Four Yelm football seniors earned their final high school football honors as the Washington State Football Coaches Association (WSFCA) announced its 3A all-state first team on Monday, Jan. 15.
Oregon enrollee and linebacker Brayden Platt, whose senior season included 1,328 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns in addition to 99 tackles, two sacks and 22 tackles for loss, was named the WSFCA 3A player of the year.
His teammates, quarterback Damian Aalona, defensive lineman Landen Barger and linebacker Isaiah Patterson were 3A all-state first team picks as well.
Aalona, a two-year starter at quarterback for the Tornados, finished his senior campaign with 2,203 passing yards, a completion percentage of 68% and 30 passing touchdowns to just four interceptions. He averaged over 9.5 yards per attempt. He finished his career with a 27-1 win-loss record as a starter.
Patterson, an enrollee and linebacker at the University of California Los Angeles, led Yelm’s defense in tackling in 2023. The two-year starter totaled 113 total tackles, 18 tackles for loss, three sacks and played both inside and outside linebacker during his senior campaign.
Defensive lineman Barger, a Montana Tech commit, started all four years for the Tornados and consistently clogged the middle of the line of scrimmage during his tenure. As a senior, Barger totaled 43 tackles, adding six sacks and six tackles for loss. The future Oredigger consistently opened up gaps for his linebackers to fill and make tackles and made his presence felt in the run game.
Senior Timberline linebacker and Idaho State commit Darrell Gipson Jr. was the only non-Tornado representative from the South Sound Conference on the WSFCA 3A all-state team.
In addition to Gipson Jr., the Tornados played eight additional members of the 2023 WSFCA 3A all-state team, including five Bellevue Wolverines: offensive linemen Demetri Manning and Willi Wascher, linebacker Leo Ryals, defensive back Bryce Smith and kicker Luke Scoma. Two Eastside Catholic Crusaders — offensive lineman Jo Jo Matuutia and defensive lineman AJ Tanupo — made the list. Offensive lineman Marquise Thorpe-Taylor, a future teammate of Patterson at UCLA, represented Mt. Tahoma on the list.
