TUMWATER — It’s no secret that Tumwater and Anacortes have been the two best 2A teams in the state all season.
Both teams cruised through the regular season (outside of one Anacortes loss) and the playoffs, and they are set to meet in the 2A State Championship Game on Saturday at Husky Stadium for the second year in a row.
It’s also no secret what happened in Seattle last December.
“Those guys beat us,” Tumwater coach William Garrow said. “And they beat us soundly.”
The Seahawks offense drove up and down the field with ease last fall, tallying 552 total yards of offense and scoring 60 points while doubling up the T-Birds to win their first state title.
“They got us good last year,” Jake Dillon said. “It’s been a long time since we’ve played them. But it’s always been in the back of our head.”
If it wasn’t in their head, a reminder would often be in front of them. Throughout summer workouts and practices, white signs that had the score in black numbers, along with the slogan “answer the bell,” were plastered around the field and gym.
One of those signs has made a return this week, as it’s been posted on a fence near the water station.
Garrow had hoped since the preseason that the T-Birds would have the chance to avenge their loss last season, but he knew that they would have to take care of business in order to do so.
They’ve done just that, defeating their opponents by an average of nearly 48 points per game en route to a perfect 13-0 record.
“It’s really a culmination of the work that the kids and the coaches have put in over that time,” Garrow said. “The goal was to get an opportunity to do it again. They weren’t shy about expressing that.
“They embraced the fact that we got beat,” Garrow continued. “We shouldn’t forget that. We should use it to help fuel us to get another crack at it.”
Though Anacortes comes into this year’s title game with a loss, the Seahawks have rolled since their lone defeat. During their seven game winning streak, they have scored 52.7 points per game, including a pair of 77-point performances against Marysville-Pilchuck and Foster.
Last week against W.F. West, Brock and Brady Beaner combined for four touchdowns, and Rylin Land tallied nearly 100 yards receiving through the air.
“They’re really good,” Garrow said. “It’s fun to compete against the champions. You want to go in and challenge yourself.”
If the T-Birds are able to win on Saturday, it would be the school’s eighth state title, all of which have come since 1987.
“They get an opportunity to put their name within that legacy,” Garrow said.
For this year’s seniors, they don’t just want to cap their careers with a win, but they also want to win it for last year’s senior core that is showing their support.
“I think they are in it just as much as we are,” Derek Thompson said. “To get back here and to end it off with a win would be awesome. It’d basically be a stamp on the envelope. It’d be perfect.
“I’m just really proud of these guys,” Thompson added. “I’m really excited for this weekend.”
Come 3 p.m. Saturday, the year-long wait will be over, and the T-Birds will have 48 minutes to write their own ending.
“If we do what we’re supposed to do, I have no doubt that we’ll compete and have a chance,” Garrow said. “That’s all you can ask for.”
