth consecutive 3A SSC opponent, shutting out Capital, 71-0, on Friday night in Yelm.
The Tornados have shut out three of their four league opponents, including the Cougars, Central Kitsap and North Thurston this season, while also allowing only seven points to River Ridge.
Yelm also has earlier wins over 4A Greater St. Helens League powers Camas and Union.
The program’s 347 points scored this season are the most of any 3A team through six games, and the Tornados’ 27 have allowed are the least by a 3A team to this point.
Enumclaw rolled to a fourth straight 2A SPSL win with a 51-12 rout of Franklin Pierce on Friday night in Tacoma, adding to earlier league victories over Washington, Fife and Steilacoom. The Hornets also have nonleague wins over 3A programs Peninsula and Silas earlier this season.
There are 26 undefeated teams remaining in all classifications across the state.
Chiawana remains the only undefeated team in 4A following a 53-14 win over Hermiston, while there are eight undefeated programs left in 3A, five in 2A, three in 1A, three in 2B and six in 1B.
This story was originally published October 10, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Week 6: What we learned from this week’s high school football games in the South Sound."
