SUMNER HOSTS OPENING ROUND OF 4A PLAYOFFS
The highly-regarded Sumner Spartans kick off postseason play Friday night, taking on the Glacier Peak Grizzlies.
As the higher-seeded team, Sumner hosts the affair. Action begins at 7:30 p.m. at Sunset Chev Stadium on the Sumner High campus.
The Spartans, currently ranked No. 3 in the state’s Class 4A ranks by the Associated Press, enter the playoffs with a season record of 9-0. That includes an 8-0 mark in South Puget Sound League 4A play.
Glacier Peak went 4-3 in Wesco League contests and finished the regular season 5-4, earning the No. 4 playoff seed from the Wesco.
Sumner saved its most exciting regular-season game until the end, finishing the campaign Oct. 28 with a 49-42 overtime victory over Emerald Ridge.
Ben Wilson scored on a short TD run during the overtime period and Nick Phillips added the extra-point kick to secure the win.
Sumner had jumped on top 20-0 thanks to a touchdown run by Conor Wedington, followed by a pair of scores by Tre Weed. He found the end zone first on an interception return, then hauled in a short scoring pass. Weed then polished off a TD trifecta by adding a special teams score, returning a kick 87 yards.
The Jaguars proved plenty tough, taking a 35-28 lead, but SHS bounced back when Tyson Rainwater hauled in a scoring pass from Luke Ross. After Emerald Ridge went up 42-35, Sumner answered with Weed again doing the honors, scoring his fourth TD of the night on a short run and pushing the game into overtime.
BONNEY LAKE WILL BEGIN POSTSEASON SATURDAY AFTERNOON
The Bonney Lake Panthers take their 7-2 record into the postseason, beginning with a Saturday afternoon contest against a foe that was being decided early this week.
The Pahtners earned the No. 2 seed from the Pierce County League, sharing a 6-1 league record with Lincoln; the Abes won the head-to-head meeting, however, to claim the league’s top entry into the postseason.
Bonney Lake kicks off at 2 p.m Saturday at Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner.
The Panthers’ opponent will be the No. 3 seed from the Wesco League. A mini-playoff took place Tuesday involving Redmond, Mercer Island and Interlake; each had finished 2-3 in league play, forcing the playoff to determine the Panthers’ opponent.
The Panthers wound up the regular season Oct. 28 with a convincing 39-12 victory over Spanaway Lake.
ENUMCLAW ENTERS PLAYOFFS WITH TRIP TO NO. 1 CAMAS
Enumclaw High’s toughest test of the season comes Friday night when the Hornets step on the field for the opening round of the Class 4A playoffs.
By finishing fourth in the North Puget Sound League, EHS has the dubious honor of hitting the road Friday to challenge the Camas Papermakers, the No. 1-ranked team in the state, according to the Associated Press.
Friday’s kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Doc Harris Stadium in Camas.
The Papermakers, guided by coach Jon Eagle, finished 4-0 in Greater St. Helens League play and went 9-0 during the regular season.
Enumclaw polished off its regular season Oct. 28 with a 28-27 victory over second-place Auburn Mountainview. That left the Hornets with a final league record of 4-3 and an overall mark of 5-4.
Enumclaw fell behind 16-0 Friday, but scored a pair of second-quarter touchdowns to climb back into the game. Quarterback Jake Revell reached the end zone on a short run, then combined with Bear Kuro for a 65-yard TD strike. EHS took the lead in the third period when Taylor Beaird scored on a 1-yard run, but the Lions roared back to take the lead.
The fourth quarter made all the difference, with Enumclaw getting a touchdown and Mountainview adding only a field goal. Kale Engebretsen’s TD run from 8 yards out put EHS ahead 27-24 and Uli Fischer’s extra-point kick provided the ultimate game-winning point.
WHITE RIVER TO END SEASON TODAY AT CLOVER PARK
White River’s football season – the first under coach Mike Zenisek – will come to a close Thursday night with a crossover contest against Clover Park.
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. on the Warriors’ home turf, Harry Lang Stadium in Lakewood.
Week 10 contests are for bragging rights only, with pairings made between squads that missed out on the playoffs.
Clover Park has had a season to forget. The Warriors will take the field Thursday with an overal mark of 0-9, which includes an 0-6 slate in SPSL 2A Sound Division play.
White River, on the other hand, enters Thursday’s game on a roll. After a 1-5 start to the season, the Hornets have won three in a row. With a 3-4 mark in Mountain Division play (4-5 overall), White River would up fifth in a division that sent four teams into the playoffs.
The Hornets’ Oct. 28 contest brought a 21-20 victory over the Renton Indians.
White River scoring was sparked by Cody Reeves, who blocked a punt, scooped up the loose ball and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown. Luke Northam scored twice, once on a 1-yard run and once from 19 yards out. The Hornets had a two-point conversion on a pass from T.J. Stroschein to Corey Smith and the final point of the night was a PAT kick by Greg Piontek.
The Hornets did much of their damage on the ground, with Devyn Hager, Luke Northam and Hunter Heriot combining for 156 rushing yards. Stroschein completed eight of 10 passes and Smith wound up with four receptions.
Defensively, Jacob Selander had two interceptions and brother Jared Selander had one late in the game that snuffed Renton’s final hope of victory. Jack Ervein led the defensive charge with 13 tackles and a fumble recovery.
