Community Education Sports
Fish Bowl set for Sept. 6, again at Mount Tahoma
Fish Bowl, the annual rivalry game between the Gig Harbor and Peninsula high school football teams, will kick off at 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6, at Mount Tahoma High School stadium.
It’s the second consecutive year the two teams will cross the Narrows Bridge to play each other. Gig Harbor defeated Peninsula, 14-10, at the picturesque Tacoma stadium on Sept. 8, 2024.
Ticket information
Tickets cost $8 for adults or $5 for those ages 62 and older or who qualify for other discounts. Peninsula School District students with ASB cards, and kids in elementary school or younger, get in free.
Attendees must buy tickets online through GoFan. PSD promised to provide a direct link to the ticket site soon.
Gates at Mount Tahoma Stadium open at 3:45 p.m.
The district asks Peninsula students and fans to park in the lot along South 74th Street. Gig Harbor students and fans should park in the lot along Verde Street.
Peninsula School District asks students and fans of the two schools to park in separate lots.
Why the game is in Tacoma
Peninsula School District moved the game in the wake of the chaotic 2023 game at Roy Anderson Field in Purdy. One assistant coach said that game, a 21-20 Gig Harbor win, devolved into a near “riot atmosphere” when the emotions of fans and players erupted following an injury to a Gig Harbor quarterback.
The Peninsula offensive line and the Gig Harbor defensive line face off during Fish Bowl on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, at Mount Tahoma Stadium in Tacoma. Photo by Bryce Carithers
A school district investigation after the 2023 game determined, among other things, that Roy Anderson Field lacked the infrastructure to handle such a high-profile game.
The move to Mount Tahoma facilitates separation of fans. The Tacoma stadium has large bleachers on both sides of the field. Roy Anderson has just a single covered grandstand area, with visiting fans consigned to a smaller set of bleachers on the north side of the field.
Mount Tahoma has capacity for some 5,000 fans, more than double that of Roy Anderson.
Peninsula fans cheer during Fish Bowl on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, at Mount Tahoma Stadium in Tacoma. Photo by Bryce Carithers
New coaches at both schools
The 2025 Fish Bowl will be the season opener and the debut of new coaches for both schools.
Clay Mauro takes over at Peninsula after Ross Filkins resigned following 30 years as coach of the Seahawks. Filkins remains Peninsula High School’s athletic director.
Mauro has extensive coaching experience in Nevada and was the Seahawks’ special teams coordinator in 2024.
Jeff Scoma, a former coach at Lake Stevens and Stanwood high schools, is the new head man at Gig Harbor. He replaces Darrin Reeves, who resigned after three seasons with the Tides. Auburn Riverside High School hired Reeves as its new head coach in April.
Gig Harbor fans cheer during Fish Bowl on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024 at Mount Tahoma Stadium in Tacoma. Photo by Bryce Carithers