Wing-T revival: Gig Harbor finds its identity under first-year coach Scoma
Once someone finds out he’s a soccer player playing on Gig Harbor High School’s football team, Henry Blake can see the question coming from a mile away.
“Are you the kicker?”
He laughs it off. It’s a fair question, but no, Blake isn’t just a kicker. In only his second year playing football, the senior is the heart and soul of the Tides’ defense, playing a hybrid safety role that sees him dropping into coverage, playing run defense and blitzing the quarterback off the edge.
Blake, an Oregon State soccer commit, has taken everything that has made him one of the state’s best center backs on the soccer field and has translated it onto the football field.
“At the highest club level, soccer gets pretty physical,” he said. “I think tackling wise, defending wise, defending someone in soccer is pretty similar to defending someone in football. You’re always backing up, you’ve gotta read their hips and go make a play.”
Blake has made plenty of plays this fall for Gig Harbor, closing space in a hurry. He’s a major reason why Gig Harbor (6-3 overall, 3-2 3A PSL) is in the playoff picture this fall under first-year coach Jeff Scoma.
“The center back position (in soccer) has to be super physical, get up in the air and win every 50/50 ball,” Scoma said. “So he probably takes some of that attitude into football. … Especially because he’s a defender in soccer, I think he’s anticipating things, he sees the field, he’s maybe a step ahead of where some people are, based on that soccer experience.”
Blake, who was born in Arkansas and lived in Texas and California as a young child while his dad moved around for work, has lived in Washington since he was in second grade. He played football his sophomore year but stepped away last year to focus on soccer.
Scoma is thrilled he decided to turn out. In a 27-14 loss to Mount Tahoma — a consensus top five team in Class 3A this season — Gig Harbor led at half. Scoma said Mount Tahoma was having issues running anything to Blake’s side.
“The quarterback (Mikkah Cordero) at Mount Tahoma is really quick and elusive when he gets outside the pocket,” Scoma said. “When it was on Henry Blake’s side, it was really tough. He’s just fast, he’s able to track the tips of anybody with his speed. Nobody has really been able to run to his side.
“He takes away jet, he takes away the QB run, he takes away anything to his side just because he’s got elite speed and a really good football IQ.”
THE WING-T IS WORKING IN THE HARBOR
Mount Tahoma, Lincoln and Lakes have been the class of the league in recent years. Gig Harbor dropped games to Mount Tahoma and Lincoln this year, but the Tides have won all the games they’ve needed to win to be a playoff contender, notably the Fish Bowl rivalry game against Peninsula in Week 1 and a 42-20 win over Bellarmine Prep on Oct. 24.
Scoma, who has Bellevue roots and built Stanwood into a 3A contender, brought the Wing-T offense to Gig Harbor this fall. It’s a far cry from the high-flying, up-tempo, pass-heavy spread offense from former Tides’ coach Aaron Chantler’s days. Chantler is now the coach at Auburn High School.
“The kids are buying in and that’s what makes such a difference,” Scoma said. “They bought in and worked hard. Nobody grumbled.”
It was worth wondering whether the Wing-T would be the right fit at Gig Harbor. There may have been some skepticism from the community initially.
“Maybe at the beginning,” Blake said. “But once he sort of started talking to us and told us his objective, I think everyone’s into it. He’s got our team culture through the roof.”
While the receivers don’t see as much volume in targets, Gig Harbor’s skill position players are still getting plenty of touches, they’re just coming out of the backfield now. The Tides feature six or seven running backs who are all seeing consistent action, like Wilson West, Max Schwab and Ian Shearer.
“Whether you’re running the ball or passing the ball, you’ve gotta get somebody the ball,” Scoma said. “So they get it.”
They aren’t the first program in the South Sound to find success with a run-heavy offense. Perennial power 2A state tournament contender Tumwater has been a long-time Wing-T program. After struggling to win games, Franklin Pierce adopted the Power-T offense and has now become a Top 10 team.
It’s a system that can work every year, even without a top-tier quarterback or a dominant offensive line.
“Sometimes our guys aren’t the biggest or the strongest, but if everyone does their assignment and their job, this offense can work.”
Gig Harbor beat Capital 15-14 on Saturday in the team’s regular season finale and will face unbeaten Sedro-Woolley in the playoffs on the road at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 8. The winner advances to the Class 3A state tournament.
There’s a quiet belief this team could surprise some people and make a postseason run.
“We’re definitely an underdog but we’re ready to show some people that our defense and offense can stick with them,” Blake said. “When we have our game and we do everything correctly, we limit our mistakes, we can definitely stick with these big teams.”
This story was originally published October 31, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Wing-T revival: Gig Harbor finds its identity under first-year coach Scoma."
