HS Football: Sumner survives scare from Puyallup in classic rivalry battle

10/4/2024

Sumner 17, Puyallup 14

(Sumner, WA) On a perfect night for football the stands at Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner were again brimming to the top with thousands of Spartan faithful on hand and prior to the game there was lot’s of optimism coming in to the game. Sumner is off to a great start with a 3-1 record beating 4A defending State Champ Lake Stevens and nearly knocking off West Linn the 2 time defending 6A state champs in Oregon.

Coupled with the slow start for the Puyallup Vikings coming in with a 1-3 record and suffering big losses to 2A Tumwater and 4A Skyview in non-league play and dropping their conference opener to Emerald Ridge last week many in the Spartan purple were confident of a big win against the limping Vikings.

Sumner Head Coach Keith Ross was not one of those however, as he said “I have been on the other side of this excpectation too many times and seen our team rise up and give them more than they bargained for and I believed they would give us their best shot of the year…and they did!” “Rivalry games are the great equalizer and they bring the best out of those being overlooked so if you are not ready for that effort you’re gonna be in a battle.”

Coach Ross’s comments were dead on as Puyallup pushed the Spartans to final drive and not until less than a minute to play was the game decided as Spartan QB Nate Donovan kneeled 2 times to end the back and forth tug of war this game turned out to be.

1st Half Message sent

The Vikings sent a message with their very first drive showing the Spartan defense this is not going to be a game of 3 and outs but rather long sustained drives with limited chances to score on both sides of the scrimmage line. The Vikings put together an 11-play drive but penalties and a big sack from Sumner’s Austin Glivar forced them to punt down to the Spartan 16 but they burned 6 minutes or half of the 1st quarter with that drive.

Sumner would answer with their own 8-play drive. Steele Isaacs ran the ball well and a big 45-yard pass from Donovan to Braylon Pope to the Viking 13. Isaacs then ran for 4 and on 2nd 6 from the 9 blasted into the endzone up the middle to put Sumner on the board. Austin Ferencz booted the PAT and it was 7-0 with 3:01 to go in the 1st quarter.

Puyallup got the ball back on their own 20 and with a run heavy dose of Kysen Douglas moved the ball well picking up 1st downs and moving the ball across the 50 again into Viking territory. Thern on 3rd and long Viking QB Brayden Paulino dropped back and found Douglas slipping out of the backfield and put it right in the breadbasket and Douglas was gone 41 yards for a quick answer to the Spartan score. Braylon Bowie kicked the extra point and it was tied 7-7 with 11:48 to play in the half.

Sumner tried to answer with a long field goal attempt by Ferencz from 45 yards but it was wide right but had the height and distance. Puyallup had to punt away their next possession after a big 9 yard sack by Sumner’s Mason Thayer. The Spartans then brought the house on the punt and partially blocked it giving the ball to Sumner in great field position on the Puyallup 37.

The Viking defense rose up though and held, forcing Sumner to attempt a 33 yard field goal which Ferencz drilled right down the middle and it was 10-7 advantage Spartans with just 1:14 to play in the half and that is what the score would be going to the break.

Chaotic Ending

Sumner began with the ball in the 3rd quarter and like Puyallup with a 6 minute 10-play drive and no points. The Puyallup defense stopped a 4th down play short of the 1st down and goal line giving the ball to the Vikings on their own 6 yard line. This possession did give Sumner a huge field possession advantage however as here are the starting field positions for each of the Puyallup 2nd half offensive possesions: their own 6, 24, 20, 12 and 20 yard line. They never had less than 76 yards to go to score in the entire 2nd half.

Big defensive plays and costly penalties would hit each team in the 2nd half and it wouldn’t be until the 5th possession that somone would break through. The Spartans tookover on the 20 of the Vikings off an interception by Dillon Titialii and just 3 plays later Donovan found TE Ashton Pillard in the back of the endzone for the score. Ferencz added the extra point to push the lead to 10, 17-7 with 1:53 to play in the 3rd quarter.

With less than 6 minutes to play in the game, Puyallup down by 10 faced a 4th down on their own 20 and went for it but failing to convert giving the ball to Sumner on the Puyallup 20. A chance for the Spartans to close the game out but a penalty pushed them back and they were forced to attempt a 37 yard field goal that missed handing the ball back to the Vikings on their own 20.

Disaster then struck for Puyallup when Titialii picked off a Paulino pass from his underneath coverage and ran it back to the house for the touchdown to seal the win. But hold the phone…the yellow flag in the secondary gave Puyallup the ball back on their 30 with a 1st down from the defensive holding call. Paulino and the Vikings then went back to what worked before and that was Douglas slipping out of the backfield to the left with heavy pass patterns to the right and Paulino tossed it to Douglas in stride and this time he went 70 yards for the score and the Bowie extra point made it 3 point game with 2:33 to play.

Puyallup only had 1 time out left and knew they had to come up with a big stop to try and get Bower into field goal range so they attempted a deeper pooch kick but the Spartans were able to cover it up and begin on their own 29. They rushed for a 1st down on the 1st play and then were able to run out the clock after Puyallup burned their last time out to secure a hard fought 17-14 win.

The Numbers

Puyallup finished the night with 259 total yards of offense with Paulino going 17 for 26 for 200 yards and 2 TD’s and an interception. Kysen Douglas led both in receiving and rushing running 11 times for 69 and catching 3 balls for 129 and 2 TDs. Nick Neil had 6 catches for 48 yards.

Sumner was held to their lowest point total of the year and had 279 total yards led by the running of Steele Isaacs with 16 carries for 73 yards and 1 score. Che Molina had 11 carries for 25 and Israel Nabors ran 3 times for 24 yards. Nate Donovan finished going 14 for 20 for 170 yards throwing the ball with a TD and an int. Braylon Pope led the receivers with 4 catches for 81 yards, Carter Cocke` 4 catches for 46 and Ashton Pillard the one 6 yard TD grab.

Standings and what’s next

Sumner improves to 2-0 in SPSL North play and 4-1 overall while Puyallup drops to 0-2 in conference play and 1-4 for the season. Puyallup will have another Thursday game next week when they host South Kitsap, Sumner will be home again next Friday against Rogers.

The Eli Sports Network dot Com MVP

The ESN crew agreed unanimously that the Eli Sports Network dot Com MVP was Sumner’s Dillon Titialii. Titialli had the huge interception to set up the game winning touchdown for the Spartans. He had continuous pressure on the the Viking QB and was in on multiple tackles plus he did have a spectacular 2nd INT and returned for a TD only to be wiped away with a penalty.

Had the Vikings pulled out the win it was also unanimous that Kysen Douglas would have been our selection with an electrifying performance in their biggest game of the year so far.

Link to watch full game replay on the NFHS Network (Subscription required)

ESN Talks with Game MVP Sumner’s Dillon Titialii