The Thomas Jefferson Raiders moved to 1-6 on the season after losing a shootout to the Kentridge Chargers Thursday night at Federal Way Memorial Stadium, 52-35.
The loss officially eliminated the Raiders from postseason contention. The top five finishers from the nine-team South Puget Sound League North Division advance into the playoffs.
The Chargers (4-2, 4-3) scored 28 points during the decisive fourth quarter Thursday, thanks to the running of Cameron McKernan. The talented senior finished with 253 yards rushing and four touchdowns, including two in the fourth quarter.
But McKernan wasn’t the only running back to have a big night. Jefferson’s Keegan Giles continued his huge season for the Raiders Thursday. The senior running back has been one of the bright spots for Jefferson during its one-win season.
Giles finished the game with 295 yards on 35 carries. Thursday’s yardage total puts Giles over the 1,000-yard mark on the season. He has 1,083 yards in seven games on just 177 carries. Giles is averaging 6.1 yards per carry and has rushed for over 100 yards in six of the Raiders’ seven games this season. He also has nine touchdowns, including three during the loss to Kentridge.
Giles had a second quarter touchdown run of 76 yards to tie the game at 14-14, but Kentridge tallied the last 10 points of the half to grab a 24-14 lead at halftime.
Giles cut the Charger lead to three, 24-21, on a 63-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. But it was all Kentridge during the fourth quarter.
Jefferson junior Tim Luafatasaga had the Raiders’ other two touchdowns during the game on passes from junior quarterback KW Williams. Luafatasaga caught a 32-yard first-quarter touchdown and a 3-yarder in the fourth quarter.
Rogers 42, at Federal Way 28 (Friday)
Things didn’t start out too well for the Federal Way Eagles Friday night during their South Puget Sound League South Division battle with the Rogers Rams.
In the Eagles’ Homecoming game at Federal Way Memorial Stadium, the Rams’ Damion Bible returned the opening kickoff of 90 yards for a touchdown to give Rogers (6-1 overall, 5-1 in SPSL South) a quick 7-0 lead.
And things really didn’t improve for the Eagles, who fell to 2-5 with the loss to the Rams.
The Rams jumped out to a 28-0 lead in the first half thanks to a pair of Terrance Stubblefield touchdown runs. The Eagles finally got on the scoreboard during the third quarter on a 47-yard touchdown pass to Marcel Morris from senior quarterback Nick Tanielu. But Stubblefield responded with his third TD run of the night to put the lead back to 28 points.
Federal Way’s Rod Jones had a pair of 1-yard, second-half touchdown runs and DJ May also ran in a touchdown from 4 yards out to finalize the score.
The Eagles play their final SPSL South Division game of the season Friday when they travel to Spanaway Lake to take on the Sentinels. There is still a chance Federal Way could make the postseason in the South, but they need things to fall their way. The top four earn automatic berths into the playoffs and the fifth-place team will play a pigtail game against the fifth-place team from the North Division for the final berth.
Beamer 59, Graham-Kapowsin 45 (Friday)
The Todd Beamer Titans took a big step toward securing the school’s first-ever playoff appearance with an impressive win over the Graham-Kapowsin Eagles Friday in Spanaway.
The win improved Beamer to 3-3 in the SPSL South and leaves the Titans in a fourth-place tie with Graham-Kapowsin, who they hold the tiebreaker over. The Titans play a huge game Thursday night at home against the Puyallup Vikings (2-4).
A win would clinch Beamer a postseason berth in the South Division.
The Titans end their regular season against No. 2-ranked Curtis on the road.
No details were reported regarding the Titans’ wins over Graham-Kapowsin.
Bonney Lake 49, Decatur 13 (Saturday)
The Decatur Gators fell to 1-6 overall and 0-3 in the SPSL 3A Division with a loss to Bonney Lake Saturday night at Federal Way Memorial Stadium.
The Panthers (6-1, 3-0) bolted out to a quick 28-0 lead after the first quarter thanks to three touchdown passes from Chris Brown, including two to Austin Marshall. Bonney Lake also blocked a Decatur punt for a touchdown.
The Panthers added a pair of second-quarter touchdowns to take a 42-0 halftime lead. Bonney Lake added another touchdown early in the third quarter to go up 49-0. Decatur got on the scoreboard when Mike Klavuhn returned the ensuing kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown. Gator running back Curtis Havili added a seven-yard touchdown run later in the fourth quarter to finalize the score.
The Gators host Peninsula on Friday.
