In just under a month, high school football teams from across Washington State will lace up their cleats and begin their journey to Husky Stadium.
Official practices for the 2025 prep football season commence on August 20 and if the previous years are any indication, Adna and Morton-White Pass will kick things off with midnight practices.
As the countdown gets closer, let’s take a look at an early five things to watch within SW Washington this fall.
No. 5 – Stout quarterbacks returning
Half the starters from 2024 are expected to be back under center in 2025, led by state finalists Grady Wilson from Napavine and Jaxon Budd of Tumwater. High-flyers Eli Weeks (Toledo) and Gio Rodas (Oakville-North River) will also be back under center. Those four have the most experience returning, with Weeks and Rodas entering year three as the starter.
Wilson and Budd took over for the first time in 2024 and rarely faced jitters. Wilson put up an astounding 38 total touchdowns and nearly 3,000 yards of total offense. Budd ran the Wing-T to perfection and was able to find the end zone over 10 times himself.
Others will break in new QBs, but some will have familiarity under center. Onalaska’s Lane Gordon may get the first crack when practice begins and Tenino’s Mason Medcalf, who was the starter but missed the back-half of the year with an injury.
W.F. West, Centralia, Black Hills, Rochester, Morton-White Pass, Adna, Mossyrock and Rainier will have quarterback competitions potentially before Week 1 happens.
No. 4 – Are we destined for Tumwater, Napavine yet again in Seattle?
Seemingly for almost a half-decade, there’s been two guarantees in life: Death plus the Tigers and Thunderbirds battling it out in Husky Stadium for a state title. Yet for both, they’ve left without the ultimate prize.
In what will be Year 3 of the WIAA state championships held on University of Washington’s campus, Tumwater and Napavine are 0-2 in the final game of the year. The Tigers have lost twice to Okanogan and the T-Birds dropped back-to-back meetings with Anacortes.
Will the third time be the charm?
Napavine will have an overhauled skill position group outside of Wilson, but Beckett Landram and Caleb Von Pressentin return in the backfield. A ton of underclassmen got valuable experience defensively, which in turn could see them return to form despite the graduations of Karsen Denault, Cayle Kelly and Jack Nelson.
For Tumwater, the defense will undergo a facelift with Malijah Tucker off to WSU, Mehki Richardson gone as well plus linebackers Beckett Wall and Cash Short. Derek Thompson and David Malroy leave the secondary.
Budd anchors the offense along with a yearly stable of running backs that will run a committee approach once again.
No. 3 – Class 2B deeper than ever in Lewis County?
It won’t be just Napavine that could make noise throughout the regular season. There’s plenty of firepower coming back from the surrounding programs in the C2BL West and East divisions.
While a decorated senior class leaves Onalaska, it will have some unproven commodities ready to step into the limelight. State discus champ Ethan Thayer will likely step into a key role in the run-first attack behind Gordon. The offensive line will get a new-look as well.
Now in Year 3 under head coach Aaron Cochran, Adna brings back well over 10 starters from a quarterfinal team last fall, headlined by tailback Beau Miller and linebacker Stephen O’Dell.
Toledo came a yard away from also reaching the quarters and alongside Weeks, speedster Trevin Gale and a good chunk of the interior line were back.
PWV will have a new coach, but one with plenty of pedigree for the combined program in John Peterson, who was an assistant in PWV’s two state title teams. He brings with him the Wing-T offense, but a little makeover with a new QB, fullback and four offensive linemen this fall.
No. 2 – What can Rochester do for an encore?
In their first year in the Class 1A Evergreen League, all the Warriors did was upset powerhouse Montesano at home then blew out Hoquiam to clinch the league title. Even though the postseason ended in the Round of 24, only nine seniors graduated.
Can Rochester go back-to-back?
Rarely can Montesano be brushed to the side, yet Rochester does bring back the league MVP in running back Ethan Rodriguez and the top lineman in Wyatt Dahl. There are several other first team all-league guys expected to be back in the fold for the Warriors.
Coach AJ Easley’s squad will have to be road warriors this year, with five of their games away from South Thurston County, including three of the last four of the regular season.
No. 1 – How does the rest of the EvCo shake out?
Tumwater is likely to be the heavy favorite in 2A’s top league in the area, but where do the other three locals slide in? To this point, it remains unclear.
One of the best senior classes to come through W.F. West in recent memory — being in two semifinals games in four years — now paves the way for the next crop of Bearcats. Two primary questions for them: Is sophomore Wyatt Hoffman ready to step into the starting QB role? And who will be the disruptor on defense without some veteran leadership?
Black Hills said goodbye to one of the better QB-WR duos in Jaxsen Beck and Tristan DeVille. The latter was an all-area pick after having 667 yards and seven scores. Returning first team linebacker Kenny Bell is expected to anchor the defense.
Centralia will have a new coach, and one familiar to the area in former Rochester grad Tyler Gedney. The Tigers went winless in 2024 and lost a handful of pieces on both sides of the ball. They have an interesting schedule with a home-opener versus Elma, then alternating two weeks at home and two weeks on the road for the rest of the regular season.
