When Capital and Olympia collide in the Spaghetti Bowl on Friday, Sept. 4, the running backs on both sidelines will carry outsized expectations into a season that kicks off with one of Thurston County's fiercest rivalries.
The Nisqually Valley News Aug. 8 preview of the county's top games spotlighted several backs who could define the 2026 campaign. Here's a school-by-school look at the local runners worth tracking when preseason practice opens Wednesday, Aug. 19.
Olympia Bears: Aden Carr and David Ukwu
New head coach Cary Nagel inherits a backfield built to punish. Thurston Chronicle reporter Dylan Reubenking wrote that Carr and Ukwu are "two running backs who can make defensive coaches scratch their heads." Nagel's staff has promised an elevated level of physicality, and the two backs give Olympia a thunder-and-lightning combination as the Bears prepare for a Week 5 test against Graham-Kapowsin, loaded with Division I prospects.
Capital Cougars: Nolen Rea and EJ Singleton
Capital graduated 21 seniors and enters 2026 in full rebuild mode. The Cougars return very few starters on either side of the ball, but Rea and Singleton give senior quarterback Nolan Potts a capable backfield to lean on. Capital won last year's Spaghetti Bowl 33-27 in overtime on Potts' fourth rushing touchdown and leads the all-time series 22-21 in a rivalry dating to 1976.
Tumwater Thunderbirds: Tyler Briscoe and Grady Wall
Three straight 2A state runner-up finishes. Fifteen graduated seniors. Head coach William Garrow's response: reload.
Briscoe and Wall are expected to handle the bulk of carries for a Tumwater offense transitioning to quarterback Jake Reid. Wall earned EvCo Defensive MVP honors in 2025 and is a Harvard recruit, making him one of the most versatile athletes in the South Sound. The Daily World reported July 28 that the two backs will anchor the ground game as Tumwater faces Steilacoom in Week 2, the first regular-season meeting between the programs.
The bigger picture
The Olympian published its own five-player RB watch list on Sunday, Aug. 9, written by Tyler Wicke. That list spans the broader South Sound, including non-Thurston County programs. Lakes senior Toetu Moliga-Taiepisi (97 carries, 816 yards, 6 TDs in 2025) is confirmed on the regional list, and Puyallup junior Briytan Bailey, whose team went 12-1 last season, appears to be among the five based on the article's lead image.
No Black Hills running back appeared in any available preseason preview.
The Spaghetti Bowl between Capital and Olympia on Friday, Sept. 4, will be the first chance to see these local backs under the lights.
