Graham-Kapowsin's faint 4A SPSL title hopes still alive after stunning Emerald Ridge

SPANAWAY, Wash. - Rather than spell out a worst-case scenario, the Graham-Kapowsin football coaches took a different motivational approach for this week's game against No. 2 Emerald Ridge.

Coach Jeff Logan asked his team to focus on what could be for November with a big win Saturday - instead of a potentially fourth-place finish in the 4A SPSL with a loss.

“We really sold to our seniors, if you guys are able to pull this one out and take care of business against Bethel (next Thursday), we’re going to get another home game,” Logan said. “Most likely, if we don’t come out here and take care of business, we’re looking at having to travel most of the playoffs on the road.”

The reigning Class 4A champions responded to that message as the Eagles shook off a slow first half and turned it into a 35-25 victory over the 4A SPSL-leading Jaguars on Saturday afternoon at Art Crate Field.

With the victory, the Eagles improve to 6-2 in the SPSL and now are tied with Emerald Ridge, a game back of Puyallup and Sumner, who are tied at 7-1.

Barring the aforementioned collapse from the Vikings and Spartans next week against teams behind them in the standings, Graham Kapowsin’s streak of league titles will come to an end at three in a row. The loss also likely dashes Emerald Ridge’s hopes for its first league championship since 2014.

“We were down four at halftime,” Graham Kapowsin quarterback Daveon Superales said. “We knew we had to turn it up a notch. Momentum moves forward. We got the ball (to start the second half), we scored and momentum really stayed on our side the rest of the game.”

Trailing 18-14 to start the second half, the Eagles went 66 yards in eight plays, capped b Superales' 11-yard touchdown dash with 7 minutes, 37 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

After the defense forced an Emerald Ridge punt, Graham Kapowsin drove the ball down again, finally extending the lead on Michael Toa’s 3-yard touchdown run with 10:09 to go in the game.

Then, 14 seconds later, the Eagles essentially put it away.

“With as quickly as Emerald Ridge can score at the drop of a hat, we knew nothing was over,” Logan said. “It felt good. When we got the ball back, we were able to do what we wanted to do on offense.”

One play after Toa’s run, Caden Smith intercepted Emerald Ridge quarterback Jake Schakel and returned it 37 yards for another Eagles' touchdown. The resulting 35-18 lead with 9:59 remaining gave Graham Kapowsin a three-score advantage, essentially putting this one out of reach.

“They’d been running those same routes, and we’d watched a lot of film,” Smith said. “It all comes down to work. Put it in. Read it.”

And returned it for the decisive play of the game.

It didn’t start out that way, however. The game began with the Jaguars methodically moving the ball down the field, going 74 yards in 13 plays culminated by Schakel’s 2-yard touchdown run with 6:41 to go in the first quarter. Emerald Ridge converted a two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead.

Graham Kapowsin scored the next two touchdowns to grab a 14-8 lead with 9:25 to go in the first half, but then Schakel found Tony Harste wide open on a first-and-15 from the Jaguars 10-yard line, and Harste turned it into a 90-yard scoring play as Emerald Ridge regained the lead, 15-14.

Brady Peterson added a 29-yard field goal with two seconds to go in the first half to give the Jaguars an 18-14 advantage.