High school football roundup: No. 1 Puyallup gets its revenge against Sumner

Results, recaps, stats and more from Week 7 of the high school football season around the South Sound will be posted on this page Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Puyallup has faced the state's most daunting schedule this season. First came a long bus ride east to face Rocky Mountain, one of Idaho's top programs. Then 3A state contender Bellevue in Week 2. Then a dramatic overtime matchup against reigning 4A state tournament runner-up Lake Stevens.

Check, check, check. Of all the marquee matchups and hurdles Puyallup has successfully cleared in 2026, though, the one Friday night just miles down the road probably meant a little more.

Puyallup outlasted valley rival Sumner in a back-and-forth contest, winning 36-34. Sumner bounced Puyallup in the 4A state tournament semifinals last year, handing the Vikings their only loss of the 2025 season.

So yes, Puyallup's players had this one circled on their calendars.

"Last year, they beat us in the semifinals, and we took that personal," said running back Malcolm Akuffo.

Akuffo ran for a pair of touchdowns. Puyallup quarterback Noah Smith connected with J'Isaiah Mitchell for two touchdowns.

Puyallup led 14-13 at half. Smith hit Mitchell for a 20-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to push the led to nine points, but Sumner answered with an 11-yard run from Santos Hernandez-Ruiz. A 12-yard touchdown from run Akuffo put Puyallup back up by nine in the fourth quarter, but Sumner answered immediately with a 74-yard touchdown pass from Brennan Abbott to Gray Longoria.

Puyallup running back Logan Caldara scored next on a 51-yard run, then Sumner answered late when tight end Kai Moody fell on a loose ball in the end zone to pull the score within two. An onside kick was unsuccessful and Puyallup held on for the win.

"We've got a good group of guys," Puyallup quarterback Noah Smith said. "We've been working all off-season together. Coach Ross has a great team over there, so we knew they were going to fight back. So we've just got to just win that at the end of the day."

Akuffo ran tough in place of Briytan Bailey, who is sidelined with a knee injury. He's waiting on a second opinion to see if he'll be able to return to action this season. In the meantime, Akuffo is seeing more touches.

"Just trying to fill the role, you know?" he said.

Puyallup coach DJ Mims called Bailey and Akuffo "thunder and lightning." Now, Akuffo will have to find a way to be a little of both.

"He showed that tonight," Mims said. "He ran hard, he protected the football."

Sumner coach Keith Ross was thrilled with his team's effort and the way the offensive line pushed Puyallup around in the run-blocking game.

"I think that our kids learned tonight that they're still the real deal, and I'm really proud of them," he said. "We challenged them, you know? We've been kind of limping through games and our sense of urgency hasn't been there, and, you know, we're young, but tonight we proved to the whole state that we're a formidable foe."

Puyallup wraps up with a much-improved Emerald Ridge team next week before the league crossover championship game against Graham-Kapowsin, which will be another hurdle to clear. An undefeated run with wins over Lake Stevens, Bellevue, Sumner and Graham-Kapowsin will undoubtedly secure the No. 1 seed in the state tournament.

"Our league is tough, and then our non-league schedule is tough," Mims said. "And the biggest thing is just growth, dependability, trust, building that trust with our players and finding out, you know, who can and can't do what. And so you find that out in these games like this."

Lakes steamrolled Timberline on Friday night at Harry Lang Stadium, piling up 42 first-half points in a blowout win. Quarterback Elijah Gafa-Shields completed 6-of-10 passes for 132 yards and three touchdowns for the Lancers.

Lakes moves to 6-1 on the season and travels across the Narrows to Roy Anderson Field next week to face the Peninsula Seahawks for the 3A PSL Nisqually Division title.

Bethel bounced back with a comfortable win on Friday night against district rival Spanaway Lake.

Running back Deron Williams continued his breakout season, rushing for 222 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Linebacker recruit Elu Feo had 10 tackles and two tackles for loss. Free safety Josh Panoy had a pair of interceptions for the Bison.

Bethel held Spanaway Lake to 181 yards of offense in the win.

"Our offense really executed well and controlled the clock," Bethel coach Travis Domser said. "Our defense got off the field and created turnovers. That's a winning formula for us. Spanaway Lake played super hard all night."

Curtis led 31-0 at half and never looked back, winning convincingly over the visiting Wolves on Friday night.

Quarterback Sam Patterson completed 12-of-16 passes for 280 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Receiver Taylor Smith had seven receptions for 117 yards and six carries for 52 yards and two rushing touchdowns.

"Super proud of our program and community on Homecoming weekend," Curtis coach Brian Jensen said.

Ever since the loss to Peninsula in the Fish Bowl, Gig Harbor has been rolling.

Max Schwab continued his impressive run of form, scoring one receiving touchdown, one rushing touchdown and snagging an interception on defense. Ian Sherer and Lucas Oliver added touchdowns. Quarterback Sawyer Hayes also scored on a QB sneak.

"This was senior night and all the seniors stepped up and played their heart out," Gig Harbor coach Jeff Scoma said. "We couldn't be prouder with our team and how they responded after week 3."

After last week's dramatic win over Tacoma rival Lincoln, this week was more of an exhale.

The game was never in doubt as the T-Birds cruised to a blowout win. KD Davis rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, and caught three passes for 32 yards and a touchdown. DJ Morales rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.

Defensive end Teaven Jones, one of the state's leading sack-getters a season ago, racked up six sacks in the win.

"After a big game last week we wanted to see our guys lock in and focus on tonight," Mount Tahoma coach Keith Terry said. "They did that. We wanted to be physical on both sides and start getting into a rhythm. We did that. It's been about our growth all season and we'll continue to focus on that."

A 40-yard Noah Collins field goal with 59 seconds left was the difference, sealing Stadium's three-point win over the Trojans.

Stadium quarterback Alec Richard passed for 240 yard sand a touchdown, and also rushed for two scores. Liam Clayton rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Receiver Xavion Sumlin caught five passes for 120 yards and a touchdown.

"Auburn kids played extremely hard and had a great offensive gameplan," Stadium coach Pat Johnson said. "Our kids showed resilience and toughness tonight and found a way to win a tough game in the fourth quarter. Our offense was the difference tonight. No turnovers and no punts saved us. We have a lot to clean up but anytime you can send kids to a homecoming dance winners, it's a good night."

Another week, another Tumwater blowout. This week, Aberdeen was the latest victim.

Tumwater racked up 428 yards of offense and led 48-0 at halftime before taking its foot off the gas.

Five Tumwater running backs (Tyler Briscoe, Grady Wall, Gavin Kaikkonen, Joey Haase and Cam Briscoe) scored touchdowns for the T-Birds. Senior quarterback Jake Reid made the most of his limited passing attempts, completing 3-of-3 passes for 107 yards and three touchdowns.

Defensively, Ethan Bello returned a fumble for a touchdown, while Grady Wall and Ethan Marson had sacks, a junior DL Finn Bracy had a tackle for loss.

"Pleased with the way our team executed in all phases today, in all grade levels," Tumwater coach Willie Garrow said. "The defense was outstanding, forcing multiple 3&Outs and giving the offense tremendous field position early in the game. The offense executed well, connecting on explosive plays to build a quick lead."

Graham-Kapowsin rushed for 427 yards and had 585 yards of total offense in a blowout win over the Tornados.

Quarterback AJ Tuivaiave completed 8-of-10 passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns.

The running backs feasted: Elijah Shanburn rushed for 143 yards and three touchdowns on six carries, Trejhaun Bell rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns on seven carriesm Blake Pearson rushed for 88 yards on three carries and Romiece Taviuni rushed for 64 yards on three carries.

White River scored 49 of its 56 total points in the first half, running away with the 3A NPSL contest on Thursday night. Quarterback Chaz Strickland passed for five touchdowns in the first half, four of which went to No. 1 receiver Parker Fry. Logan Brame had a pair of rushing touchdowns.

Defensively, Chaz Blackie had a 93-yard pick six. Kicker Palmer Beus went 8-for-8 on PAT's and also had a touchdown reception.

Enumclaw found its rhythm in the second quarter, putting up 30 points in the period to extend its halftime lead to 44-0.

Junior running back Paxton Patterson had two touchdowns and had an interception on defense. Enumclaw moves to 6-0 on the season and should have another lopsided result next week with Kent-Meridian up next.