HS Football: South Kitsap Outlasts Rogers in Thursday Night Shootout

10/23/25

(Puyallup, WA) While most leagues still have one more week of the regular season, week 8 is the final week of SPSL 4A regular season football which means it was the final opportunity to earn a playoff spot in the crossover round. For the South Kitsap Wolves, their destiny was in their own hands as a win on Thursday night over the Rogers Rams would send the Wolves to their first playoff game since 2012. Rogers would have a chance to create some chaos on their Senior Night as a win for the Rams and a Sumner win over Emerald Ridge on Friday night would create a three-way tie and a Kansas tiebreaker between the three teams.

South Kitsap entered the Thursday night showdown with a 4-3 record and 1-3 in SPSL 4A play with a win over Emerald Ridge looming large in the standings. Rogers came in 1-6 overall and 0-4 in league play despite boasting a high powered offense that had struggled in the last couple of weeks. With so much on the line we would witness a thriller as an appetizer for the rest of week 8.

South Kitsap 42, Rogers 35

South Kitsap received the opening kick but couldn’t do anything with it as a three-and-out gave Rogers their first look on offense. The Rams started at their own 15 and after picking up a first down, also had to punt. South Kitsap had great field position at the Rams 38 and used their ground and pound style to move the ball down the field behind Brayden Moore. Quarterback Franklin Fox would also find Dyvonte Sellers to help balance out the offense. It would be Moore ending the drive with a six-yard touchdown run to give the Wolves the first points of the game and a 7-0 lead.

Rogers moved the ball nicely on their next drive that took up the rest of the opening quarter but would turn the ball over on downs to begin the second and once again gave South Kitsap a short field starting at the 50. Keeping the ball on the ground was key as they found Sellers with short screens to keep a passing attack successful as well. On third and six, Franklin Fox dropped back to pass but was pressured and had to escape. Fox would slide out the left side and had a huge lane up the far sideline and he took it for a 26-yard score. Back-to-back touchdown drives had the Wolves rolling with a 14-0 lead.

With a lack of chunk plays slowing down the Rogers offense, backup running back Ja’Veon McCoy came in to give Titus Koch a breather in the backfield and McCoy lit a spark. A 14-yard run on his first touch got the Rams offense moving. He would also bring in a 21-yard pass from Rashard Boone as the Rams got into South Kitsap territory for the first time in the game. Koch then came back in and picked up where McCoy went off as the Rams got down to the four-yard line before Boone found Jaden Kiblinger on a slant for a touchdown. Rogers got on the board at about the midway point of the quarter trailing 14-7.

The offensive success seemed to motivate the Rams defense as they forced another three-and-out. Then the explosive plays started to pile up for Rogers and it was mainly Boone to Kiblinger. A 14-yard pass was outdone by a 34-yarder as the two were in sync after a quiet start from Kiblinger. Liam Epperson also made a fantastic catch for 25 yards to keep the Rams rolling. Titus Koch would put an exclamation point on the drive, running over a defender for an 18-yard score to tie the game 14-14.

There was still time for South Kitsap to retake the lead and have a halftime advantage but an interception by Lane Mahlum flipped the script and gave Rogers a chance. They would capitalize on a 22-yard pass from Rashard Boone to Jaden Kiblinger for a go-ahead touchdown, giving the Rams their first lead of the game. Another interception by Mahlum would finish up the half and send us to halftime with Rogers leading 21-14.

Scoring 21 points unanswered, Rogers had momentum at halftime and got the ball to start the third quarter. Not all of the fans were back in their seats by the time the Rams extended that run to 28-unanswered. On the first play of the half, Rashard Boone kept the connection with Jaden Kiblinger alive and well with a 77-yard touchdown pass. The Rams could not be stopped as their lead grew to 28-14.

Now it was South Kitsap facing a 14-point deficit and they got back to their bread and butter which is running the football. It was just Franklin Fox and Brayden Moore with a relentless rushing attack as the Wolves marched the ball right down the field with big run after big run. Dyvonte Sellers mixed in a jet sweep as well but it was Fox finishing it off with a four-yard score to end the scoring drought and cut it to 28-21.

Rogers would look to respond but it was the Wolves defense stepping up to make a play. Dylan Herrera would come away with South Kitsap’s first takeaway on defense, intercepting a pass by Rashard Boone to give the Wolves a chance to tie the game. They kept it on the ground but Franklin Fox would drop back to pass once, but ended up scrambling once again for a touchdown run, this time for 27 yards. South Kitsap erased their own 14-point deficit to tie the game at 28-28.

The tie wouldn’t last too long as Rogers responded. Big passes continued to march the Rams down the field despite committing a couple of penalties. Rashard Boone was lights out throwing the football and really spread it out as Booth Bradley, Liam Epperson, and Carson Barnett got involved in the passing attack. Boone would have his number called for a one-yard touchdown run to put Rogers back in front 35-28.

South Kitsap would go three-and-out to give Rogers the ball to begin the 4th quarter. Another takeaway by the South Kitsap defense brought them back to life as Jonah Griffin got a second interception for the Wolves all the way at their own three-yard line. Needing to go 97 yards, it did not take any time at all. Franklin Fox had a huge scramble of 86 yards after breaking a tackle for what looked like just a three-yard gain. As he caught his breath, Fox handed the ball to Brayden Moore who also escaped a pile of defenders and he found his way into the endzone with an 11-yard score. The Wolves needed just two plays to go 97 yards to tie the game back up 35-35.

As Rogers moved the ball right down the field again, the Wolves secondary continued to hunt for turnovers and continued to come away with them. Jesse Billings forced the third interception of the half by South Kitsap’s defense and a big return set the Wolves up at the Rogers 14-yard line with 4:47 left in the game. Another two-play drive ended with a short touchdown for Brayden Moore and South Kitsap had the lead back 42-35 with just over three minutes to go.

The Rams had one more shot to go tie the game and maybe force overtime or go for two and the win. A big 32-yard completion to Titus Koch erased an intentional grounding penalty and had the Rams rolling as they made their way into South Kitsap territory. South Kitsap’s defense made one last play to put this shootout away. A fourth interception by the Wolves was brought in by Josh Traslavina to finish off the comeback victory. South Kitsap and Rogers put on a show but it was the Wolves coming away with a 42-35 win to advance to the playoffs for the first time since 2012.

Stats and MVP

Our Sumner Holiday Inn Express MVP of the game was South Kitsap quarterback Franklin Fox. The senior QB led the rushing attack with 14 carries for 192 yards and three touchdowns while going 6/13 through the air for 42 yards. Fox also made a couple of big plays on defense in the secondary and was rarely off the field as an impact player on both sides of the ball.

Brayden Moore also had a strong day on the ground with 17 carries for 94 yards and three touchdowns himself. Dyvontae Sellers found success in the passing game and running game with five catches for 36 yards and three carries for 28 yards. Jonah Griffin had a six-yard reception and one of four interceptions on defense for the Wolves. Jesse Billings, Dylan Herrera, and Josh Traslavina each had an interception as well while Jordan Tauave had a sack on defense for South Kitsap. Kicker Isaac Nguyen was a perfect 6/6 on extra points for the Wolves.

For the Rogers Rams, Rashard Boone lit it up on offense going 28/43 passing for 418 yards and three touchdowns while running the ball eight times for 40 yards and a score as well for a total of 458 yards and four touchdowns. Jaden Kiblinger was the go-to receiver with 12 catches for 211 yards and three touchdown catches in an incredible performance. Liam Epperson caught three passes for 72 yards and Booth Bradley also had three catches for 26 yards. Carson Barnett caught two passes for 30 yards and Michael Lee Jr. had three catches for seven yards. Titus Koch had a big day with 18 carries for 109 yards and a touchdown and three catches for 54 yards. Backup running back Ja’Veon McCoy had success as well with eight carries for 60 yards and a 21-yard reception. Caleb Salavea had a sack on defense with Jayce Foushee having a couple pass break-ups. Michael Juro also was perfect on extra points going 5/5.

With the win, South Kitsap moves to 5-3 and 2-3 in SPSL 4A play. With their win over Emerald Ridge earlier in the season, the Wolves advance to the crossover round of the SPSL next week and will play the #3 team from the south division in their first playoff game since 2012. Rogers falls to 1-7 on the year and finishes 0-5 in league play. They will play a crossover game next week against a team from the SPSL 4A south in the Rams final game of the season. Both game times are TBD.

Click here for the link to the full game replay (Subscription Required)