10/22/2026
Capital 28, Timberline 22
(Lacey, WA) The Puget Sound League has 12 teams and the standings are nicely placed in thirds beginning the 8th week of the season with 4 teams at 4-0, 4 teams at 2-2 and 4 teams at 0-4 in league play. Two of the teams right in the middle and needing a big league win were facing off on Thursday night at South Sound Stadium with Capital visiting Timberline.
Now there are still playoff implications for week 8 despite the four byes into the Round of 32 already. The matchups for the elimination games in week 9 would be decided by the two games featuring 2-2 teams squaring off. The winner of the Capital Cougars and Timberline Blazers would get to host a playoff game next week against the loser of Silas and Lincoln while the loser of Thursday night’s game would have to go on the road to take on the winner of Silas and Lincoln with their season on the line.
1st Half
Capital received the opening kick and despite being without star receiver Carter Pennington, the Cougars looked very sharp right out of the gate. Nolan Potts was dialed in throwing the football and he had to be as the Timberline defensive front was shutting down the rushing attack. Potts spread the ball around finding Carter Armstrong, Julien Mikaelson, and Kash Valentine all on the opening drive. A big 25-yard pass to Armstrong was the explosive play of the drive but it was Potts finishing the 69-yard drive with an eight-yard run for the score. The extra point was not successful on a bad snap so the score was just 6-0 in favor of Capital.
Timberline did not have immediate success on offense despite an eight-yard run by Cameron Vongdara on their first play from scrimmage. The Blazers went three-and-out and gave the ball right back to the red-hot Cougars who were sharp once again. During the second drive, Carter Armstrong was injured as he fought for a first down but came up a yard short. The Cougars ended up moving the sticks one play later on a strong run by Garrett Murphy. A dropped interception haunted Timberline and allowed Capital to continue their march which would end on a Nolan Potts pass that was juggled but then caught in the endzone by Carter Armstrong in his return to the field. A successful two-point conversion and the Cougars were rolling with a 14-0 lead in the final minute of the 1st quarter.
We would move into the 2nd quarter on the next Timberline drive and this drive was a beauty for the Blazers. Despite some penalties really affecting the momentum for the home team, they kept overcoming those mistakes as they looked to get points on the board. A fourth down for the Blazers looked like the end of the drive as the punt team came on but Nathaniel Lalicker would run a fake punt for 14 yards and a first down to keep the drive moving. It was a lot of King Pridgen out of the backfield on this drive for Timberline and fittingly he would be the one to end it, running in a 16-yard touchdown to get Timberline on the board on a drive that lasted over seven minutes.
The PAT was no good after a penalty so Capital still led 14-6 and with two scores in two drives, the Cougars confidence was easy to see on the field and sideline. They began another march down the field that was aided by a bobbled interception that turned into an eight-yard catch for Kash Valentine as it felt nothing could go wrong for the Cougars. Then things changed as they played with fire a bit too long and eventually got burnt. Caleb Bacon jumped a Nolan Potts pass and this time brought in the interception for the first turnover of the game. It was the first stop by the Blazers defense as well and gave them a chance to tie it before halftime.
Throwing the ball just was not working at all for Timberline and the penalties forced them into some long distance situations that a running game just can’t make up. Captial’s defense got right off the field to preserve the lead and prevent the turnover from costing the Cougars too much. The new found confidence of Timberline’s defense would also prevent Capital from adding on and the game would roll into halftime with Capital still leading 14-6.
2nd Half
With a chance to tie the game with a touchdown and two-point conversion, the first possession of the second half was massive for Timberline. The Blazers were sharp moving the ball right down the field as their rushing attack turned into a three-headed monster. While King Pridgen is always going to be the focal point, Cameron Vongdara and Cooper Jones also got going in what turned into a triple-option style offense. The trio worked cohesively and did not allow Capital to key in on any specific player. They all had runs of 10+ yards on the opening drive of the half and Vongdara would run in a keeper for a seven-yard score. A successful two-point try completely changed the feel of this one as the game was tied 14-14 with 8:39 left in the 3rd.
One bad quarter was not going to stop Capital’s offense as they sharpened things up in their first drive of the 3rd. Potts and Armstrong stayed locked in while Nolan Rea and Garrett Murphy gave a boost to the rushing attack with some runs of 10 and 11 yards respectively. Penalties did not help the Blazers either but a hold on Capital would back them up in a goal-to-go situation. A bad snap rolled past Nolan Potts as it felt like the wheels were falling off. However, the senior stayed composed, picked up the ball and began to scramble. Eventually, Potts found a running lane and he turned a bad snap into an 11-yard touchdown run for his second rushing score of the game. It was a perfect response as the Cougars retook the lead 21-14 with 3:28 left in the 3rd.
The old saying is “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” and Timberline head coach James Jones took that to heart with his offense. He kept the ball on the ground with Pridgen, Vongdara, and Jones and went right back down the field with a great response. The explosive play came from 5’6 Cooper Jones who broke a 44-yard run to put the ball deep into Capital territory. Pridgen would then get them inside the 10 before Vongdara got the Blazers in the endzone for a six-yard score. Timberline gave the ball to King Pridgen on the two-point try and it was good, giving Timberline their first lead of the game 22-21 with 56 seconds left in the quarter.
All of that work to take the lead for Timberline had everyone feeling good on senior night but those good vibes disappeared in the blink of an eye. A nice return gave Capital the ball at their own 38-yard line, and it took one play to grab the lead back. Nolan Potts rolled to his right as Julien Mikaelson ran by everyone and Potts would hit him in stride. Mikaelson did the rest with a 62-yard touchdown to put Capital right back in front with the longest play of the game. We moved to the 4th quarter with momentum and the lead in Capital’s favor, 28-22.
After 30 combined points in the 3rd quarter alone, it felt like we were watching a shootout develop right in front of our eyes. Capital’s defense made sure that wasn’t the case. The Cougars forced a fumble on the net Blazer drive and got their first takeaway of the night to put the ball back in the hands of their offense. Credit to the Timberline defense as they forced a three-and-out to make sure that fumble didn’t cost them. The Blazers were marching again behind King Pridgen but one moment changed the game. Cameron Vongdara was hurt diving for a fumble that was recovered by Timberline. He had to come out for a play and Capital would force a fumble on the very next snap to take it back from the Blazers.
Two 4th quarter fumbles had Timberline in a terrible spot but they had one last chance after getting another stop. This time, Capital was going to make someone other than King Pridgen beat them as they stuffed him on back-to-back plays. Capital would get the ball back and ran down the clock while burning the Blazers timeouts. It was victory formation from their as the 4th quarter defense stood strong as Capital earned the #3 seed with a 28-22 win over Timberline.
Sumner Holiday Inn Express MVP of the Game
Our Sumner Holiday Inn Express MVP of the game went to senior quarterback Nolan Potts for Capital. Potts was outstanding in this one and was the very essence of a duel-threat quarterback. Potts went 15/28 through the air for 207 yards passing and two touchdowns while also running the ball seven times for 33 yards and two more touchdowns. Four total touchdowns and a couple of extra points were just some of the highlights as the QB was composed in the chaos and helped lead his team to a huge win to build momentum into the playoffs.
Stats
Elsewhere for the Capital Cougars, Garrett Murphy was the featured back with 16 carries for 58 yards and a three-yard reception. Nolan Rea would have four carries for 21 yards as well. In the air, Carter Armstrong was the go-to receiver for Potts and caught six passes for 79 yards and a touchdown while the other passing TD went to Julien Mikaelson who hauled in four catches for 92 yards. Kash Valentine stepped up as well with three catches for 26 yards and Cale Burkheimer had a seven-yard reception and a fumble recovery. Karver Bulloch recorded a sack on defense for the Cougars as well.
For Timberline, it was King Pridgen leading the three-headed monster on the ground with 25 carries for 163 yards and a touchdown for the Blazers. Cameron Vongdara had a good game on the ground as well with 12 carries for 74 yards and two touchdowns while going 1/4 passing for 14 yards to Keaton Thomas. Cooper Jones was the final piece of the puzzle with 10 carries for 83 yards. Champp Hernandez would get a couple of carries for 14 yards while Nathaniel Lalicker had a 19-yard carry on a fake punt. Caleb Bacon was all over the place on defense and had an interception for Timberline in the first half.
What’s Next?
Capital gets the win for the second consecutive week to move to 4-4 and 3-2 in Puget Sound League play. The Cougars will get the #3 seed from the Nisqually division. They will host either Lincoln or Silas next week in a loser out game. Timberline drops to 5-3 on the season and 2-3 in league play. The Blazers will also be in a loser out game next week but will travel to play the winner of Lincoln and Silas.
Link to watch full game replay on the NFHS Network (subscription required)
West 42 Sports Postgame Show
Video Highlights
Armstrong Makes Juggling Touchdown Catch
Pridgen Fights for a TD
Bad Snap Turns into Touchdown
Jones Breaks Big Play to Help Timberline Comeback
Capital Retakes the Lead Immediately
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