Results, recaps, stats and more from Week 9 of the high school football season around the South Sound will be posted on this page Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
FRIDAY’S GAMES (OCT. 30)
NO. 1 PUYALLUP 31, NO. 3 GRAHAM-KAPOWSIN 24 (OT)
Trailing in overtime and needing a score on fourth down, Graham-Kapowsin quarterback AJ Tuivaiave scanned the field but couldn’t find an open target. When he tried to move up in the pocket, Puyallup’s front smothered him.
Ballgame.
It was a dramatic end to a thrilling high school football game at Sparks Stadium on Friday night, which saw the undefeated, No. 1 Puyallup Vikings hang on against the No. 3 Graham-Kapowsin Eagles, 31-24.
Some big games fail to live up to the billing, but Friday night’s 4A SPSL championship game and heavyweight matchup delivered in front of a packed house.
“It showed how well-coached we were,” said Puyallup senior receiver and defensive back Luke Parker, who has been one of the area’s breakout stars in 2026. “I thought we’re a battle-tested team, and I feel like that showed tonight. We just kept our head down, kept working, believed in each other, and just kept fighting to the end.”
Graham-Kapowsin tied the game late in the fourth quarter on a field goal, forcing overtime. Puyallup scored in overtime on a Malcolm Akuffo run, putting the pressure on G-K. The Eagles moved the ball within the Puyallup 10-yard line but fell short.
“They had guys covered up,” Graham-Kapowsin coach Jeff Logan said about the final play. “They got home. It was just probably not the best play call in that position.”
While the ultimate goal of winning the Class 4A state championship is still dangling in front of the Vikings, Friday’s win capped off an impressive regular season, which included wins over Rocky Mountain (Idaho), Bellevue, Lake Stevens, Sumner and Graham-Kapowsin. It also undoubtedly locked up the No. 1 seed in the state tournament for the Vikings.
“It’s special,” Puyallup coach DJ Mims said. “I mean, it’s consistency. Winning the SPSL is hard to do. Winning the SPSL North is hard to do. And so, we don’t take that lightly.”
Graham-Kapowsin will have to sweat out the seeding committee’s decision ahead of the Week 10 playoffs. Have the Eagles done enough to earn a top four seed? Certainly, tight games and close losses against No. 1 Puyallup and No. 2 Lake Stevens show the Eagles are deserving and are every bit of a state title contender, but a weak strength of schedule in the 4A SPSL South division could hurt Graham-Kapowsin.
“I think there’s a lot of teams you line up around the state against a Puyallup or a Lake Stevens, and I don’t know how many of them put up the same showing that we put up,” Graham-Kapowsin coach Jeff Logan said.
EMERALD RIDGE 45, BETHEL 28
The game was tight after three quarters but Emerald Ridge pulled away late. Tre Robinson rushed for 161 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Quintin Gardley rushed for 76 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries. Quarterback Brayden Paulino completed 9-of-10 passes for 161 yards.
Defensively, Adrien Tela recovered a fumble and Amosa Masanaia had an interception.
“We spread the football around to all of our guys,” Emerald Ridge coach Torey Donovan said. “We are at our best when we do that offensively.”
CURTIS 27, BONNEY LAKE 14
Bonney Lake hung around but eventually Curtis pulled away on Friday night, riding a stingy defensive effort to a win.
Offensively for the Vikings, running back Donte Ray rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.
“Great overall team win,” Curtis coach Brian Jensen said. “Excited for our seniors on senior night and excited for our program.”
WHITE RIVER 62, KENTLAKE 6
The game was over quickly and mercifully. White River quarterback Chaz Strickland threw seven touchdown passes to five different receivers. Braydon Thomas had two receiving touchdowns and an interception defensively. Parker Fry had over 100 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Running back Logan Brame had over 100 yards rushing, a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown. Defensively, Stryker Simmons had four sacks.
SPANAWAY LAKE 34, SOUTH KITSAP 33 (OT)
Brooklyn Bell called game. He blocked the would be game-tying PAT in overtime to seal a 34-33 win for Spanaway Lake on Friday night.
Offensively, Spanaway Lake quarterback Jericho Martin rushed for four touchdowns and passed for another. Defensively, Jamarcus Johnson had an interception for the Sentinels.
“Gritty back and forth game with big plays,” Spanaway Lake coach Cameron Robak said. “Proud of our team for battling to the very last snap and coming up big on a blocked PAT.”
FRANKLIN PIERCE 35, WASHINGTON 14
Locked in a defensive battle, Franklin Pierce scored 29 points in the second half, inclduing 21 in the fourth quarter, to secure the win on Friday night. Forrest Dolan rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Quarterback Jeremiah Orcutt rushed for 26 yards and two touchdowns on five carries.
Defensively, CJ Moananu forced and recovered a fumble.
“A lot of credit to Washington,” Franklin Pierce coach Trevor Hanson said. “They played a heck of a game tonight, and Coach Boyes is doing a great job building that program into one of the up-and-coming teams in our area. We were fortunate to come up with a couple of big takeaways and play offense incredibly effective in the second half. I’m really proud of how our offense showed up and made plays when we needed them.”
TUMWATER 51, W.F. WEST 21
The 2A EvCo runs through Tumwater, again. Tumwater handled W.F. West in the 2A EvCo title game on Friday night, making plays on both sides of the ball.
Tumwater had 344 yards of offense, led by running back Tyler Briscoe’s 165 rushing yards and two touchdows on 10 carries. He also had a receiving touchdown.
Quarterback Jake Reid completed 7-of-10 passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior defensive back Grady Wall had 11 tackles and an interception. Junor defensive back Gabe Millard had four tackles and an interception. Junior defensive lineman Ethan Marson had six tackles, two tackles for loss and two sacks.
Tumwater coach Willie Garrow was happy with the win but felt there were things to clean up, namely the 13 penalties that accounted for over 100 yards.
“Felt like we struggled to find a rhyhtm on offense for much of the game with some penalties that killed drives, especially in the first half,” Garrow said. “We went in at halftime and felt like we left points on the board and really just sort of needed to get out of our own way and we would be fine.
“Our coaching staff made a couple of adjustments based on the way they were playing defensively, and I thought the kids did a nice job of executing those things in the second half to pull away.”
Tumwater finishes the season 9-0 and has almost certainly earned the No. 1 seed in the 2A state tournament.
THURSDAY’S GAMES (OCT. 29)
EATONVILLE 31, ORTING 14
It would’ve been tempting to write Eatonville off after a two-game skid with losses to Washingon and Fife. Since then? The Cruisers have won four straight, including a pair of wins over 2A SPSL preseason favorites Orting and Franklin Pierce.
Not half bad. Eatonville quarterback Cole Fowler completed 18-of-26 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns. Receiver Jacob Simons caught six passes for 108 yards and a touchdown and also had a rushing touchdown, which came just before halftime and gave Eatonville a 17-7 lead heading into the break.
“Extremely proud of how our kids have finished the season against really tough competition,” Eatonville coach Gavin Kralik said. “We are playing really good football right now.”
This story was originally published October 30, 2026 at 11:58 PM.
Source: www.thenewstribune.com
