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TENINO — Standing on the sidelines while the 80-minute match ticked down, the three coaches of the Tenino High School boys soccer team pondered something.
When was the last time the Beavers did anything over the summer?
“I don’t think they’ve ever played, as far as we can remember,” assistant coach Dave Montgomery said.
Comfortably over double digits in participation on Thursday night on its home turf, Tenino showcased a potentially lethal attack in a 7-5 loss to Onalaska.
Kyler Russell scored four of its five goals, including two in the second 20-minute period. Radley Whitaker found the back of the net near the end of the first period.
“That talent was there last year. We struggled to give him opportunities,” head coach Trevor Fetbrandt said of Russell. “He is the purest of pure nines. Finished left foot, right foot; he is so clinical in front of the goal.”
A five-win improvement and being in the conversation for a playoff spot from 2024 to 2025 was the expected growth Fetbrandt was hoping to see. He trotted out five eighth graders and a couple freshmen in meaningful minutes.
Another year older, wiser and better chemistry puts Tenino – at least in Fetbrandt’s eyes – firmly in the discussion for a district tournament berth in 2026.
“From a mental standpoint, it is about keeping the positivity,” Fetbrandt said. “From a technical standpoint, our emphasis is getting comfortable with the ball. There has been a ton of progress; they’re getting better.”
Fetbrandt won’t get to see the end product.
After the match, he stated he’ll be enlisting in the Air Force Academy in October. He’ll remain on staff as a girls assistant under Montgomery for the fall.
There is no replacement named yet. “When I took over the program, I got a fresh start,” Fetbrandt said.
The Beavers don’t have to look too far to see how a fellow Class 1A program was going through a mini three-year rebuild.
Rochester went from winless to few wins to a 1A state tournament berth this spring behind a cohesive unit and a stout defense. Tenino will enter 2026 in the third year in this mini rebuild.
“We were competitive in so many games, we could have been a .500 team,” Fetbrandt said. “The reality is we were exponentially better last year (and) we were exponentially younger last year. My biggest thing was I wanted to put a summer program together so we can maximize as much as possible.”
