Football Notebook | Hale, Sealth savor breakthrough wins

At first glance, the Metro League Sound Division football standings appear to be upside down.

Nathan Hale, seeking validation for last year's run to the playoffs, surprised perennial division power Rainier Beach last Friday, 24-6. And Chief Sealth won only its third game in four years, 38-8 against Ingraham.

Nathan Hale (2-2 overall, 1-0 league) and Chief Sealth (1-2, 1-0) are tied with West Seattle for the Metro Sound lead, with Rainier Beach (0-3, 0-1) on the bottom.

"That was the biggest win of my career," said Nathan Hale coach Hoover Hopkins, who has been coaching since 1991 and is in his third year with the Raiders from Lake City.

It was Rainier Beach's first league defeat in seven years against a division opponent. Hopkins said the entire school and Nathan Hale community were "pumped up" after the big win.

At Chief Sealth, first-year coach Asosa Sailiai also noticed a positive response this week.

"It's nice to see the school spirit come back a little," he said. "It's a good feeling for the kids, especially the seniors, who haven't had the luxury of enjoying moments like this."

The Metro Sound has always been maligned. O'Dea and other Mountain Division schools have dominated the league in football. But new coaches and new attitudes appear to have the Sound Division as competitive as ever.

"For the rest of the season, every game we play is like a division championship," said Hopkins, whose team plays Cleveland Friday night. "We can't have a letdown."

Chief Sealth gets the next chance to beat Rainier Beach, Friday night at home.

"The big thing is, let's not take a step backwards," Sailiai said.

Believing at Bonney Lake

Jeff Gardner saw this coming.

Before the season, the coach promised his Bonney Lake team would be bigger, better and badder than last season, the third-year school's first year with a senior class. The Panthers have proven him right, racing to a 4-0 start to equal the number of victories in the program's previous two seasons combined.

"The foundation was set two years ago and the kids bought into it," Gardner said. "They spent the winter and spring in the weight room. The kids have followed the plan and continued to believe in themselves. It's really neat to see it affirmed for them."

The Panthers, 2-0 in South Puget Sound League 3A play, face their biggest test of the season Friday against Auburn (2-2, 1-1), last year's league champ. But Gardner said it's been business as usual.

"I think every game is a challenge," he said. "Once you get into league play, you'd better bring your 'A' game. We just have to concentrate on ourselves."

Big shoes to fill at Newport

Newport averages 243 rushing yards per game, and much of that has come in the tracks of Jacob Anderson, a 6-foot-4, 250-pound senior lineman.

But the Knights (3-1, 2-1 KingCo 3A) will likely have to play the rest of the regular season without Anderson, who suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee during last week's 37-14 victory against Interlake. He's expected to miss the next six weeks, but could return for the postseason if the Knights qualify.

"That's what we're hoping for," Newport coach Mike Miller said. "He's one of our key players. We do have some depth at that position, but he's one of the better players on the team, certainly on the line."

Junior Graham Bennett will take Anderson's place Friday night against Mercer Island.

Notes

• Bonney Lake has yet to trail in a game this season, which Gardner says is one reason he has been rather conservative on offense. The Panthers beat White River 7-0 last week.

• Evergreen lineman Senio Kelemete, a preseason all-state choice who has committed to Washington, bruised his shoulder in last week's game and likely will sit out this week's Seamount League contest against Mount Rainier as a precautionary measure, according to coach Shaun Tarantola.

• Seattle Prep's Drew Turner, the son of Washington athletic director Todd Turner, is out for the season after breaking his ankle against O'Dea last Friday. Drew Turner, a junior, is Seattle Prep's leading receiver.

• Nathan Hale assistant coach Juan Cotto and his wife Sara are expecting a baby, and Raiders players are urging them to name the child "Hale."

Times staff reporters Sandy Ringer and Tom Wyrwich contributed to this report.