HS Football: Bethel Continues To Roll With League Victory Over Spanaway Lake

10/4/25

Bethel Bison 36, Spanaway Lake Sentinels 0

(Elk Plain, WA) With the Bethel Bison and Spanaway Lake Sentinels coming off wins in the first week of divisional play in the SPSL, and Graham-Kapowsin off to a 2-0 start in the division, the SPSL-South appears to run through Art Crate Field in 2025. Bethel and Spanaway Lake were 1-0 entering the contest, meaning something had to give as the teams continued league play. Knowing how important every league game is, the two sides had an opportunity to get to 2-0 and remain tied at the top of the SPSL-South.

Bethel began the game with the ball and moved down the field with purpose. On their eight-play drive, the Bison’s shortest play was three yards. Running back Ethan Schuppener ran in a seven-yard touchdown to get Bethel on the scoreboard first. On the extra point attempt, the snap was off, but Junior Uncangco scooped up the ball, shook off a defender who nearly dragged him down, and scampered into the end zone for the two-point conversion to give Bethel an 8-0 lead. Bethel’s kicker, Luke Mackey, has been precise on kickoffs this year, accurately placed the kick about 30 yards downfield. The Bison recovered the loose ball to send the offense back out on the field. Bethel’s quarterback Evan Barnes, on third down, looked to the sideline for his target Zak Fruean, who made the catch, broke two tackles, and rumbled in for a 19-yard touchdown to give Bethel a 15-0 lead. On the ensuing kickoff, Bethel went with an onside kick and recovered the ball at the 47-yard line to give the offense a third straight possession. Later in the drive, after a penalty backed Bethel up five yards, Barnes lofted a pass for Fruean in the end zone, and he made the grab again to give the Bison a 22-0 lead with only two minutes remaining in the first quarter before Spanaway Lake’s offense saw the field.

The Sentinels moved the chains on their first play, but on the next, fumbled, and Lu Feo for Bethel recovered the ball to give the Bison a fourth drive in the first quarter. Spanaway Lake’s defense made a nice stand, forcing a three-and-out from Bethel, which started a run of four punts, two by each side in the second quarter. After a nice punt return from Uncangco, the Bison were set up at the Spanaway Lake 29-yard line to begin their drive with just over four minutes left in the half. Bethel was forced to attempt a field goal on fourth down with about a minute left, but a personal foul, roughing the kicker, penalty was called against the Sentinels, giving the Bison a first down. Bethel took advantage of the opportunity as two plays later, Evan Barnes didn’t see an open receiver, saw an alley to his right, and took off for a five-yard touchdown run. Bethel took a 29-0 lead into the halftime break.

Spanaway Lake got the ball to begin the second half, but was forced to punt. Bethel had a nice drive going until defensive lineman Johnnie Halsell of Spanaway Lake read the Bison screen perfectly, stepped in front of the pass, and made the interception. Four plays later, Bethel’s Jayden Miller secured an interception for the Bison and put the offense back on the field. Bethel turned the ball over on downs, Spanaway Lake punted, and Bethel was driving in the fourth quarter. Cornelius Jones came in as Schuppener got banged up earlier in the game for the Bison, and Jones punched in a two-yard touchdown run to cap off a super night for the backup running back, making it a 36-0 Bison lead. Spanaway Lake punted, and Bethel ran out the clock to win their fourth game in a row.

Bethel improves to 4-1 on the season and 2-0 in SPSL-South play. The Bison will face Graham-Kapowsin in “The Battle of 224th” next Friday, a game streamed on ESN. The Centralia College Pregame Show will begin at 6:45 PM, and the rivalry game kicks off at 7 PM.

Spanaway Lake drops to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the SPSL-South. The Sentinels will go up against Olympia on the road next week.

Our Sumner Holiday Inn Express Game MVP went to Bethel quarterback Evan Barnes. Barnes threw for two touchdowns and got his first varsity rushing touchdown, while not getting sacked again. Barnes is also one of the leaders on the Bethel team and has been a crucial piece to Bethel winning four games in a row.

Bethel’s Zak Fruean had another great game, catching a pair of touchdowns and playing a key part defensively in helping pitch the shutout. Lu Feo recovered a fumble in the first quarter and was flying around delivering big hits, Cornelius Jones ran the ball effectively and scored a touchdown, and the offensive line for Bethel once again kept their star quarterback clean, allowing no sacks. The offensive line consists of Logan Sarmiento, Jacob Block, Mathyus Mauganai, Dustin Ridge, and Louie Cappetto.

Spanaway Lake had great games from Johnnie Halsell, who had an interception and made numerous tackles, stopping the run. Marques Martin did a good job in the secondary at taking away deep passes over the middle, and Darrell Sillers was impactful on both sides of the ball.

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