The Sumner High Spartans were knocking on the door Friday night, but the Cardinals slammed it shut.

At the 2-yard line and smelling the goal to break a 14-all tie in the third quarter, Sumner High was dinged with a penalty and then a loss of yardage. To add insult to injury, Franklin Pierce’s Josh Degraw picked off quarterback Aaron Clark and dashed 97 yards for a touchdown.

“That was the big one,” coach Keith Ross said of the Spartans’ 28-14 South Puget Sound League 2A loss. “That was a 14-point swing.

“We’re still playing all right. We’re still playing hard. We haven’t made the plays we need to win games.”

Clark put the Spartans on the board first with a 1-yard, second-quarter run and Kyle Sacha knocked the ball through the uprights.

The Cardinals answered with two TDs, but SHS’s Clark and receiver Brendon Baker connected on a 6-yard pass to even the score at the half.

Degraw’s interception and a 5-yard run in the fourth quarter gave the Cardinals the game and dropped the Spartans to 2-2 in league, creating a logjam for third place.The top four will see postseason play. “We’re still in a good position to finish strong,” Ross said.

Veteran back Cody Haavik posted his sixth straight 100-yard rushing game. In his first varsity start, sophomore Lokahi Kamau tallied 96 yards on the ground. Defensively, junior linebacker Jon Mayer garnered 13 tackles.

The Spartans host Eatonville at 7 p.m. Friday for Homecoming.