Football Preview:
NPSL & SPSL
Dion & Cotterill Preview
New Leagues

Posted on September 1, 2016 by Steven Dion

League Preview presented by theFinalScore.TV

Steve Dion and TJ Cotterill breakdown the league reclassifications. Leagues have disappeared, new leagues have appeared. Narrows is gone, SPSL leagues have changed just to name a few.

We’ll break down the changes, the teams and players to look out for in 2016. This will be a crazy season in the South Sound Region – Follow us all year long on Varsity Football Live on Sports Radio 950 KJR and theFinalScore.TV.

Listen to our NPSL/SPSL Football Preview by clicking on the PLAY BUTTON below.

Be sure to visit thenewstribune.com and follow TJ’s high school football coverage all season long!

Audio Recap: Puyallup vs. South Kitsap

Posted on February 11, 2016 by Steven Dion

Game Recap
Puyallup vs. South Kitsap 2-10-16

In a first round West Central District 3 contest, the Wolves of South Kitsap High School ventured over the Narrows to take on the Puyallup Vikings. Listen as Nic Beckman provides an audio recap of the game!

To listen to the game recap, simply click on the PLAY BUTTON below.

Puyallup Grabs First Round District Win Over South Kitsap

Posted on February 11, 2016 by Steven Dion

Puyallup Grabs First Round District Win Over South Kitsap
By Nic Beckman

Wednesday- February 10th	2016	Boys	4A	Districts
Puyallup High School	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
South Kitsap	13	17	14	11	55
Puyallup	11	23	11	14	59

First round play in West Central District 3 action had the Wolves of South Kitsap crossing the Narrows bridge to play at Puyallup. The Vikings with the timely return of second leading scorer Tony Gutierrez back from a quadriceps injury that has kept him out of action for nearly a month were happy to be playing at home. A fast paced first quarter saw South Kitsap with all five of the Wolves starters getting buckets and the first foul of the game whistled with just 3.4 seconds left in the period. Wolves on top 13-11 heading into the second. Six 3’s, 2 each by Jaden Vollmen, Landen Neff and Tony Gutierrez had the Vikings up 34-30 at half. It was Daniel Tomkiewicz with 9 second quarter points who led all scorers at half with 11.

Coach John Callaghan’s SK team kept pace with the Vikings with another 8 points from Tomkiewicz, who would tie the game at 42 with a 3 followed by Isaiah Lewis in the lane and the Wolves were up 44-42 with under 2 minutes left in the third. Gutierrez with 3 first half 3’s added another with 1:35 left to give Puyallup back the lead 45-44 heading into the final 8 minutes. Vikings coach Scott Campbell turned up the Viking pressure and kept the Wolves from scoring for more than 4 minutes. Puyallup built the lead to 54-44 until an Eric Wattree free throw broke the drought, bringing the lead back under 10 at 54-45 with 3:24 remaining. Wattree would add 7 more points in the period and end with 16 on the night, while teammate Daniel Tomkiewicz with four 3’s in the game, would lead SK with 22. The lead would prove too much as Puyallup would hold on behind the game high 23 points of Tony Gutierrez, getting 6 from beyond the arc. The Final Score Puyallup 59 South Kitsap 55.

Puyallup moves on in the winners side of the bracket to meet Curtis on Friday at Mt. Tahoma, 7:45pm tipoff. South Kitsap will head to Auburn HS to battle Kentlake in a loser out game, also with a 7:45pm tip.

The Final Score
Puyallup 59, South Kitsap 55.

Top Performers:

Puyallup
Tony Gutierrez 23
Jaden Vollmen 9
Deven Neff 9

South Kitsap
Daniel Tomkiewicz 22
Eric Wattree 16
Isaiah Lewis 8

West Central District 3: First Round Recap

Posted on February 11, 2016 by Steven Dion

West Central District 3: First Round Recap by Nic Beckman

West Central District 3 playoffs got underway with eight home games for the top seeds as 16 teams from the SPSL and Narrows leagues vie for the 6 WCD3 state tournament seeds. Home court advantage was evident as 7 of the 8 host teams came away with wins.

The top two seeds in the SPSL continued their dominance. #1 seed Federal Way had the Tornados of Yelm blow into the Eagles nest. After a close first quarter 17-12, coach Jerome Collins’s Eagle team pulled away. Behind the 19 points of Ferron Flavors and a 29-10 third quarter, Federal Way still undefeated with a comfortable win moves on. The Final Score FW 78 Yelm 41.

The #2 seed Curtis Vikings, undefeated in league play until a 63-61 loss to Federal Way at the ShoWare in the SPSL tournament championship defended their home court. Coming off a 66-63 win over Kentwood, the Vikings faced another SPSL Northeast foe in Kentlake. Aushanti Potts-Woods with 27 and Glenn Jordan with 19 combined for more than the Falcons could total as a team. The Final Score Curtis 83 Kentlake 45.

Narrows #1 seed Bellarmine matched up with SPSL South Spanaway Lake. The Lions 18-3 on the season with an unblemished 12-0 league record under the direction of head coach Bernie Salazar represented for their league with a home court opening round win over the Sentinels. The Final Score Bellarmine 75 Spanaway Lake 65.

The #2 seed out of the Narrows coach John Kiley’s Olympia Bears at 18-3 on the season and 10-2 in league play, had the Todd Beamer Titans in the house for first round action. The Bears continue on their quest to the Dome getting a 20 point win over Beamer. The Final Score Olympia 70 Todd Beamer 50.

Emerald Ridge travelled north to Kentwood to face the Conquerors. Jason Cassens and the Jags were up 12-11 after the first quarter, but coach Blake Solomon’s Conk’s were ready for the challenge. Kentwood with four players in double digits would be led by Darius Lubom with 20 and Rayvaughn Bolton with 12 as Cassens with 10, was the only Jaguar to reach double digits. The Final Score Kentwood 58 Emerald Ridge 41.

Coach John Callaghan’s Wolves of South Kitsap crossed the bridge to come play the Vikings in Puyallup. Daniel Tomkiewicz with 9 second quarter points to lead all scorers at half with 11, saw his team down 34-30. The Viks were paced by Jaden Vollmen and Tony Gutierrez each with 9. Tomkiewicz would add 8 3rd quarter points and tie the game at 42. SK down 1, 44-45 heading into the final period. Coach Scott Campbell turned up the Viking pressure and held the Wolves without a point in the quarter until 3:24 remaining. By that time Puyallup was up 54-45, Tony Gutierrez in his first game back from a quadriceps injury hit 6 of the Puyallup 13 3’s enroute to game high honors with 23. South Kitsap’s Daniel Tomkiewicz finished with 22 and Eric Wattree added 16. The Final Score Puyallup 59 South Kitsap 55.

Kent Meridian facing rival Kentridge was able to overcome an 11 point halftime deficit to tie it at 57 at the end of regulation. But Mahlik Hall with 23 and Romaine Jackson with 18 for the Royals were not enough to get their team over the hill. The Chargers held home court with a 12 -7 overtime period, Joran Ticeson led the Chargers with 19. The Final Score in OT Kentridge 69 Kent Meridian 64.

The Blazers of Timberline after finishing third behind Bellarmine and Olympia in Narrows league play, had to go to Thomas Jefferson for their first round match-up. The Raiders of the SPSL Northwest behind leading scorer Darius Anderson were unable to defend their home court. Timberline gets the only visitor win on the night. The Final Score Timberline 52 Thomas Jefferson 48.

Friday night will see winners bracket match ups Federal Way vs Timberline at 6pm, followed by Olympia vs Kentwood at 7:45pm at Auburn Mountainview HS. Bellarmine vs Kentwood at 6pm and Puyallup will face Curtis for the third time this season at 7:45pm at Mt. Tahoma HS. Winners will move on for #1 through #4 seeds.

On the loser out side of the the bracket, Yelm vs Jefferson at 6pm, then Beamer vs Emerald Ridge at 7:45pm will be played at Stadium HS. Spanaway Lake vs Kent Meridian 6pm and South Kitsap vs Kentlake at 7:45pm are playing at Auburn HS. The winners all working for the final 2 seeds from the West Central District 3 heading into the state regional round the final week of February.