Washington football state semifinals preview: Preview, predictions for remaining South Sound teams
It’s good fun poring over brackets and picking upsets, boldly proclaiming which teams are underseeded, enthusiastically arguing the merits of an underdog and making a case for how and why they’re going to sneak into the next round. But more often than not, the favorites are favorites for a reason. And as we enter this weekend’s semifinal round of Washington’s state football tournament, the cream of the crop marches on.
Graham-Kapowsin (4A), Tumwater (2A) and Eatonville (1A) are the three remaining South Sound teams in competition. The Eagles, T-Birds and Cruisers are a combined 33-2 this fall. Those two losses are both Tumwater’s: a 42-35 loss to Oregon power Central Catholic and a 28-26 loss to Camas, which made the 4A state tournament field this year, losing in the quarterfinals to Kamiakin. Those losses don’t point to Tumwater vulnerability. On the contrary, actually: the close-fought game against Camas shows Tumwater is punching above its weight and remains the clear favorite to win the 2A state championship on Dec. 4.
No. 1 Graham-Kapowsin vs. No. 4 Kamiakin (4A)
Saturday, 1 p.m. at Art Crate Field
When it came down to it, Graham-Kapowsin got back to its bread and butter last Friday night: running the football. Bothell dropped defenders into coverage early and often, making throwing windows for G-K quarterback Joshua Wood tighter than he’s used to seeing. After Wood threw a first quarter interception, Graham-Kapowsin coach Eric Kurle responded with a heavy dose of the run game behind the Eagles’ menacing offensive line.
After the interception, Wood threw just six more passes the entire game. The Eagles racked up 341 yards on the ground, paced by Zack Lee’s 165 rushing yards.
“We just kind of leaned on our line and running backs and ran the ball,” Kurle said after the game. “We just felt like we needed to control the ball in the second half, take the air out a little bit. We felt pretty good that we could get the chunks we needed running the ball. We just beat them up up front.”
The effort showcased Graham-Kapowsin’s offensive versatility. Stack the box? Wood and his receiving corps — led by Idaho State commit Julian Mason and tight end Andrew Savaiinaea — will pick defenders apart. Drop defenders into coverage? The Eagles will run the ball until the clock hits zero. And that’s just fine with Wood.
“I can throw four, five times,” Wood told The News Tribune on Tuesday. “If we get the win, we get the win. That’s all I really care about. If we throw the ball one time and run the ball the whole game and come out with a win, we come out with a win. There’s no selfish guys, that’s what I love about this team.”
Kamiakin also has a potent offense that can put up points in a hurry, evidenced by a 35-14 win over a good Camas program in last week’s quarterfinals.
“It gives us quite a bit of (momentum),” Kamiakin coach Scott Biglin told The News Tribune on Tuesday. “Camas is a good football team. Their defense is really sound, they’re very disciplined. To be able to score 35 points, we feel pretty good about ourselves.”
Quarterback Henry Mercado, the Mid-Columbia Conference offensive player of the year, has thrown for 2,624 yards and 40 touchdowns this year. He’s also rushed 57 times for 321 yards and four touchdowns. And the Braves spread the love equally: four players have nine receiving touchdowns for Kamiakin. They are: Gonzaga baseball commit Payton Graham (744 yards, nine TD) Fabian Hernandez (432 yards, nine TD), Aidan Canada (319 yards, nine TD) and EJ Hawkins (437 yards, nine TD). Luis Salgado (1,100 yards, 23 touchdowns on 157 attempts) is the team’s leading running back.
Kamiakin knows it’ll have its hands full against top-seeded Graham-Kapowsin, but the Braves are ready for the challenge.
“They don’t really have any weaknesses,” Biglin said. “Great offensive line, defensive line. The linebackers are good, they come up hard. The DB’s cover well, the QB is outstanding, they have a great tight end. They’re sound all the way around.
“But we feel like we have a pretty good team, too. It’s going to take us matching what they bring physicality-wise. We have to match it. We can’t be intimidated, and our guys won’t be. They’re going to try to bully us around. We have to make sure we stand up to the bully.”
TNT pick: Graham-Kapowsin 42, Kamiakin 35.
No. 1 Tumwater vs. No. 4 Squalicum (2A)
Saturday, 4 p.m. at Tumwater District Stadium
Another week, another blowout win for the T-Birds in the state quarterfinals last week. Tumwater beat Enumclaw, 55-21, in a rematch of a week one game between the two teams. Technically, Enumclaw kept it closer this time around, but the two meetings were more or less equally competitive. Tumwater led by four touchdowns with just under five minutes to play in the first quarter.
Carlos Matheney, Payton Hoyt and Ashton Paine have all featured prominently in the running game in Tumwater’s vaunted Wing-T offense.
“We knew what to expect, since we played these guys before. We needed to come out and execute,” said Matheney, who appreciates the T-Birds ability to use multiple backs effectively. “It opens up our offense. When teams see us on film, they know we can do different things.”
Tumwater’s dominance and reliance on its run game almost causes you to forget that its two best players are Division-I bound tight ends, in 6-foot-5 Boise State commit Austin Terry and 6-foot-7 UW commit Ryan Otton. Terry and Otton have just eight touchdowns between the two of them, but both are excellent run blockers and both feature prominently as defensive ends also (Terry has four sacks and six tackles for loss, while Otton has seven sacks and 13 tackles for loss).
Otton and Terry will have to be productive defensively against an explosive Squalicum offense. Last week, Squalicum beat Ridgefield in the quarterfinals, 63-38. Squalicum (8-2) is paced by a pair of WSU commits: Running back Djouvensky ‘Ben’ Schlenbaker (1,083 yards, 14 touchdowns), the school’s all-time leading rusher, and dual-threat quarterback Leyton Smithson (57-of-88 passing, 714 yards, 8 TD; 584 yards rushing, 12 TD), who announced this week he’ll join Schlenbaker on the Palouse in the fall, committing to WSU.
Smithson racked up 396 total offensive yards in last week’s win over Ridgefield. He rushed for 192 yards and three touchdowns on just 13 carries and completed 11-of-14 passes for 204 yards and another two touchdowns.
TNT pick: Tumwater 49, Squalicum 35
No. 2 Eatonville vs. No. 3 Lynden Christian (1A)
Saturday, 5 p.m. at Art Crate Field
Things started a bit slow for Eatonville in its quarterfinal matchup against Riverside. But the Cruisers don’t need much time to get on the board, with their high-flying, up-tempo offense. Leading 7-3 with just under a minute to go before halftime, Eatonville rattled off a five-play, 71-yard touchdown drive, highlighted by a 46-yard completion from quarterback Kevin Wulff to senior receiver Reilly Mcilraith on the drive’s opening play. It gave the Cruisers plenty of momentum to build on heading into the break. In the second half, it was all Eatonville, which came away with a 35-6 win.
Job Kralik (seven receiving touchdowns, five rushing touchdowns) and Jakob Lucht (11 receiving touchdowns) lead the passing game. 6-foot-6, 270-pound junior left tackle Kyle Cox is a Division-I prospect, dominant in establishing the run game and in pass protection. Senior Blain Hanly (115 tackles, two interceptions) has been the team’s leading tackler the past three years. He’s Eatonville’s focal point on defense, instinctually flying to the football and making tackles all over the field.
Lynden Christian takes a seven-game winning streak into Saturday’s contest against Eatonville, after beating a Takari Hickle-led Tenino team handily last week, 49-18. Quarterback Will Colwell (1,373 yards and 18 touchdowns) targets leading receiver Jamison Hintz, seven touchdowns). Running back Kade Eldridge (492 yards, seven touchdowns) paces the run game for the Lyncs.
Eatonville will likely need to start faster than last week. Kralik is a creative offensive mind and should have plenty up his sleeve and Job Kralik should be back near full-health after playing through a finger injury recently.
TNT pick: Eatonville 38, Lynden Christian 31
This story was originally published November 25, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Washington football state semifinals preview: Preview, predictions for remaining South Sound teams."
