11/26/2023

The WIAA State Fall season is coming to a close with just 6 Football Championship games left to play this coming Friday and Saturday at Husky Stadium. There will be 5 of those games that have the #1 seed vs #2. Only 3A saw an upset when #6 Bellevue knocked off #2 O’Dea otherwise no shocking outcomes. Out of the 12 games played on Saturday 5 games were within 1 score in the end.

Overall the winning teams scored 409 points to just 190 for the 12 losing teams with 3 shut-outs this is an average of 34-16. The 1B’s of course score a lot so taking out the 1B games which was 130-56 or an average of 65-28 left the 10 other winning teams scoring 279 and the losers just 134 or an average win of 28-13.

There is only 1 re-match from last season for the Championship and that is at the 2B classification with last year’s champ Napavine vs Okanogan. There are 5 returning Champs back in the big game joining Napavine are 1B Liberty Bell, 1A Royal, 3A Yelm and 4A Lake Stevens all were the #1 seed except Lake Stevens who was the 2 seed behind Graham-Kapowsin.

Below are results of all 12 games, some game re-caps, some with our ESN Post Game shows and all with a highlight or 2 and some with links to other coverage.

4A

#2 Lake Stevens 48, #6 Kamiakin 7

The Vikings rolled in this game getting back to the State Championship game. Lake Stevens has devastated their opponents in the tournament beating Woodinville in the opening round 41-0, knocking out their opponent in last year’s title game Kennedy Catholic 44-21 and running over Kamiakin in the semi’s 48-7 outscoring those teams 133-28 and winning an average of 44-9. 

Lake Stevens will now face the top seed Graham-Kapowsin next Saturday night at 7pm for the 4A Championship at Husky Stadium.

More Coverage:
Coverage from Sports Book Live by Todd Milles
Coverage by the Everett Herald by Evan Wiederspohn

Lake Stevens jumps out to a 7-0 lead, Jayshon Limar 17 yard pass from Kolton Matson

Jayshon Limar scampers 35 yards for the score

#1 Graham-Kapowsin 27, #4 Eastlake 24

In one of the most exciting games of semifinal Saturday, the 4A’s #1 seed Graham-Kapowsin got all they could handle against #4 Eastlake. With Eastlake doing a great job of shutting down the Eagles big play passing attack, G-K had to make some changes at halftime and relied on a heavy rushing attack in the second half. Coupled with a phenomenal late catch to get them in field goal range with one second left, a successful field goal was enough to lift Graham-Kapowsin to a 27-24 win and a spot in the 4A state championship.

A fantastic interception by Kase Betz on the opening drive of the game gave momentum to Graham-Kapowsin and the Eagles marched right down the field. Daveon Superales was able to find Mika Roberson for a six-yard score to give G-K the initial 7-0 lead. After forcing a punt on the next series, Graham-Kapowsin moved the ball again but had to settle for a 24-yard field goal from Aidan Skolrud to make it 10-0.

Despite falling behind early, Eastlake seized control of this game in the 2nd quarter. Do-it-all senior Grady Woodward was the first Wolf to find the endzone as he scored on a 13-yard touchdown to get Eastlake on the board, trailing 10-7. Another good drive by Graham-Kapowsin was stopped on an interception at the five-yard line for Woodward as he got his offense back on the field. What followed was a 95-yard drive by the Wolves that was capped off by a 22-yard touchdown pass from Landon Renfroe to Kade Haroldsen. A 10-0 deficit early in the 2nd quarter turned into a 14-10 halftime lead for Eastlake.

Graham-Kapowsin got the ball to start the second half and just ran it right at Eastlake. A five minute and 28 second drive got the 3rd quarter started and it would be Jabez Woods tossing a three-yard touchdown pass to Noah Fox-Flores for a go-ahead score with G-K leading 17-14. Eastlake answered with a 33-yard field goal by Alex Dreher to tie the game back up at 17-17 going into the 4th quarter.

Alele Fa-apito was the focal point of the Eagles offense in the second half but Superales and Woods also carried the ball to move G-K down the field. On fourth and goal, Superales would move out to the lift and pitched the ball to Jabez Woods. The senior receiver followed his blockers into the endzone for a four-yard score. With 9:50 to go, Graham-Kapowsin had the lead back at 24-17.

Eastlake’s response was a magnificent drive as Grady Woodward and Jack Edmunds ran the ball right down the field. A hook and ladder would set-up what looked to be the play of the game. Landon Renfroe lobbed up a jump ball to Woodward who skied up to make a catch through pass interference for a 12-yard touchdown. The Wolves had clawed their way back into the game to tie it at 24-24. 

A sack by the Eastlake defense gave them the ball back but they would be forced to punt. Graham-Kapowsin had the ball with exactly 1 minute to go. It seemed like G-K was happy to go to OT especially after a nice run by Fa’apito was erased by a false start. A 23-yard run by the senior running back moved the ball into Wolves territory. Then came the big shot down field. Daveon Superales took a big shot as he floated a great ball to Mika Roberson who made an even better catch while getting out of bounds with one second left at the Eastlake 8-yard line. That gave Aidan Skolrud a chance to play hero with a 24-yard field goal attempt on the final play of regulation. With ice in his veins, Skolrud drilled the field goal as the Eagles swarmed their kicker who had just given them a 27-24 win and a spot at Husky Stadium for the 4A state championship.

Our Thorbeckes MVP of the game went to the hero in junior kicker Aidan Skolrud. Skolrud was calm, cool, and collected on all five of his kicks, two field goals and three PATs, and did not ever flinch with the spotlight on him. It was a tremendous opportunity for a very good kicker and he made the most of his chance to send his squad to the championship game.

For Graham-Kapowsin, Daveon Superales was once again the star of the Eagle offense, going 16/20 passing for 140 yards and a touchdown while rushing the ball 13 times for 100 yards. Alele Fa’apito carried the ball 14 times for 97 yards and had a six-yard reception. Jabez Woods did it all for G-K as he carried the ball seven times for 35 yards and a score, caught six passes for 42 yards, and threw for a three-yard touchdown. Mika Roberson added four catches for 77 yards and Noah Fox-Flores had three catches for eight yards and a score. Malachi Durant had just two catches for six yards while Gunnar Stinson had a four-yard catch as well.

Meanwhile for the Eastlake Wolves, Grady Woodward was the key cog in the offense. The senior had 15 carries for 70 yards and a touchdown and had three catches for 30 yards and a touchdown while also tallying an interception. RJ Abedi and Jack Edmunds both had eight carries for 45 yards as well. Landon Renfroe ran the ball four times for 41 yards and was 11/22 through the air for 129 yards and two touchdowns. Marcus Angiuli caught two passes for 38 yards and Lucas Haroldsen had two catches for 27 yards and a touchdown. Jack Edmunds also mixed in two catches for 20 yards while RJ Abedi and Caden Cross both had a seven-yard catch.

G-K Takes 3rd Quarter Lead

Eastlake Ties It Late

Skolrud Game-Winner

Postgame Show

3A

#6 Bellevue 21, #2 O’Dea 17

The #6 Bellevue Wolverines are the only team to make the Championship game without a 1 or 2 seed. The Wolverines began the year 0-2 but have run off 10 straight wins and those losses were to 6A champ Central Catholic in Portland and to Lake Stevens the defending 4A champs who are also back in the title game to defend their trophy. 

Bellevue has taken on every challenge since then and found a way to win opening the tournament with a 48-7 win over #11 Monroe then beating the 3 seed Arlington on the road in the quarters and now taking out #2 O’Dea led by the 2nd winningest coach in state history Monte Kohler.

This game was fast paced as both teams combined for just 5 pass attempts each connecting on 1. The run heavy Wolverines will get the defending Champion Yelm Tornados on Friday night at 7pm for the big trophy.

For more coverage on this game:
Full game coverage on Sportsbook Live by Matt Massey

Bellevue connects on their only completed pass a 27-yard connection from Lucas Razore to Ryken Moon setting up their 1st score

Carson Rubin blasts in with the winning TD for Bellevue

#1 Yelm 7, #4 Eastside Catholic 0

Last time the Yelm Tornados and the Eastside Catholic Crusaders met on a football field, we witnessed one of the best state championship games in Washington state history. Because of that, there were a lot of eyes on the rematch to see if they could live up to the hype of the rematch. It was just as close of a game but this time the focus would be defense. Only one score occurred all game long as Yelm advanced to their second straight state championship with a 7-0 shutout of Eastside Catholic.

Both teams were held scoreless in the opening half, but both teams were able to move the ball on a couple of drives. Yelm’s first drive saw the Tornados march down the field with Brayden Platt doing a bulk of the heavy lifting. David Lene would come up with a couple of big plays in the backfield for the Crusaders however to put an end to a couple of nice Yelm drives. Some penalties hurt Yelm on both sides of the ball and solid running from Jeremiah Burroughs led the way for Eastside Catholic. A 27-yard pass from Jake Tiryakioglu to Asa Thompson gave the Crusaders some life, but a dominant defensive front for Yelm kept them off the board as we entered halftime at 0-0.

In the second half, it turned into the Brayden Platt show for Yelm on offense.They would move the ball to their own 47 yard line on 3rd and 3, but the Eastside Catholic defense would get a stop in the backfield to make it 4th and 4. Yelm head coach Jason Ronquillo opted to leave his offense on the field and Platt would line up to take a direct snap in shotgun. The senior found the edge and stayed in bounds up the sideline and all the way into the endzone for a 54-yard touchdown. With 3:59 left in the 3rd quarter, we finally had points as Yelm had a 7-0 lead.

From there on, it was the front seven on the Tornados that told the story of this game. Whether it was Tiryakioglu or Youngmin Lee at quarterback for Eastside Catholic, they were being pressured constantly. The Crusaders were only able to gain 12 positive yards in the second half against Yelm. Yelm would then go on a long drive led by Platt once again to kill the rest of the clock. As the clock ran out, Yelm celebrated another trip to the state championship with the 7-0 victory.

For our Thorbeckes MVP of the game, we had to go with the entire front seven of Yelm. Those guys shutdown everything that the Crusaders tried to do and were a big reason that Eastside Catholic only mustered 57 yards in the ball game. That front seven consisted of Isaiah Patterson, Jacob Tracy, Nathan Ford, Brayden Platt, Kenji Scanlan, Onyx Carter, and Landen Barger. Those guys controlled the tempo for Yelm and made the biggest impact on the game.

Brayden Platt also led the way on offense for Yelm, carrying the ball 28 times for 216 yards and a touchdown and he also had a 13-yard reception. Damian Aalona was 7/13 passing for 85 yards and carried the ball twice for five yards. Anthony Kiamco was good in the return game and did carry the ball nine times. Isaiah Patterson had a three-yard carry and three catches for 33 yards. Marius Aalona had two catches for 22 yards and Onyx Carter had an 18-yard catch.

For Eastside Catholic, Jeremiah Burroughs found limited success, running the ball 12 times for 28 yards and two catches for one yard. Jake Tiryakioglu had two carries for five yards and went 4/9 passing for 24 yards. Asa Thompson had the big play with a 27 yard catch. Jayden Reyes added a catch as well.

Platt Scores Lone Touchdown

Postgame Show

2A

#2 Anacortes 34, #3 Enumclaw 20

The Seahawks had never made it past the quarterfinals prior to this year and so no matter what it is going to be their best finish in school history. Anacortes showed they were ready for the big show remaining undefeated and beating their league nemesis Lynden for the NW league Championship. The Hawks then powered past Rogers of Spokane 53-12 in the opening round. They got over the quarterfinal hurdle taking down Orting 42-0 and then pulled away from 3 seeded Enumclaw on Saturday in the Semi’s.

Anacortes will next face powerhouse Tumwater the 1 seed with 6 State Titles under their belt last winning it in 2019. They will play for the Championship next Saturday at Husky Stadium kicking off at 3pm.

Vaughn Drewien was on the call for Eli Sports on Saturday and he files this re-cap:

The WIAA 2A State Football Semi-Final came out of the gate living up to the billing, as the undefeated Seahawks and Hornets traded consecutive touchdown drives to make it 7-6 in the 1st. The airshow was on full display, with Enumclaw QB Gunnar Trachte providing a beautiful jump ball TD for Colton Paulson, and Anacortes’ Rex Larson leading Brady Beaner for an incredible diving TD snag on the other end. The Hornets matched each scoring drive and tied it up 20-20 on a Seamus Twohey 5-yard catch, heading into halftime. 

The difference came with the energy Anacortes brought into the second half, as everything seemed to be clicking. Brock Beaner took control in the running game, pounding it up the middle with his identical twin brother Brady opening it up on sweeps and off-tackle runs. Big returns from Wyatt Neu gave his Hornets chances with great starting field position, but they couldn’t capitalize in the red zone. A clean game with no turnovers led to Anacrotes adding another score to Rylin Lang – who led the team in receptions and logged a huge late sack on Trachte for good measure – and never looking back, sealing a 34-20 victory for the Seahawks.

Our crew named Anacortes’s Rylin Lang their MVP for his performance as a receiver and linebacker.

More Coverage:
Sportsbook Live’s Hailey Palmer with her full story

ESN’s Vaughn Drewien and Jacob Dickison Post Game Show

The Seahawks Rylin Lang hauls in a 40-yard TD pass from Rex Larson

Anacortes strikes again through the air this time Larson to Brady Beaner

#1 Tumwater 19, #4 North Kitsap 17

The #1 Tumwater T-Birds did not disappoint and held off last year’s runners up North Kitsap in a tight football game. This is the closest game Tumwater has played since their week 2 win over these same North Kitsap Vikings where they won 34-14 but the 2nd time was much different than on Sept 8th. That was the lone loss of the season for the Vikings as they came in with the 4 seed and nearly got their revenge.

Tumwater will now play Anacortes for the State Championship, seeking their 7th in school history winning their first title back in 1987 and their 6tgh trophy in 2019. Kick-off is Saturday at Husky Stadium at 3pm.

ESN’s Keith Clark provides this re-cap:

Tumwater opened the scoring on their first drive of the night with a three-yard TD run by Clark making the score 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.

ESN’s Keith Clark and Brent Bryant with the Post Game Show

North Kitsap takes the lead in the 2nd half on a 58 yard bomb

T-Birds score the Winning TD up the middle

1A

#2 Lakeside (9-Mile) 24, #6 Nooksack Valley 23 (OT)

The 2nd seeded Lakeside Eagles held off a tough Nooksack Valley team to get to the State Championship for the 1st time in their history and will face the always tough Royal Knights. The Eagles already guaranteed their best finish ever getting to the semi-finals and now get a shot at the Title. Lakeside is now 12-0 and knocked off 15 seed Life Christian in the opening round then beat a stubborn 10 seeded Freeman team 24-20 before facing the Pioneers.

In this game the Eagles came back from a 2 touchdown deficit to force extra time tied at 17. Nooksack Valley scored but missed the crucial PAT and that would be the difference in the game as the Eagles scored and knocked through the winning extra point. They will now play Royal who are seeking their 12th State Championship on Friday at 3pm at Husky Stadium.

More Coverage:
Re-Cap by Todd Milles for Sportsbook Live
Story in the Spokesman-Review by Dave Nichols

#1 Royal 42, #12 Seton Catholic 0

The Royal Knights are in search of their 12th State Championship and were not about to allow the upset minded 12th seed Seton Catholic stand in their way. Royal advances to face Lakeside (9-Mile) for the 1A State Championship next Friday at Husky Stadium with kick-off at 3pm.

ESN’s Jamie Council who was on the call has this re-cap:

It took just 17 seconds and two plays for Royal to get on the board and not look back. Ethan Ellis returned to the field for his first action since week two due to an ankle injury. Ellis started off the game with a 45 yard run followed by a 20 yard quarterback keeper by Lance Allred for the score.

Royal would score three more times in the first quarter en route to the 42-0 win over Seton Catholic in the 1A semifinals.

Allred finished 8/12 for 138 yards, 1 touchdown, and one interception while also adding 75 yards and three touchdowns in the ground game. Ellis celebrated his return with 177 yards on 13 carries while punching in two. Anderson Brown was perfect from the PAT line.

More Coverage:
Re-Cap by Todd Milles for Sportsbook Live

ESN’s Post Game Show

The Knights take 2 plays to light up the scoreboard

Royal runs in another long TD for a big 3 score lead

2B

#2 Okanogan 21, #3 NW Christian (Colbert) 0

The 2nd seeded Bulldogs are heading back for a re-match of the 2022 State Championship seeking revenge on Napavine after blanking MW Christian (Colbert) 21-0. Okanogan did it with a dominating run attack rushing the ball 59 times and only 5 runs were more than 10 yards and none over 18. They controlled the time of possession an amazing 34 minutes to just 14 for the Crusaders.

There were only 13 total possessions in the entire game, 7 in the 1st half including an 18-second possession just prior to halftime and 6 total in the 2nd half.Okanogan had just 6 total possessions each averaging about 5:40. After an NWC 3 and out, Okanogan’s 1st drive began on their own 28 yard line with 9:51 on the clock and when Tanner Grooms ran it in from the 9 yard-line there was just 1:58 left to play in the 1st quarter. They did fall short of their 2 pt PAT so it was 6-0.

After a missed field goal attempt and their best chance to score by the Crusaders, the Bulldogs took over on their own 20 with 11:02 to play in the half and would go on a 9 play with 7 runs and 2 pass attempts drive finishing the 80 yards with a 3-yard plunge from David Huffstetler. They ran the same play for the 2 point conversion and Huffstetler scored to make it 14-0. That drive took 7:50 and left just 3:01 on the clock and nothing would change going into the break.

Okanogan would start with the ball but go 3 and out but still burned 2:00. NWC would turn it over on downs but Okanogan could not take advantage however ran 6:30 off the clock. The Crusaders then had their 2nd best chance to score but Tanner Grooms picked off the NWC pass on their own 3 yard line. The Bulldogs final possession there was 8:17 on the clock and 6:50 later they had marched the length of the field with QB Carter Kuchenbuch punching it in from the 2 leaving just 1:27 left in the game. Calum Weston kicked the PAT for the final 21-0 score.

Huffstetler finished the night with 30 carries for 185 and a touchdown, Grooms ran it 13 times for 77 yards and a TD and Kuchenbuch ran it 14 times for 30 yards and score he also threw the ball 12 times with 3 completions and 39 yards. He did have 2 huge drops that would have added a sure TD and possibly a 2nd score and about 100 yards. Okanogan finished with 332 total yards with 293 on the ground. NWC could only put up 161 bugt simply didn’t have the ball long enough to mount a serious threat.

Our MVP award was given to the Okanogan offensive line of Leo Cardenas, Braydon White, Camden Peterson, Marques Cosino and Braedyn Brumback.

Okanogan will battle with Napavine on Saturday at Husky Stadium with an 11am kick-off.

Okanogan scores 1st with Tanner Grooms

The Bulldogs build a 2 score lead in the 1st half

#1 Napavine 36, #4 Onalaska 26

Napavine answered on their next possession with Game MVP QB Ashton Demarest hitting WR Connor Holmes with 57-yard td throw.

More Coverage:
Story by Josh Kirshenbaum in The Chronicle

ESN’s Post Game Show

Napavine’s Cael Stanley scores from 19-yards out

The Tigers connect on a 60-yard dime

1B

#2 Wilbur-Creston-Keller 66, #3 Mossyrock 22

#2 Wilber-Creston-Keller wasted little time and possessions running up a big score on the Mossyrock Vikings to secure their spot in the 1B State Championship. W-C-K will face defending Champ and #1 seed Liberty Bell in the 11am game at Husky Stadium on Friday morning at 11am.

The Wildcats are 12-0 and have scored 60 or more points 7 of those 12 games. They topped out with their 98-40 win over Naselle in the quarterfinals.

More Coverage:
Game story in The Chronicle
Re-Cap by Todd Milles for Sportsbook Live
Re-Cap coverage in the Spokesman-Review

#1 Liberty Bell 64, #5 Neah Bay 34

The defending 1B state Champs and #1 seed the Liberty Bell Mountain Lions racked up 602 yards of offense against the 5 seeded Neah Bay Red Devils. Neah Bay is a team that likes to control the ball and take time off the clock and they began on offense and went right to work doing just that. But a critical holding penalty killed their opening drive and were forced to punt it away.

Neah Bay’s defense did a good job early of not giving up the big play but could not get off the field either and the Mountain Lions scored on every possession of the 1st half. Liberty Bell took 8 plays to score on a 56-yard drive and added the PAT to go up 8-0, both Lucien Paz to Remi Paz.

Neah Bay did answer with a nice touchdown pass from Josh Greene to Makyah Chambers but missed the 2 point conversion and trailed 8-6.

Lucien Paz then found Baker Smith on a 27-yard TD strike then hit Brody Barnhart for 2 to go up 16-6. Liberty Bell added a 56-yard sprint to paydirt from Remi Paz, a 30-yard scramble by Lucien Paz and then the Paz brothers connected on a 46-yard TD strike just prior to halftime to take a 36-14 lead.

The Mountain Lions began the 2nd half with a 1 play 62-yard pass play from Lucien to Remi and it was 42-14. Neah Bay answered with a 9-yard TD pass from Greene to Adan Ellis to make it 42-20. Liberty then pressed it to almost a running clock with 2 unanswered scores with a 37-yard TD pass from Paz to Smith again and then Lucien ran in his 2nd 30-yard TD for a commanding 56-20 lead.

Neah Bay struck back and did not allow the clock go to a running clock but the hole they had dug was too deep and the Red Devils suffered their 1st loss of the season and are out. Liberty Bell remains undefeated and will put that on the line on Friday at 11am against unbeaten Wilbur-Creston-Keller at Husky Stadium.

Our MVP of the game went to Remi Paz.

ESN’s Post Game Show

Lucien Paz sprints 30-yards for the score

Paz to Paz for another big Liberty Bell score

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