12/3/25

The weekend of the state championship games always provides a multitude of indelible stories. Last year, we saw Coach Kohler tying Coach Otton’s record for most wins in Washington high school football history. The epic 4A title game between Camas and Sumner, which saw Sumner kick a game-winning field goal as time expired. That game will be forever remembered by anyone who was at Husky Stadium that night. Who could forget Lance Allred and Carter Kuchenbuch each breaking records for touchdowns in a championship game? All while making significant plays on both sides of the ball. Anacortes and Tumwater rematching, and Anacortes coming out on top for the second year in a row. Then you had Wilbur-Creston-Keller, suiting up nine players in the eight-man ranks to win the 1B title.

This year, the storylines are piling up heading into championship weekend. Here are five to get you ready for another memorable weekend in Montlake.

Three Regular Season Rematches For The Title

Half of the weekend is full of rematches from the regular season. Two of them are against league foes. All three rematches from the regular season were decided by only one possession. If that’s a harbinger of what’s to come this weekend, that’s worth the price of admission alone.

The first game of the weekend is the 1B championship between the DeSales Irish and Liberty Christian (Richland) Patriots. The two sides met at DeSales on Friday, October 24, and the Irish won on their home turf 36-28. Liberty Christian has knocked out DeSales the last two times the Irish have made the State Playoffs. DeSales has won 2B titles, but never 1B. Liberty Christian is looking for revenge after losing 42-34 to W-C-K in the championship game. The Patriots won the championship in 2012 and will be hoping for redemption in more ways than one.

The next rematch is the second game of the weekend, the 1A title game. Royal and Cashmere, both in the South Central Athletic Conference, went toe-to-toe on Friday, October 3. Royal’s at the time, 39-game win streak was in jeopardy, as the Bulldogs and Knights went into overtime, with Royal eeking out a win on their home field, 21-15. Both teams mix potent offense with dominating defense, in what should be a dandy Friday afternoon.

The last rematch is the last high school football game of 2025. Defending 4A champs, Sumner, against Lake Stevens. Last year, Sumner won in overtime over Lake Stevens, 31-28, at home. This year, Lake Stevens won by scoring a touchdown with one second left, 31-28, at home. If that doesn’t get you excited enough, Sumner and Lake Stevens have combined to win the last three titles. Both coaches will be in multiple hall of fames one day, and it will be an exhilarating way to end the 2025 high school football season.

Is Third Time The Charm For Tumwater?

There’s something to be said for making it to the state championship game three years in a row. It’s even more impressive when it’s you accomplish that in your first three years as a head coach. That’s what Coach Garrow has done at Tumwater since he took over as head coach in 2023. The T-Birds will face their third NWC 2A opponent on Saturday afternoon in Archbishop Murphy, after falling to Anacortes the last two years. After losing 60-30 in 2023, last year, Tumwater gave Anacortes all it could handle. The T-Birds had a couple of chances to put points on the board in the fourth quarter, but the Seahawks made timely stops to win 20-10. Tumwater will be looking to add its seventh title and avoid being the first 2A team to lose three straight championship games.

Archbishop Murphy Seniors Can Go From 0-8 To State Champs

The class of 2026 players for Archbishop Murphy walked off the field in 2022, 0-8. Coach Cronin was hired, and the Wildcats have flourished. They’ve been above .500 all three years under Coach Cronin, including an undefeated season this year. Archbishop Murphy last won the title in 2016 when they had a dominating season. This year has some similarities as the Wildcats put up a lot of points, and in a hurry. Losing can be hard, especially for high schoolers, but this senior class dug deep, turned the ship around, and can end their high school careers as one of the best, if not the best, football team the school has produced.

Tri-Cities Prep And Toledo Meet For Third Consecutive Year

In 2023, Toledo knocked out Tri-Cities Prep, 21-12, in the first round. Last year, Tri-Cities Prep knocked out Toledo, 13-10, in the first round. This year, they meet for all the marbles. Toledo has made just one state championship game in school history, losing to Royal in the 1996 1A title game. Tri-Cities Prep won the 2009 1B title, but never made it past the semifinals in their 2B state playoff appearances. For the first time since 2021, Napavine and Okanogan aren’t meeting for the 2B state championship, and there will be a new state champion crowned on Saturday.

Mount Tahoma’s Team Of Destiny

Last year, O’Dea was one of the “teams of destiny”, going undefeated to give Coach Monte Kohler a share of the all-time wins record. This year, Mount Tahoma holds the unequivocal title of “team of destiny”. In April, Veron Lockett was tragically killed. Lockett was set to play his senior year this year, and the team has rallied around their fallen brother. Every helmet has the number 14, Lockett’s jersey number. After every home win, the team sprints to a part of the fence at George Nordi Field, where Lockett’s number 14 is displayed with cups in the holes of that fence. The most points Mount Tahoma has given up in the state playoffs is 14. It’s also been 45 years since the T-Birds have won a state title. Coach Nordi led them to championships in 1979 and 1980. If Mount Tahoma were to win, it would be win number 14 of the season.

Meanwhile, Coach Kohler and O’Dea are looking to do something they haven’t done in 30 years. That’s winning back-to-back titles. Coach Kohler led the Irish to consecutive championships in 1994 and 1995, part of a stretch where O’Dea won three state championships in five years and made the title game four of five years. 3A is the only classification that hasn’t had a repeat state champion this decade, and the Irish would love to change that.

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