Prep Football | Bellevue's Jamal Atofau picks WSU

Jamal Atofau, Bellevue High School's star senior safety, is headed for Washington State next season. The chance to play early was one of the appeals, he said.

"I want to be part of something where we turn the program around," said Atofau, whose verbal commitment is nonbinding. "I want to be part of something big."

Atofau, 5 feet 10, 185 pounds, said he has connections on the WSU team. He said he is a cousin of Cougars tight end Tony Thompson and a friend of former Bellevue teammate Eric Block, a redshirt freshman safety.

Atofau said he received scholarship offers from Oregon ("I was going to commit to Oregon but I backed off"), Oregon State, Arizona, Idaho and Idaho State.

Atofau, a preseason all-state selection, is a three-star prospect on the Scout.com ranking system that peaks at five stars. He is the eighth player in the Class of 2009 to commit to the Cougars.

Thursday's games

Franklin 22, at Rainier Beach 21

Aaron Harris threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jesse Hopson with four seconds left as the Quakers (5-3, 4-2) rallied to stun the Vikings (4-4, 4-2) and force a three-way tie for second place in the Metro Sound Division. A coin flip will determine whether Franklin, Rainier Beach or Nathan Hale plays O'Dea, the Mountain runner-up, next week. Rainier Beach had taken a safety with 28 seconds left in an attempt to kill time. Franklin, starting at midfield, then drove for the winning score. Hopson also had an 80-yard kickoff return, and Leon Nelson carried 22 times for 108 yards and two Quaker TDs. Harris completed 10 of 18 passes for 159 yards and two TDs.

At E. Catholic 37, Seattle Prep 2

Marion Bactol scored on punt returns of 71 and 65 yards as the No. 7 Crusaders (7-1, 5-0) wrapped up a perfect trip through the Metro Mountain Division with a victory over Seattle Prep (2-6, 1-4). Eastside Catholic will play Sound Division champ West Seattle in the Metro championship game next week. Bactol, a 5-10, 180-pound senior, has scored on a return in four of his past five games — three punt returns and two kickoff returns. Eastside Catholic had an interception, three fumble recoveries and a blocked punt that was recovered in the end zone by Zach McKiernan for a touchdown. Mike Bush carried nine times for 79 yards and a touchdown for E.C. Joey DeRitis had 67 yards on 17 carries for Seattle Prep.

O'Dea 41, Lakeside 6

At West Seattle Stadium, the ninth-ranked Irish (6-2, 4-1) ran for 374 yards and scored 41 consecutive points after Duncan Hussey had put the Lions (3-5, 0-5) ahead with a 21-yard touchdown run early in the Metro Mountain game. On Senior Night for the Irish, senior Josh Arreola led O'Dea with 90 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.

At Nathan Hale 38, Ingraham 0

Jordan Sullivan passed for three TDs, two to Chris McKinney, and Marco Henry scored twice as Nathan Hale (4-4, 4-2) hammered Ingraham (1-7, 1-5) in the Metro Sound Division. Sullivan completed 7 of 10 passes for 163 yards. Michael Fields carried 12 times for 82 yards for Nathan Hale. Terrell Shegog led the Raiders' defense with two sacks and a forced fumble.

Graham-Kapowsin 42, at Decatur 6

At Federal Way Stadium, Jeff Logan completed 11 of 17 passes for 244 yards and four touchdowns as the Eagles (6-2, 6-2) went to the air to beat the Gators (0-8, 0-7) in the SPSL South. Eli Shoemaker had four catches for 94 yards and two TDs for G-K. Jamaal Jones had 70 yards on two receptions, with a 64-yard score.

Foster 9, Highline 6

At Highline Stadium, Foster made a goal-line stand to prevent a touchdown just before halftime, and Aaron Rodriguez tossed a go-ahead, 23-yard touchdown pass to Taylor Gustman with 7:40 remaining as the Bulldogs (3-5, 3-5) rallied for a Seamount victory over Highline (3-4, 3-4). Trailing 6-0 at halftime, Foster got a 35-yard field goal from John Sunday before a partially blocked punt set up the Bulldogs' winning TD.