10/30/2026
Puyallup 34, Graham-Kapowsin 27 (OT)
(Puyallup, WA) Last season, the Puyallup Vikings traveled to Art Crate Field to play the Graham-Kapowsin Eagles for the SPSL 4A football championship. Puyallup ended up blowing out Graham-Kapowsin 43-14 on a rainy night before both teams made it to the semifinals just a handful of weeks later. On Friday night, the wait for Graham-Kapowsin was over as they would get the opportunity for some revenge as they visited Spark Stadium in a 2026 rematch.
Graham-Kapowsin came in with their lone loss of the season to Lake Stevens in week 1 as a distant memory. Seven wins in a row for the Eagles saw their average points scored per game rise up to 53.3 behind start quarterback AJ Tuivaiave. It would be a whole new challenge for Graham-Kapowsin on Friday with weather not on their side and a state championship contender on the other sideline.
Puyallup had a different experience throughout the season as a perfect 8-0 record put the Vikings atop any rankings or list for high school football in the state of Washington. Averaging 52.8 points per game, Puyallup has been an electric team to watch for years but not everything was sunshine and rainbows for the Viks. Injuries had the top two offensive weapons out for the Vikings but they had a ton of young players ready to step up under the brightest lights.
1st Half
Graham-Kapowsin would receive the opening kick and despite not having much success on their early plays, the Eagles benefited from a couple of Puyallup penalties to move the ball into Viking territory. The drive stalled out there as Aiden Muilenburg made a couple of nice plays on the series to force a turnover on downs. Puyallup would take over and they began a methodical march on their first series. It was a lot of Malcolm Akuffo on the ground as he broke a 17-yard run as an explosive play. A quick pass from Noah Smith to Luke Parker went for 10, but those two had a bigger play in store. A screen pass to Parker saw him break a tackle and shoot up the sideline for a 32-yard touchdown to give Puyallup the first points of the game and a 7-0 lead.
After stalling out on their opening drive, Graham-Kapowsin looked much better on the second series. The Eagles struggled to run the ball as Puyallup bottled up Trevon Mayfield to try to make Graham-Kapowsin throw it in the rain and force the Eagles to be one dimensional. They would have some tricks however as a reverse to Kase Betz turned into a big 16-yard gain. AJ Tuivaiave would also find a couple of different receivers, Betz and Jayce Halasz for 10+ yard catches. It looked like the drive might stall out as the Eagles faced a 3rd and goal but a great play call by head coach Jeff Logan saw Tuivaiave find Trevon Mayfield in the flat for a four-yard touchdown to tie the game with less than a minute left in the opening quarter at 7-7.
Arguably the best drive of the night was up next for Puyallup as they got the ball with 24 seconds left in the opening quarter. They would avoid the elements and lean on the big offensive line of Colby Kier, Lese Fomai, Cash Fualaau, Marley Malotumau, and Gecova Doyle as the Vikings went on a grueling crawl down the field. Malcolm Akuffo, Noah Smith, and Michael Pulalasi all would get carries as the grinded 86 yards down the field. The Vikings threw the ball just once during the 8-minute drive as they ate away at most of the 2nd quarter. It ended on a high for Puyallup as Malcolm Akuffo bowled into the endzone for a two-yard score to cap the 8-minute, 86-yard drive by giving the Vikings a 14-7 lead.
Only three plays were ran by the Graham-Kapowsin offense in the 2nd quarter as the Eagles went three-and-out rapidly after the grinding drive to put an exhausted defense back on the field. Puyallup had a chance to extend the lead to two possessions before the half where they would also get the ball to start the 3rd quarter. Noah Smith was asked to do a little bit more on the final series of the half and converted a 3rd down on a wheel route to Sosaia Sekona for 14 yards. The big play came as Puyallup was out of timeouts and Smith found Sekona yet again as the freshman looked to break a big play. Instead of trying to fight into the endzone, Sekona wisely got out of bounds with just one second remaining in the half, giving his kicker a chance to add on before the half on a 32-yard gain. Brodey Naylor nailed the kick from 24 yards out to give Puyallup a 17-7 lead at halftime.
2nd Half
With a 10-point lead coming out of halftime, Puyallup received the second half kick. Needing their defense to make a stand, the Graham-Kapowsin Eagles would have to figure out how to stop the Puyallup offense. The machine that is the Vikings finally hit a snag as Preston Lagat stepped in front of a pass and got a foot down on the sideline for an interception on just the third snap of the half. All of a sudden the momentum was with GK and it was a quick strike after that. AJ Tuivaiave underthrew a deep ball but Jayce Halasz levitated into the air and went over a defender to haul it in for a highlight reel 41-yard touchdown. A turnover and home run shot had Graham-Kapowsin threatening as the deficit was cut to 17-14.
An injury to Noah Smith on the interception forced wide receiver Luke Parker to play quarterback to start the next drive. Parker would try to run but the dominant game by linebacker Derick Manibusan minimized the gain and Parker’s first pass was too high for Sosaia Sekona. Malcolm Akuffo was then bottled up as it looked to be a quick three-and-out. DJ Mims went deep into his bag on a fake punt that saw Luke Parker find Sekona for 17 yards and a first down thanks to a huge block by Jaimes Lopez. The Puyallup fans came to life as Noah Smith trotted back onto the field but it was more Malcolm Akuffo. Smith would find Andrew Gintz for a nice pick up but a huge PBU on 4th down by Keyan Wilson forced a turnover on downs to give Graham-Kapowsin the ball down by just three.
The Eagles went three-and-out quickly as the GK offense ran just seven total plays in the 2nd and 3rd quarters combined. Noah Smith continued to use his legs on a 4th down conversion, scrambling for 28 yards and getting the ball into Graham-Kapowsin territory. Another five-yard run for the ultra-tough senior quarterback and a nine-yard run for Tytan Phay set things up but Kase Betz blew up a screen to Sosaia Sekona but a roughing the passer negated that big stop by Betz. The game went to the 4th quarter and on the first play, Malcolm Akuffo fought his way in for a five-yard score. With most of the 4th quarter remaining, Puyallup’s lead was back up to 24-14.
Down by 10, it was gut check time for the Graham-Kapowsin Eagles and they showed how tough they are. AJ Tuivaiave found Jayce Halasz for 17 yards before floating a 33-yard pass to Keh’Ano Corpuz to get inside the 20. That is when Blake Pearson began to takeover with a five-yard touchdown run to get it right back to a one-score game at 24-21, Puyallup still leading.
Jeff Logan rolled the dice in a huge moment and his kicker Mathew Vollmer made the reward worth the risk. Vollmer recovered an onside kick to give GK a free possession. Blake Pearson continued to build momentum as the Eagles worked their way into Puyallup territory. AJ Tuivaiave would take a shot deep but Treyvion Bowman made a massive play on a 50/50 ball, pulling it down for an interception in the endzone. The Puyallup sideline was fired up with a three-point lead and 7:19 left with the ball.
Graham-Kapowsin’s defense responded in a huge way to force a three-and-out thanks to a big tackle by Jeremiah Leumuava on 3rd down. The Eagles got the ball back with 4:57 remaining at their own 42. It would be Blake Pearson on repeat for Graham-Kapowsin as the senior running back dominated the final quarter and the final drive. Pearson ran the ball six times on the drive and totaled 45 yards on the series as GK moved right down the field slowly but surely. The highlight was truck stick by Pearson on a 19-yard carry to put the ball at the Puyallup 20. A penalty forced a 3rd and 12 but AJ Tuivaiave knew exactly who to go to, checking it down to Blake Pearson for a 13-yard pick up and putting the ball at the nine with 27 seconds left. With 3rd and goal, Tuivaiave would try a slant to Kase Betz, but freshman Kaiden Peterson-Leonardo swatted the ball at the line of scrimmage to force a 4th down. GK would send Mathew Vollmer out for game-tying 23-yard field goal and the junior nailed it to tie the game at 24-24 and send the SPSL 4A championship game to overtime.
Overtime
Both teams would get the ball in OT starting at the 25-yard line with Puyallup up first. It was not a surprise to anybody that Puyallup would go to Malcolm Akuffo to try to move the ball into the endzone but the Graham-Kapowsin defense also knew it would be Akuffo as they bottled him up. Timo Ahkee would bring down Noah Smith for a sack before Smith found Andrew Gintz to give the Vikings a 4th and three. Noah Smith rolled to his left and found Andrew Gintz for a five-yard gain for a first down. It was more Akuffo after that as he scored from seven yards out after a penalty backed them up with Puyallup taking a 34-27 lead.
The ball turned over to the Graham-Kapowsin Eagles and star quarterback AJ Tuivaiave. With Blake Pearson running wild, the Eagles tried to get back to him as he picked up eight immediately. A huge play by Markell Newell brought Pearson down in open field for no gain but a five-yard run by Pearson moved the chains. GK went back to the reverse to Kase Betz but Michael Pulalasi made a huge tackle for no gain to save what could have been a score. A five-yard run for Pearson made it 3rd and five but Aiden Muilenburg got Pearson down to force a 4th and five. With the game on the line, AJ Tuivaiave dropped back to pass, but the defensive front got home. Malakai Leuelu and Aidan Muilenburg dragged Tuivaiave to the ground and the party was on in Puyallup. An overtime thriller and Game of the Year candidate was over with Puyallup repeating as SPSL 4A champions with a 34-27 win in overtime to take down the Graham-Kapowsin Eagles.
Sumner Holiday Inn Express MVP
Our Sumner Holiday Inn Express MVP of the game went to Michael Pulalasi for the Puyallup Vikings. He had some critical carries on the ground with three rushes for 20 yards but what he did on defense was next level. Pulalasi played sideline to sideline making big tackles and also made running the ball very difficult for the Eagles. Some late plays in the backfield helped slow down the Graham-Kapowsin comeback as the senior linebacker captained the defense at a very high level.
Stats
Puyallup’s offense was electric yet again but Malcolm Akuffo was the closer for the Vikings. Akuffo ran the ball 23 times for 90 yards and three touchdowns in a hard fought effort. Noah Smith was also terrific in both facets with 11 carries for 71 yards while going 13/20 passing for 152 yards and a touchdown. Tytan Phay would tally two carries for 14 yards while Luke Parker carried the ball once for three yards. Parker did a lot more in the passing game as he caught five passes for 57 yards and a touchdown while going 1/2 passing for 17 yards. Sosaia Sekona also caught five passes for 71 yards and Andrew Gintz caught three passes for 22 yards. Tate Looker caught his only target for 19 yards.
The Viking defense had quite a night as well. Colton Caldara, Aidan Muilenburg, and Michael Pulalasi each had a tackle for a loss and Muilenburg added a batted pass at the line of scrimmage. Kaiden Peterson-Leonardo had the biggest batted pass in the final seconds of regulation to force a GK field goal. CJ Vala came up with a pass break-up as well while Treyvion Bowman recorded an interception. Brodey Naylor was 4/4 on PATs and hit a 24-yard field goal as well.
For Graham-Kapowsin, it was Blake Pearson putting on a show with 16 carries for 92 yards and a touchdown with 14 carries and 89 yards coming in the 4th quarter and OT. Trevon Mayfield would carry the ball nine times for 19 yards while Kase Betz had a couple of carries for 16 yards. AJ Tuivaiave ran the ball four times for 10 yards but had another strong passing performance, going 12/20 for 162 yards and two touchdowns. Jayce Halasz was his go-to receiver, catching five passes for 86 yards and a touchdown. Keh’Ano Corpuz would catch four passes for 46 yards while Kase Betz had two catches and Blake Pearson one catch, each totaling 13 yards. Trevon Mayfield caught one pass but it was for a four-yard touchdown.
On defense for Graham-Kapowsin, MJ Wadley had a couple of tackles for a loss while Timo Ahkee had a sack and Preston Lagat had an interception. Malik Burns and Keyan Wilson each added some pass break-ups as well. Matthew Vollmer went 3/3 on extra points while hitting a 23-yard field goal to force overtime and recovered his own onside kick.
What’s Next
Puyallup completes a perfect regular season as the Vikings go 9-0 for the second consecutive season. They should be the #1 overall seed with their perfect record and wins over Lake Stevens and Sumner as well as Graham-Kapowsin. The Eagles will end the year at 7-2 but will also host their Round of 32 matchup next week. Both teams will learn their opponents on Sunday with dates and times of the games to be announced as well.
Watch the full game replay on the NFHS Network (subscription required)
West 42 Sports Post-Game Show
Video Highlights
Parker Gets Puyallup on the Board
GK Answers Right Back
Halasz Elevates for Incredible Touchdown
GK Responds Behind Pearson
Puyallup INT in the Endzone
Akuffo Scores in OT
Puyallup Stands Tall
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