By far one of the most interesting storylines developing in the NPSL basketball season is the path of the Federal Way High School Eagles.

After losing their first two games of the season, the Eagles won three in a row and seemed to be finding their way. Then the Tahoma Bears happened. The Bears beat Federal Way by seven and put themselves in the driver’s seat of the NPSL ahead of the Eagles.

But Federal Way bounced back, and after the loss, the Eagles are back on a two-game win streak. Federal Way took down Mount Tahoma and most recently Evergreen (Van.) 81-41 in game one of the T-Town Throwdown on Dec. 26 at Silas High School.

The Eagles got out to a 9-0 run to start the game and controlled the Plainsmen from the jump. Getting out to that early lead is something all coaches look for, but for Coach Yattah Reed, it has been a point of emphasis.

Jayden Dolce makes a layup against Evergreen. (Ben Ray / The Mirror)

“Obviously it was a good start for us, but those are the things that we’re trying to work on. Not every game is going to have a 9-0 run. So just the simple fact of sticking to what got us to that 9-0 lead,” Reed said.

“It definitely gave us some momentum. I feel like when we went on that little run, we understood the type of level of that team. We put our foot on the other team’s neck and went on from there,” said senior Kofi Peyton.

Peyton is the lone starting returner for the Eagles, and he made sure there wasn’t a post-Christmas hangover on Boxing Day.

“I feel like everybody on the team stepped up in their role. Everybody is believing in each other, and we put work in on Christmas when nobody else was. So we deserve everything because we work for it,” Peyton said.

The closest Evergreen got to the Eagles was nine points around the two-minute mark right before halftime. But Federal Way ended the half up 15, and never looked back.

“We had a little hiccup. But we locked back in and regrouped and then continued on,” Reed said.

Peyton scored five or more points in every quarter against the Plainsmen and finished with 26. His leadership was put to the test this season, and now he is responding with how he wants the team to work.

“He’s in a leadership role that he had to take on. It’s tough because he is the only returner and there are a lot of guys who have never been in these positions … Last year’s team had several leaders and now all eyes are on Kofi, not just on the court, but off the court,” Reed said. “You gotta be a leader 24/7 and he’s accepted the challenge and he’s improving on it. I like what I see.”

Kofi Peyton holds the finish on his second made three-pointer of the game. (Ben Ray / The Mirror)

Being that leader may appear like it was a challenge, but Peyton is flourishing in his role as the leader for the Eagles.

“It’s definitely a priority (to play Federal Way basketball). Everybody listens, everybody is always ready to go. So it’s not hard at all,” he said.

It was a great night for both sides of the ball. Federal Way scored the most points since game three of the season, a 95-63 win over Decatur. And the 41 Evergreen points are the lowest a team has scored all season vs. the Eagles. The end of the bench and reserves got a considerable amount of minutes in the big win.

“Those guys are doing stuff that doesn’t get up in the stat sheets. I would love to play everybody equal minutes, but that’s not realistic. But I do want to reward them when I can in games,” Reed said.

“That’s our goal 100%. I want everybody on my team to play and succeed. When we have leads like that and players get in, everybody loves it. Everybody gets to eat,” Peyton said.

The Eagles learned a lot from the loss against Tahoma, and to see the team making improvements is a good sign for the blue and white.

“We learned a lot about ourselves in terms of executing. We weren’t following the scripts or the scouting report and weren’t consistent in our play,” Reed said.

“After we lost that game all we talked about is wanting it more and going out there and really fighting. We were working out in practice and going harder. I feel like we executed that tonight,” Peyton said.

The Eagles are in the semi-finals of the T-Town Throwdown against Sammamish