Sleeper teams in the 3A class

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As players wrap up their 7v7 seasons and wrap up attending camps and showcases, I wanted to take a look into each class within the state and see which teams that you need to keep an eye on as the season goes along. Here are a couple teams in the 3A class that could be sleeper teams to keep an eye on.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Stanwood HS</strong> - Last Season: 10-2 </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This Stanwood team isn't necessarily a "sleeper" team but with losing such a big time player like Ryder Bumgardner, they will be in need of some adjustments. They made the state tournament last year, losing in the 2nd round to O'Dea HS by a score of 21-42. They will still be returning a ton of talent all around. Some notable names on the roster next year will be, Max Mayo ('24, DB), Canyon Bumgardner ('25 RB/DB), Luke Brennan ('25 QB), Charles McEwen ('26 RB/LB), Cruise Swanson ('25 RB/LB), Isaac Petree ('24 WR), Trey VanPutten ('25 DT). If they can fill Ryder Bumgardner's 2,500+ yards of all purpose yards with all the talent, (I think they can), they will be a solid team once again.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lakes HS </strong>- Last Season: 6-3</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lakes showed a lot of great things on the field but just couldn't get over the first hump. They had David Wells who was a top WR in the entire state and also had arguably the best RB duo with Leo Pulalasi and Ki'Marre Washington. With '26 QB [player_tooltip player_id='402792' first='Legend' last='Galeai'] coming back for the squad and having already had a full season of varsity experience, Legend is going to have a MASSIVE sophomore year. Some other players who could make an impact for Lakes on the field are Ta'ulelei Markeo ('26, LB/RB), [player_tooltip player_id='1188110' first='Michael' last='Pulalasi'] ('27, ATH), [player_tooltip player_id='915384' first='Oakland' last='Cotton'] ('24, WR/DB), Elijah McChristian ('24, WR/DB). </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lincoln (Tacoma) HS</strong> - Last Season: 11-1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lincoln was a solid team last season, only losing 1 game during the season and that game was in the 2nd round of the state tournament. They had the talents of Gabarri Johnson, who is now headed to Missouri. [player_tooltip player_id='206270' first='Navarre' last='Dixon'], who is a top running back in the entire state is also transferring and attending Emerald Ridge HS. Kelly Sio-Fetaui ('24, RB/LB) will be back to get some of the workload in the backfield. Most eyes will be on [player_tooltip player_id='1188085' first='Sione' last='Kaho'] ('27, QB) who is on national radars throughout the country. He's a special talent who will be fun to watch for 4 full seasons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Capital HS</strong> - Last Season: 3-7</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here is one team who was below .500 last year, but I think could sneakily make some noise within the 3A classification. They will have to replace Angus Hubbard ('23, QB) who had a big 6'6" frame and made some tough throws. They play in an extremely talented conference but I think they can hold their own. Here are some names to keep an eye on this season, [player_tooltip player_id='679130' first='Kai' last='Laukkanen'] ('24, WR/DB), [player_tooltip player_id='915283' first='Brenton' last='Handsford'] ('24, DL), [player_tooltip player_id='693733' first='Bennett' last='Pittman'] ('25, OL) and a plethora of young talent that could surprise people.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->