Slow start? Not this time. Sumner comes out firing, routs Puyallup in 4A SPSL showdown

The Class 4A South Puget Sound League delivered another twist Friday night at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup.

This was the one Sumner High School coach Keith Ross has been waiting for the past four weeks.

Sumner, a perennial power in this league and at the state level, started slow through its first three games. The Spartans needed second-half comebacks to defeat both Bellarmine Prep and Curtis, then dropped a 10-point loss to Emerald Ridge last week.

That left Sumner looking to get back on track against an undefeated Puyallup program this week in the annual valley rivalry game.

“I think last week was a reality check,” Sumner senior wide receiver and safety Jay Mentink said. “So, this week in practice, our intensity was different. We really wanted this game. The intensity rose, and we rose to the occasion.”

The Spartans made a statement in front of a packed stadium, handing the Vikings their first defeat in a 40-10 rout.

Sumner piled up more than 400 yards of offense, three touchdowns through the air and three more on the ground, and allowed Puyallup to reach the end zone only once, shutting the Vikings out completely in the second half.

“That’s the team that I knew I had,” Ross said.

Ross said he challenged his team in practice this week. The Spartans talked about not being a one-half team after scoring only two touchdowns and a field goal in the first two quarters across the first three games.

“We were not playing Sumner football,” he said. “We were trying to tweak things and get too fancy. This week we just threw everything out.

“We ran dive and we went back to my old defense, and we just played Sumner football — and that’s exactly what I knew would happen.”

The Spartans produced a complete performance against Puyallup, and never trailed as they pushed their way back into the mix atop the 4A SPSL standings.

Mentink, a Princeton football and baseball commit, intercepted a pass on the second play of the game, and four plays into Sumner’s opening drive gave the Spartans a lead they never lost on a 47-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Kayden Bodine at the 9:44 mark in the first quarter.

Puyallup responded on the following drive, marching into the red zone, but Sumner’s defennse limited the Vikings to a 31-yard field goal from Luke Faccone.

But, Sumner never gave the Vikings a chance at a lead. The Spartans spent the next several minutes engineering a 16-play, 80-yard scoring drive capped by the first of Bodine’s three rushing touchdowns on a 2-yard keeper three minutes into the second quarter.

The Vikings answered with their own long scoring drive, winding nearly eight minutes off the clock on a 15-play drive that Dylan Hite completed with a 3-yard rushing score to make it 13-10 with 1:34 left in the half.

But, Puyallup never got closer. Sumner subbed in Diego Collie at quarterback, and he needed only three plays to give the Spartans the 19-10 advantage they took into the break. Collie connected with Kano Borden on a 44-yard pass up the left sideline, and then immediately found Kaden Malesis for an 18-yard score to keep the momentum with Sumner.

Austin Cook ended Puyallup’s final drive of the half with a 9-yard sack just before halftime, and the Vikings didn’t score again.

Sumner opened the second half with touchdowns on three consecutive drives. Bodine added a 16-yard keeper on the first possession of the third quarter. Collie capped a quick Spartans scoring drive with a 47-yard pass to Dylan Coffey less than six minutes later on a fourth-and-2 play. Then Bodine added a 1-yard touchdown run moments before the quarter expired, giving the Spartans their final 30-point lead.

Bodine finished 5-of-8 for 85 yards, the one passing touchdown and added 33 yards and the three rushing scores on seven carries. Collie completed each of his three passes for 105 yards and the two touchdowns.

Matthew Spurbeck led Sumner’s rushing attack with 22 carries for 126 yards, while Steele Isaacs added 52 yards on 12 attempts.

Sumner’s defense kept Puyallup out of the red zone the rest of the way. Three of the Vikings’ four drives in the second half ended in turnovers on downs, and another with a punt.

Puyallup, which was averaging 29 points per game through three wins over Emerald Ridge, Graham-Kapowsin and South Kitsap, was limited to just 13 against Sumner and 205 yards of total offense.

Ross said the way Sumner prepared for this matchup of 4A SPSL powers, and the result that followed should give Sumner confidence moving into the second half of league play.

“What should give them confidence is what we did this week,” he said. “The way we prepared to beat a good team like Puyallup, and exert our dominance tonight.

“That’s what Sumner is going to do the rest of the way out.”

4A SPSL SHAKEUP

Sumner’s win over Puyallup — which was the league’s last remaining undefeated team entering the week — means no 4A SPSL team has a chance to finish the regular season without a loss for the first time since the league expanded to its current configuration in 2016.

The Spartans won an undefeated league championship their first season in the 4A SPSL that 2016 season. Puyallup won back-to-back unbeaten titles in 2017 and 2018. Graham-Kapowsin, which also won a 4A state title last fall, won the past three 4A SPSL titles without a loss.

Through four weeks this season, though, each of the 10 teams in the league has at least one.

Ross noted how tough the 4A SPSL — one of the toughest and deepest 4A leagues in the state each season — has been already this fall.

“Nobody’s safe,” he said. “You better bring it every night, or else you’re not going to win in this league.”

With the midway point of the regular season approaching, five 4A SPSL teams — Bethel, Emerald Ridge, Graham-Kapowsin, Puyallup and Sumner — currently sit at 3-1.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Mentink set the tone early for Sumner with the two big plays in the first three minutes.

Puyallup received the opening kickoff, and Mentink jumped up to snag Kaden Rolfsness’ first pass attempt two plays later about 30 yards downfield.

On the fourth play of the Spartans’ ensuing drive, Mentink made another leaping catch behind a defender, and broke a pair of tackles on his way to the end zone for the game’s opening 47-yard score.

Sumner never lost the early 6-0 lead.

“These last three weeks, we’ve started off slow,” Mentink said. “We’ve been a second-half team the last three weeks. So this week during practice we really emphasized that we wanted to set the tone early.

“So we did that, we came out hot, and the score speaks for itself. That’s what we’ve got to do.”

UP NEXT

Sumner (3-1) travels to play Graham-Kapowsin in another showdown of 4A SPSL powers next Friday at Art Crate Field in Spanaway.

Puyallup (3-1) will look to regroup back at Sparks Stadium next Friday in a crosstown rivalry matchup against Rogers.