Graham-Kapowsin knows that finishing feeling: 'Winners make the situation happen'

SUMNER, Wash. - The Graham-Kapowsin football team was more than ready on defense the second time around against SPSL 4A rival Sumner.

And this time, the stakes were higher.

The defending Class 4A state champion Eagles dug in defensively, especially against the run, and junior quarterback Daveon Superales scored the game-winning touchdown run late as sixth-seeded Graham-Kapowsin eliminated third-seeded Sumner, 28-21, on Friday night in the state quarterfinals at Sunset Chev Stadium.

Superales’ 27-yard sprint draw touchdown up the middle with 1:27 remaining snapped a 21-21 tie and stunned the Sumner defense as Graham-Kapowsin (10-2) turned the tables from a 34-31 loss in which it gave up more than 300 yards rushing to the Spartans on Sept. 30.

"The first time we played them, we were trying out a lot of new things and we and, in film [sessions], we were really trying to figure out how to stop the run," said Eagles’ senior linebacker Ethan Pletcher, who made the game-clinching tackle late and helped limit Sumner to 145 yards rushing on Friday. "Back then that [running game] was the biggest threat towards us. Through the weeks, we watched them play against other teams and we figured out tendencies that they have.

"We just played. I was able to get right through holes and make plays. My D-line, they were shifting in the right holes and the right gaps."

Pletcher chased down and tackled Sumner quarterback Kayden Bodine as the Spartans attempted to stay alive on fourth-and-7 from their own 20-yard line with 43.8 seconds to go in the game. Pletcher’s fast-closing stop – 3 yards short of a first down - allowed Graham-Kapowsin to kneel once and run out the clock for the win.

Graham-Kapowsin faces off with Saturday’s (10) Gonzaga Prep-(2) Lake Stevens winner in the state 4A semifinals Nov. 26. The Spartans move on to the school’s third state semifinal berth while Sumner finished the season 10-2.

"I can’t tell you the rush we had at practice (this week)," Pletcher said of the anticipation of the rematch with Sumner. "We played together as a whole finally. We kind of put all the pieces together and I feel like we’re in a really good spot to make a run to state."

Superales, the first-year starter, finished with a pair of rushing touchdowns and a 36-yard touchdown strike to standout junior receiver Jabez Woods, who hauled in 10 passes for 128 yards.

"Winners make the situation happen," Superales said of his game-winning touchdown run at the end of a seven-play, 65-yard clinching drive that consumed just 1:49 off the clock after Sumner knotted the game at 21-21. "The atmosphere here was crazy. It was like a college game, honestly. It was very loud."

Graham-Kapowsin led 21-7 just before halftime, but Sumner rallied. Spartans running back Matthew Spurbeck racked 279 yards rushing on two touchdowns in the Sept. 30 meeting. This time, he managed a hard-earned 86 yards on 23 carries.