SPSL SOUTH BOYS BASKETBALL PREVIEW CAPSULES

CRYSTAL BALL
1. Curtis (23-6)
2. Federal Way (14-10)
3. Spanaway Lake (7-13)
4. Beamer (6-13)
5. Puyallup (21-9)
6. Emerald Ridge (2-18)
7. Bethel (10-13)
8. Rogers (17-8)
9. Graham-Kapowsin (1-18)
*2010-11 records

STARTING FIVE
F Darius Johnson-Wilson 6-6 Sr. Curtis
Played a key role in Vikings reaching state finals last season

G D’Londo Tucker 5-11 Jr. Federal Way
Lightning-quick guard leads an attack that will push the tempo

F Braxton Tucker 6-4 Jr. Spanaway Lake
Double-double machine will emerge as one of league’s standout players

W Thomas Rhodes 6-3 Sr. Beamer
He’ll have more games with double-doubles than not

G Dom Jordan 5-9 Jr. Curtis
Experienced point guard can distribute ball and score when needed

FASTBREAK
The SPSL South is wide open this season. Want proof? None of the players selected to last year’s all-league first- or second-team return. Unlike in past seasons when there’s been a clear-cut frontrunner, expect a wild season filled with teams beating up on each other. Read more »

Leading up to the Class 4A football state play-in contest against Graham-Kapowsin, Bellarmine Prep’s coaching staff spent hours studying the Eagles’ game film.

G-K, it appeared, often employed single-coverage on defense. With a trio of talented receivers, including University of Washington-bound Michael Rector, and a quarterback with a big arm, Bellarmine Prep coach Tom Larsen said the staff came up with an offensive approach.

“Let’s attack,” Larsen said.

Sefo Liufau fired three long touchdowns to Rector, leading top-ranked Bellarmine Prep to a 37-19 win against the Eagles Friday night at Mount Tahoma Stadium.

The Lions (10-0) will host Edmonds-Woodway (6-4), a 29-19 winner over South Kitsap, in the first round of the state playoffs next week. G-K ends its season with a 5-5 record.
Read more »

4A PLAYOFFS

Bothell (6-3) at Bethel (7-2), 7:30 p.m. Friday
Lowdown: Something’s got to give. Bethel has been held to fewer than 40 points just once this season – sixth-ranked Federal Way clipped the Braves 28-26 in Week 5 – while no team has scored more than 30 on Bothell. The Cougars have had success against the SPSL South in the postseason the past three years, winning all three of those games, including a 41-7 thrashing of Bethel in 2008. These Braves are much more potent. QB Justin Hordyk is a run-pass threat, compiling 2,558 yards of total offense (1,671 passing and 887 rushing). Bethel has a knack for forcing turnovers, posting a turnover ratio of plus-10 and that could be the difference against a tough Bothell squad.
TNT pick: Bethel 41, Bothell 34

Graham-Kapowsin (5-4) at No. 1 Bellarmine Prep (9-0), 7 p.m. Friday at Mount Tahoma
Lowdown: The Lions could be shorthanded tonight, playing without RB/DB Isaiah Flynn and RB/LB Joe Lovejoy. Flynn returned to practice this week after missing the previous three games with a knee strain, while Lovejoy left last week’s 27-20 win over Gig Harbor with a leg injury. Sophomore RB Lou Millie should see a larger role if Flynn and Lovejoy can’t play. Lions coach Tom Larsen says the Eagles “look more like a No. 2 seed than a No. 4 seed,” pointing out that they’ve won five of their past six games.
TNT pick: Bellarmine Prep 34, Graham-Kapowsin 19
Read more »

By Tyler Hemstreet
Contributing writer

After an 0-3 start to the season, the Graham-Kapowsin Eagles have turned things around.

The sudden resurgence now has them in running for a spot in the postseason.

The Eagles piled up 368 rushing yards and got a combined five touchdowns from Mike Ramos and Dylan Campbell, blowing out Rogers, 52-21, on Friday night in an SPSL South battle at Art Crate Field.

The win — the fourth in the last five games for the Eagles — also snapped a four-game losing streak to the Rams.

“Our kids are just playing harder,” G-K …

Read more »

Thanks to Todd Milles for doing these preview capsules, while I was out of the office earlier this week.

SPSL NORTH
No. 7 Kentlake (5-0 overall, 5-0 league) at Kentwood (4-1, 3-1), 7 p.m. Friday at French Field

Lowdown: Tempo could be a defining aspect to this titanic, intra-city matchup. The no-huddle Falcons want to play fast; the bigger and more physical Conquerors want it controlled. Kentwood must pay attention to Kentlake’s do-everything WR Austin Pernell (871 all-purpose yards, eight total TDs), who has scored on a kickoff return, an interception, a reception and a rushing attempt. If Kentlake can snap its seven-game skid in the series tonight, it will have the inside track to its first outright SPSL North title in school history.
Read more »

I received this press release today from the University of Montana:

University of Montana volleyball coach Jerry Wagner announced this week that Kaitlyn Molloy of Spanaway, Wash., has been accepted to the University and will join the Grizzly volleyball program in the fall.

Molloy joins Kelsey Schile in Wagner’s (so far) two-player freshman class. Schile signed a National Letter of Intent in November.

Molloy will be a 2011 graduate of Graham-Kapowsin High, the same school that produced current Griz outside hitter Kayla Reno, who joined the program last fall and developed into the Big Sky Conference’s top offensive freshman, averaging 2.54 kills per set.
Read more »

The News Tribune will publish its 24th annual Northwest Nuggets recruiting package on Sunday, Jan. 23. Here are some recruiting tidbits to tide you over until then:

DOCKERY BEING COURTED
Curtis football standout Rahmel Dockery’s recruitment was ratcheted up this week.

The receiver/cornerback and his family met with Oregon State head coach Mike Riley Wednesday night and Washington State assistant coach Mike Levenseller on Thursday, said his father, Steve.

Dockery, The News Tribune’s all-classification football state player of the year in 2010, has taken official visits to Hawaii and Oregon State, and will visit Washington State next weekend.

EDISON COMMITS TO PORTLAND STATE
Cornelius Edison gave an oral commitment to Portland State University after taking an official visit to the campus last weekend. Edison, a 6-foot-4 and 280-pound senior, also had an offer from Army and was being recruited by Eastern Washington, San Diego and Central Washington.

Edison was a member of The News Tribune’s All-Area team and was named the SPSL South’s offensive and defensive lineman of the year in 2010.

GOMEZ TO EWU
Graham-Kapowsin senior lineman Thomas Gomez has given an oral commitment to play football at Eastern Washington University, according to G-K coach Eric Kurle. Gomez, who stands 6-foot-3 and 290 pounds, was a member of The News Tribune’s All-Area football team in 2010.

Eastern Washington won the NCAA Division I Football Championship last season.
Read more »

Curtis ended the regular season with a 70-24 win over playoff-bound Beamer on Thursday night. By scoring 70 points, the Vikings tied the SPSL’s record for points scored in a season with 416. Auburn set the original mark last year.

Some other postseason-related loose ends were tied up on Thursday, too:

Kentridge and Auburn Riverside both lost, which means Kentridge will play at the winner of tonight’s Gig Harbor-Bellarmine Prep contest and Auburn Riverside will take on Graham-Kapowsin at Art Crate Field in a pig-tail game on Tuesday. Read more »