NAPAVINE — The Napavine Tigers are no stranger to the state’s biggest stage.
Since coach Josh Fay arrived in 2007, the Tigers have made every state tournament since 2008, won three titles in that span (2008, 2016, 2022), and have reached at least the semifinals in each of the last 10 state tournaments.
“Our program’s been in this situation quite a bit,” Fay said.
So it’s not unusual that come late November, the Tigers are still on the practice field after dark preparing for a state quarterfinal.
What has been unusual this time around, though, was the path they took here.
After opening the 2025 season with a victory against Goldendale, the Tigers lost four straight games, their longest losing streak in Fay’s tenure. To make matters worse, during the third loss in the streak, senior quarterback and linebacker Grady Wilson went down with a shoulder injury.
At 1-4 and without their signal caller, Napavine was backed into an unfamiliar corner.
A sense of urgency was building inside the Tiger locker room, but there was no panic.
“I think those losses helped our mindset,” senior Caleb Von Pressentin said. “We knew that we were just gonna have to push forward through a lot of things.”
Von Pressentin helped get Napavine back on track with a 240-yard, five-touchdown performance against Raymond-South Bend in Week 6, and he followed it up with another 317 yards and two touchdowns against Ilwaco one week later.
A win over Pe Ell-Willapa Valley put Napavine back at .500, and a win over Forks in the regular-season finale gave the Tigers the No. 2 seed in the C2BL West heading into Week 10.
A win over Toutle Lake in a crossover sent Napavine to state, and a win over Northwest Christian (Colbert) has the Tigers back into the quarterfinals at 7-4.
“I felt like we learned a lot coming out of that,” senior Masen Jeg said. “We’ve been down, but we’re coming up. And now we’re winning games. I feel like it’s gonna keep going. It’s just building our mindset, and we’re getting more confident every game.”
In that stretch, Von Pressentin has been the offense’s bell cow.
Since Week 6, he’s tallied 1,525 yards, good for a mark of 254.2 yards per game and 12.7 yards per carry, and scored 21 rushing touchdowns.
His ascension helped the Napavine offense find itself and get back on track.
“The biggest thing was getting used to an offense that didn’t have Grady,” Fay said. “The schedule got a little bit more favorable, which allowed us to work in some things. Over time, we got comfortable with a different identity and what we wanted to do.”
Wilson has worked his way back into a limited role, with most of his snaps coming in the secondary. Last week against Northwest Christian, he took snaps at QB after an injury, but he only handed the ball off. He was also on the field for Jeg’s game-sealing interception.
Wilson was born in 2007, Fay’s first year, and grew up on the sidelines as a ball boy.
“He’s been a part of this program since Day 1,” Fay said. “I know this means a lot to him, and he wants to do anything he can to keep it going. He wants to find a way to be out here at the end.”
The Tigers hope it won’t end on Saturday night in Kelso against No. 1 Toledo. The Riverhawks enter the game at a perfect 10-0, and all 10 of their wins have come by 25 points or more.
“We’ve always had the confidence to go do whatever,” Von Pressentin said. “It’s all about our energy. I think confidence is the key. All of us just gotta stay with each other and work through any adversity. Obviously, they’re a great team, so it’s just all gonna be about working together as one.”
Jeg reiterated the group’s confidence in each other, and he, Fay, and Von Pressentin preached the importance of discipline going up against a dynamic Toledo offense led by Eli Weeks and Adam Kruger.
“That’s something we’ve kind of prided ourselves on around here for a long time,” Fay said. “If we can do that, then we give ourselves a shot.
“We’ve talked about the ‘what have you got to lose’ mentality,” Fay added. “Everybody’s looking into the fish bowl saying those guys don't have a shot. So we’ve just said that we like what we’re doing, and we like our personnel … Our guys are gonna come out, play as hard as they can, and see how it plays out.”
