1/21/26
2A football in southwest Washington could look pretty different in the fall of 2026 and 2027 as the 2A Evergreen Conference and 2A Greater St. Helens League could be merging for a two-year run. Jon Manley of the Tacoma Tribune broke the news Wednesday evening.
The Evergreen 2A conference submitted a formal appeal to merge the two leagues together citing a difficulty in scheduling games due to having just a four-team football league which would require six non-league games to go with three league matchups. Centralia will not be apart of the EvCo 2A in the 2026 season as they will play an EvCo 1A schedule while being a 2A school. Much like Shelton with all sports outside of football, they play in a classification below but are not eligible for that classifications playoffs.
With the EvCo having just four teams, Tumwater, WF West, Black Hills, and Aberdeen, the scheduling efforts would be extremely difficult with other leagues beginning around weeks 4 and 5 which would leave the EvCo 2A teams with limited to no options to get their nine games in. That led to the appeal by the Evergreen 2A Conference on January 6th.
The Greater St. Helens League 2A Athletic Directors voted to deny that request on January 7th. An appeal was then made by the EvCo 2A to District 4, the district that includes both leagues. On January 15th, the District 4 Executive members approved the appeal and directed the GSHL to move forward with a league merger.
However, under WIAA policy that decision can be appealed to the State District Directors within 10 days which is what the GSHL has done. Now, both leagues will wait until a decision is made.
In a statement released by the GSHL, they cite that the current eight-team league is in a stable position with competitive balance, close travel distances, and scheduling stability for the nine-week football regular season. Longer travel, more time out of the classroom for subvarsity athletes, and shifts in competitive balance and schedule making are causes for concern for the GSHL. Many games have already been scheduled for the GSHL and a merger could force a complete overhaul of those schedules.
In a statement by Ridgefield Athletic director and GSHL President Brynan Shipley, the GSHL does “have reservations about the changes, they will approach the process thoughtfully and if the merger moves forward they will work collaboratively and respectfully with the EvCo on scheduling and planning to support existing programs while considering the needs of all District 4 schools. Protecting the league’s integrity and finding solutions that work for everyone remain our top priorities. At this time, no league schedules or formats have been finalized. The GSHL will continue to engage constructively with EVCO as the process moves forward.”
The schools affected by the potential merger are listed alphabetically below.
- Aberdeen
- Black Hills
- Columbia River
- Hockinson
- Hudson’s Bay
- Mark Morris
- R.A. Long
- Ridgefield
- Tumwater
- Washougal
- W.F. West
- Woodland
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