Results, recaps, stats and more from Week 7 of the high school football season around the South Sound will be posted on this page Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
FRIDAY’S GAMES (OCT. 16)
NO. 1 PUYALLUP 36, NO. 4 SUMNER 34
Puyallup has faced the state’s most daunting schedule this season. First came a long bus ride east to face Rocky Mountain, one of Idaho’s top programs. Then 3A state contender Bellevue in Week 2. Then a dramatic overtime matchup against reigning 4A state tournament runner-up Lake Stevens.
Check, check, check. Of all the marquee matchups and hurdles Puyallup has successfully cleared in 2026, though, the one Friday night just miles down the road probably meant a little more.
Puyallup outlasted valley rival Sumner in a back-and-forth contest, winning 36-34. Sumner bounced Puyallup in the 4A state tournament semifinals last year, handing the Vikings their only loss of the 2025 season.
So yes, Puyallup’s players had this one circled on their calendars.
“Last year, they beat us in the semifinals, and we took that personal,” said running back Malcolm Akuffo.
Akuffo ran for a pair of touchdowns. Puyallup quarterback Noah Smith connected with J’Isaiah Mitchell for two touchdowns.
Puyallup led 14-13 at half. Smith hit Mitchell for a 20-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to push the led to nine points, but Sumner answered with an 11-yard run from Santos Hernandez-Ruiz. A 12-yard touchdown from run Akuffo put Puyallup back up by nine in the fourth quarter, but Sumner answered immediately with a 74-yard touchdown pass from Brennan Abbott to Gray Longoria.
Puyallup running back Logan Caldara scored next on a 51-yard run, then Sumner answered late when tight end Kai Moody fell on a loose ball in the end zone to pull the score within two. An onside kick was unsuccessful and Puyallup held on for the win.
“We’ve got a good group of guys,” Puyallup quarterback Noah Smith said. “We’ve been working all off-season together. Coach Ross has a great team over there, so we knew they were going to fight back. So we’ve just got to just win that at the end of the day.”
Akuffo ran tough in place of Briytan Bailey, who is sidelined with a knee injury. He’s waiting on a second opinion to see if he’ll be able to return to action this season. In the meantime, Akuffo is seeing more touches.
“Just trying to fill the role, you know?” he said.
Puyallup coach DJ Mims called Bailey and Akuffo “thunder and lightning.” Now, Akuffo will have to find a way to be a little of both.
“He showed that tonight,” Mims said. “He ran hard, he protected the football.”
Sumner coach Keith Ross was thrilled with his team’s effort and the way the offensive line pushed Puyallup around in the run-blocking game.
“I think that our kids learned tonight that they’re still the real deal, and I’m really proud of them,” he said. “We challenged them, you know? We’ve been kind of limping through games and our sense of urgency hasn’t been there, and, you know, we’re young, but tonight we proved to the whole state that we’re a formidable foe.”
Puyallup wraps up with a much-improved Emerald Ridge team next week before the league crossover championship game against Graham-Kapowsin, which will be another hurdle to clear. An undefeated run with wins over Lake Stevens, Bellevue, Sumner and Graham-Kapowsin will undoubtedly secure the No. 1 seed in the state tournament.
“Our league is tough, and then our non-league schedule is tough,” Mims said. “And the biggest thing is just growth, dependability, trust, building that trust with our players and finding out, you know, who can and can’t do what. And so you find that out in these games like this.”
THURSDAY’S GAMES (OCT. 15)
WHITE RIVER 56, KENT-MERIDIAN 13
White River scored 49 of its 56 total points in the first half, running away with the 3A NPSL contest on Thursday night. Quarterback Chaz Strickland passed for five touchdowns in the first half, four of which went to No. 1 receiver Parker Fry. Logan Brame had a pair of rushing touchdowns.
Defensively, Chaz Blackie had a 93-yard pick six. Kicker Palmer Beus went 8-for-8 on PAT’s and also had a touchdown reception.
ENUMCLAW 57, AUBURN MOUNTAINVIEW 7
Enumclaw found its rhythm in the second quarter, putting up 30 points in the period to extend its halftime lead to 44-0.
Junior running back Paxton Patterson had two touchdowns and had an interception on defense. Enumclaw moves to 6-0 on the season and should have another lopsided result next week with Kent-Meridian up next.