Graham-Kapowsin slams on gas pedal in second half against Mount Si, advances to 4A state tournament

The giant inflatable eagle that Graham-Kapowsin’s football players run through before every game went flying before G-K’s playoff game against Mount Si on Friday night, a victim of the atmospheric river — nasty, sideways rain and gusting winds. The eagle, always standing proud at Art Crate Field, lay face down on the turf.

For those worried it might be an ominous sign, no concern was warranted. While the inflatable eagle struggled with the elements, the Eagles on the field had no such issues, rolling past Mount Si, 35-14, to advance to the 4A state tournament.

“It feels amazing,” said linebacker/running back Jalen Davenport, who returned midseason after coming back from an injury. “We really worked hard all offseason. We talked all summer, beginning of the season with half our team out, we’ve gotta leave our mark for our last senior year.”

The game was close at half, Graham-Kapowsin leading 14-8 behind a one-yard rushing touchdown from fullback Michael Toa and pick six by Demetrius Taape, returned around 70 yards.

In the second half, Graham-Kapowsin slammed on the gas pedal. In the span of just over five minutes, Daveon Superales found Kristhian Norris for a 6-yard score, Jalen Davenport bowled over a defender for the 2-point conversion and Toa found the end zone for a second time, giving Graham-Kapowsin a 28-8 lead. Mount Si’s ineffectiveness in the passing game — its Achilles’ heel all season — made the 20-point deficit insurmountable.

Graham-Kapowsin knew Mount Si junior running back Beau Phillips was going to get his yards behind a strong offensive line. He ran for a 64-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Graham-Kapowsin did a better job bottling him up in the second half.

“We talked, figured out what he likes to do,” Davenport said. “I used to play football with him over at (Ford Sports Performance). We figured out what he likes to do, try to contain him as best we could. We put a lot more pressure on the run.”

Eagles’ coach Jeff Logan said he thought his defense did a good job matching Mount Si’s physicality up front and in run defense.

“With the weather, they’re really big up front and we knew they ran the football well, so we challenged our defense and our offensive line, we’ve gotta have a good week with our physicality, because we had gone 0-2 in games where we needed to win with physicality,” Logan said.

“We talked all week about our outside linebackers, strong safeties, we had to play downhill and really get to (Phillips) early because we knew how dangerous he was when he got into the open field.”

G-K defensive back Demetrius Taape had a game to remember, hauling in two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown in the first half. On the second, it looked like Taape might do it again, going nearly 70 yards before ultimately fumbling the ball back to Mount Si. He’d surely like to have that ball back, but the interception and long return gave Mount Si another long field.

OLD-SCHOOL FOOTBALL

Fullback Michael Toa reached the end zone three times, rushing for 31 yards and the three scores on eight carries. Graham-Kapowsin used him in short-yardage situations during last year’s state championship run and has continued utilizing him this season. Toa’s first two touchdown runs were both 1-yard runs. His third was a 16-yard run, in which he trucked a defender at the goal line on his way into the end zone.

“It was amazing,” Toa said. “Three touchdowns, I think that’s my (offensive) line. They did an amazing job blocking for me … I love every single one of them, my offensive line. I gotta go figure out what their favorite candy is, cause I gotta repay them, three touchdowns.”

In an era of wide-open, spread offenses, there’s something refreshing about handing the ball to a big fullback and daring the defense to stop him.

“He’s got some of the best just brute strength in a guy that I’ve ever seen, especially for a guy that can carry the football,” Logan said. “It’s fun to watch him because our guys get so hyped up, get going on the sideline.”

Graham-Kapowsin won the Class 4A state title last year, going undefeated and routing Lake Stevens in the state championship game. The Eagles, having to replace plenty of talent from last year’s dominant team, had some growing pains early in the year but have been playing good football down the stretch, confident they have a shot to make a deep state tournament run.

“We all want the same thing at the end, the end goal is a state ring,” Davenport said. “So as long as everybody wants that, everything will continue to flow like that.”