08/31/22 – The Darrin Reeves era at Gig Harbor begins on Friday night as the Tides of the 3A South Sound Conference host the Spanaway Lake Sentinels of the 3A Pierce County League at Roy Anderson Field in Portland. Reeves makes his head coaching debut after serving as the Defensive Coordinator under George Fairhart for the last 4 seasons. The Tides went 6-4 overall last season and 4-3 in the SSC, falling in the district playoffs to Mt. Spokane 20-0. Gig Harbor has hopes of earning their first post-season win since 2016 and may be a dark horse to win the competitive SSC. The Tides will be tested on Friday night against a team in Spanaway Lake that went 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the 3A PCL, with their only losses to Lincoln and state runner-up Kennwick in a close game. Loaded with talent, the Sentinels have a legit shot at not only winning the PCL like they did in the spring of 2021, but perhaps a 3A state title.

Players to watch

Gig Harbor

For the Tides, it all starts with 6`6 senior QB Will Landram. He helped lead the Tides basketball team to the 3A state tournament last season, and he hopes to do the same in football this fall.  He took over the starting quarterback job last season after Payton Knowles transferred to Peninsula, and he had a big year. Landram has a big arm and has good mobility as well, the only knock on his season a year ago was turnovers, he had 3 interceptions in the playoff game at Mt. Spokane and a pick-six against Peninsula in the Fish Bowl turned in the momentum in the game. Against one of the best secondaries in the area in Spanaway Lake, limiting turnovers will be key for Landram and the offense. Landram will have a veteran offensive line in front of him, which will help as well.

The Tides lose some key pieces from last year’s team, including Hudson Cederland, who is entering his freshman year at Washington State where he is slated play linebacker. Cederland starred at linebacker and wide receiver for Gig Harbor, but the Tides do bring back some nice weapons in receiver Collin Montgomery and Blaze Herbert at running back, who both started last season. Gavin Nash is expected to play a large role at receiver after missing almost the entirety of 2021 to injury.  On defense, Christian Parrish is a key returner in the secondary after a 6 interception season in 2021 and 49 tackles.

Spanaway Lake

The Sentinels have a team that has at least 3-5 division-1 caliber players, but the one that has gotten the most attention is 4-star Oklahoma commit Jasiah Wagoner. He is entering is senior season with Spanaway Lake, and is arguably the top defensive back in the state for the class of 2023. He is expected to play corner for the Sooners when he gets to Norman, but this season he moves to safety after the departure of  safety Charles “Keekee” McQueen, who is at the University of Nevada. Wagoner can do it all; in 2021 he had 521 yards receiving and 6 touchdowns, and 27 tackles and an interception on defense. He could take snaps at running back and QB in this match up as well.

Another d-1 commit is Puyallup transfer Senior Zion Jones who is committed to Eastern Washington. He was a 4A SPSL honorable mention last season for the Vikings where he started as a DB. A young player to watch is Sophomore D’aryhian Clemons, who has as an offer from Louisville after rushing for 239 yards and 3 touchdowns on 42 carries as a freshman. He was a part of the Spanaway Lake 4×100 m relay team that won the 3A state title last spring, and should have a bigger role in the running game this season after leading rusher and division-1 prospect Joshua Collie moved to Florida in the off-season. He will also play cornerback and aims to get his first career interception. Eugene Camacho at linebacker and TJ Fiame on the DL bring back experience on defense.

Gig Harbor-Spanaway Lake recent series history

This is the 1st meeting between the Tides and Sentinels since the 2019 season opener, a Gig Harbor 28-13 win in Wagoner’s high school debut as freshman. Wagoner lead the team with 9 total tackles in the game. Dempsy James threw for 225 yards and two td’s in his freshman debut as well.

2018: 41-13 Gig Harbor

2017: 34-33 Gig Harbor

2016:  43-7 Gig Harbor

  Head Coaches

Spanaway Lake: Cameron Robak, 5th season. 17-15 overall record. Stadium High School alum, played db at Eastern Oregon University. Assistant at SL before taking over in 2018.

Gig Harbor: Darrin Reeves, 1st season, 0-0.  Played fullback at Southeastern Oklahoma University, for Thomas Ford, current RB coach at University of Idaho. Was a grad assistant at Northeastern State University in Oklahoma, coached defensive line for a school in Oklahoma before joining Ford as an assistant at Stadium HS in Tacoma.  Joined Gig Harbor in 2019.

Final thoughts on match up from Alex

We have two really great games from Roy Anderson Field this week, and a lot interesting story lines in this one. Both of these defenses were excellent last season both allowing just 16 points per game, and they are expected to be strong again this season. Spanaway Lake has more high end college recruits in key skill positions and return a lot of talent, but Gig Harbor is always competitive and bringing back your starting QB, RB and offensive line is encouraging for the Tides.

The quarterback match up is fascinating  too with veteran Will Landram for GH against Spanaway Lake who has an interesting QB situation for week 1. 3 star recruit and PCL spring offensive MVP Dempsy James is out for the season opener but James is expected to return at some point. But in the meantime, the Sentinels have not announced a starter. SL should still have a lot of weapons to choose from, and maybe Wagoner takes snaps at QB.

For me, this game will come down to who makes the big plays and who can protect the ball . Landram is such versatile athlete and is an aggressive QB but limiting turnovers is critical for the Tides. Also, how the Tides defend Wagoner who should be all over the field will be a story to watch as well.

How to watch

Alex Benzegala and Adison Richards will have the call from Roy Anderson Field, pre-game show starts at 6:45, kickoff at 7 pm on the Eli Sports Network on NFHS. A link for the broadcast schedule and how to watch the game is found in the link below.