HS Football: Graham-Kapowsin Turns To Backup Quarterback To Lead Eagles To Victory In Battle Of 224th

10/11/25

Graham-Kapowsin Eagles 20, Bethel Bison 10

(Elk Plain, WA) Last year’s Battle of 224th was just a two-point victory for Graham-Kapowsin that helped the Eagles clinch the SPSL-South. This year, the Bethel Bison and Graham-Kapowsin clashed in what could ultimately decide who wins the division and gets the right to play for a league championship. Rivalry games typically take the entire team to get a win, and this one proved no different, with an unexpected hero emerging.

Graham-Kapowsin began the game with the ball, and after taking a deep shot on first down, A.J. Tuivaiave hit Kase Betz on a screen pass, and Betz did the rest. He slithered through the defense and scampered in for a 57-yard touchdown to give the Eagles an early 6-0 lead as the extra point was blocked. After three punts, G-K was driving, but their drive stalled out as the Bison defense clamped down, and Angelis Bravo sacked backup Kolton Wadley on fourth down. On the previous Eagles drive, Tuivaiave was hurt as he tried to scramble away from Bison defenders, and as he threw the ball away took a hit and limped off the field.

With just over a minute left in the first quarter, Bethel would start the longest drive of the night, taking off seven and a half minutes and converting on fourth down twice. The Bison drove inside the 10-yard line of Graham-Kapowsin but faced fourth down again. Quarterback Evan Barnes rolled to his right and was searching for an open receiver in the end zone, but Kase Betz stepped in front of the pass for the interception and slid in the end zone for a touchback. Graham-Kapowsin had to punt, and after a 40-yard pass from Barnes to Zak Fruean, the Bethel offense again was driving. The Eagles forced Bethel to attempt a field goal, and sophomore kicker Luke Mackey stepped up and drilled a 33-yard field goal as Graham-Kapowsin’s lead was cut in half to 6-3. That’s where the score would be at halftime as the teams headed to the locker rooms.

The beginning of the second half was unique. After the final play of the first half, Bethel was flagged for two 15-yard penalties, meaning Graham-Kapowsin was kicking off from the 30-yard line. G-K attempted an onside rather than blast the kickoff into the parking lot and was whistled for being offside. That mistake led to them trying it again, and Raymond Lagat snagged the ball out of the air, 12 yards downfield, to give Graham-Kapowsin the ball at the 23-yard line. G-K wasted no time, as Wadley went to the air and hit his target of Quinncey Ratteray for the touchdown on the first snap of the second half. The Eagles led 12-3 as the extra point was blocked again by Bethel. On the ensuing kickoff, Graham-Kapowsin dropped the kick in about 30 yards downfield with some backspin on it. Cole Brown hustled to the loose ball and slid in for the recovery as G-K stole another possession to start the half. Working from the 31-yard line, Graham-Kapowsin took six plays to score, as the Eagles used their version of the tush push to get Wadley the one-yard touchdown. For the two-point conversion, the Eagles went into their bag of tricks as Wadley took the shotgun snap, went right, flipped it to Jayce Halasz, who went left, and calmly scooted in to make it a 20-3 lead.

Bethel responded right away, as the Bison took just five plays to march down the field. Evan Barnes delivered a laser that Elijah Muliufi brought in and held on to as he got rocked after making the catch for a 10-yard touchdown. The score cut the G-K lead down to 20-10 with not even five minutes of the second half having elapsed. Graham-Kapowsin was driving, but lost the ball on a fumble as Zak Fruean recovered it for Bethel. The Eagles’ defense forced a three-and-out, but four plays later the Bethel defense caused another turnover. G-K lofted a long pass down the sideline, and Junior Uncangco came flying in from the secondary, jumped in front of the pass, and made the interception to give Bethel the ball at their own 42-yard line. However, the Eagles defense forced their second straight three-and-out to preserve their 10-point advantage.

Graham-Kapowsin punted on its next drive, and Bethel needed to go 70 yards to get at least one score, trailing by 10 with 8:43 left in regulation. The Bison picked up a pair of first downs, but the drive stalled out around midfield, and they were forced to punt again. Graham-Kapowsin was looking to chew up some clock, but Bethel forced a three-and-out. With the Bison having only 3:19 remaining and needing two scores, they needed to score quickly, but like a year ago, Graham-Kapowsin forced a late turnover on downs to secure the win and keep their undefeated season going with a 20-10 victory.

Our Sumner Holiday Inn Express Game MVP went to Kolton Wadley. The Eagles’ backup quarterback was called into action in the first half and scored a pair of third-quarter touchdowns to help lead Graham-Kapowsin. His calm demeanor, preparation, and pure talent showed on the field tonight. Most players would’ve transferred out after A.J. Tuivaiave came to Graham-Kapowsin last year, but he stuck with it, has decided to be a great teammate, and, in our interview when it was his moment, still wanted to give credit to his teammates. That shows the character Kolton has, and he certainly has a bright future ahead of him.

Graham-Kapowsin’s Kase Betz had another big game on both sides of the ball. His electric 57-yard touchdown set the tone early, and then he picked off a pass in the end zone when Bethel was looking to tie or take in the second quarter might’ve been the turning point in the game. Derek Manibusan and Gavin Deaton were flying around as linebackers for the Eagles, while Keyan Wilson and Raymond Lagat had big plays in the secondary, slowing down a potent Bethel offense.

Bethel’s Zak Fruean and Elijah Muliufi were big targets for Evan Barnes once again. Muliufi got the touchdown, and Fruean, who had his hand taped up in a club, was still making catches. Lu Feo and Hunter Kenyon were pivotal in slowing down the Graham-Kapowsin run as linebackers. Junior Uncangco is turning into a budding star, turning in another impressive performance, highlighted by his phenomenal interception.

Graham-Kapowsin remains undefeated at 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the SPSL-South. The Eagles will host Olympia next week before facing Spanaway Lake in two weeks.

Bethel drops to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in league play. The Bison will head on the road for their next two games, playing Yelm next week and Bonney Lake in two weeks.

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