5 games you should not have missed in Washington high school football, Week 9

Top-ranked (2A) Tumwater gets 165 rushing yards and three total touchdowns from Tyler Briscoe in a convincing 51-21 win over No. 6 (2A) W.F. West

Running back Tyler Briscoe rushed for a game-high 165 yards and three total touchdowns in Tumwater’s 51-21 win over W.F. West on Friday. (John Holman / For The Chronicle)

CHEHALIS, Wash. — Coach William Garrow and the No. 1 (Class 2A) Tumwater High School Thunderbirds have known nothing but ending their season at Husky Stadium in recent years.

This time, they want to carry out the big Gridiron Classic trophy, not watch somebody else do it.

After back-to-back WIAA championship-game losses to Anacortes, then Archbishop Murphy last season, there is an obvious determination by this Tumwater group to finish off the 2026 season the right way.

It certainly showed up in the regular season — capped by the T-Birds’ 51-21 dismantling of sixth-ranked (2A) W.F. West on Friday night.

And after having two phases — offense, defense or special teams — score in seven of the team’s first eight games, the T-Birds completed the trifecta Friday night with end-zone visits by all three units.