Months after house burns down, Steilacoom’s Williams propels Sentinels to first state semifinal appearance
Last summer, Rasun Williams was participating in a football camp at Oregon State University, when his cell phone rang.
He sat, in shock, listening while news was delivered that his family’s house was burning down.
Williams, who previously attended Sumner High School, where he played football, was happy to hear that everyone was OK — his mom, younger brother and stepdad were all safe. But the fire to their home caused a tumultuous path forward for the family and Williams.
In the aftermath of losing their home, Williams and his family were homeless for a couple of days, before they were taken in by a family friend living in Steilacoom.
“Through that period, I was very emotional and I didn’t know what was going to happen this year,” Williams said. “But I stayed focused and really put my faith in God, and it ended up coming out really well.”
Now, Williams attends Steilacoom High School. A senior running back, he had a career performance in No. 2 Steilacoom’s 48-15 Class 2A state quarterfinal win Friday over No. 7 Prosser at Mount Tahoma High School. He rushed 27 times for a career-high 225 yards and a touchdown, sending Steilacoom to the state semifinals for the first time in school history.
“I faced some adversity,” Williams said. “I came into this school and they all welcomed me. This is a brotherhood. We’re all a family. Our line just really came out and did their job tonight. I have to give all props to our line. We wouldn’t have any yards without line. Our quarterbacks, our coaching staff, our receivers — everyone really worked hard for this win.”
Steilacoom offensive coordinator Greg Herd — who played for Steilacoom in the late 2000s and went on to a prolific career at Eastern Washington University and a stint in the NFL — said Williams’ story is a life lesson to other players.
“Just being resilient,” Herd said. “Football teaches us a lot of lessons. The things that happen in life and it’s about how he perseveres. He’s just a true warrior; he’s going to fight for whatever he wants. The strength to come into our program, be focused, be concerned about his team has been impressive.”
Steilacoom head coach Colby Davies said he’s proud of Williams.
“You have a kid that’s been able to overcome a lot of adversity,” Davies said. “He’s been a positive addition to our team and has done a really good job with fitting in with the guys, learning our system, learning how we do things. And then obviously, he’s an incredible player and has a lot of talent.
“He’s done everything that we’ve asked him to do since he’s been here, and we’re super proud of him. We know that he’s had to face some tough things in the past, but for him to bounce back and come to us this year and do the things he’s done, it’s incredible.”
(The photo above is a file photo of Williams from Steilacoom’s game last week against Ridgefield).
Steilacoom controlled the game from start to finish. Quarterback Chance McDonald completed 12-of-21 passes for 167 yards, a pair of touchdowns and an interception. Running back D.J. Fryar rushed seven times for 47 yards and two touchdowns. Five-star recruit Emeka Egbuka caught three passes for 63 yards and a touchdown and rushed three times for 20 yards and a touchdown. Logan Brady caught three passes for 63 yards and a touchdown in the win.
Defensively, Steilacoom forced Prosser quarterback Kaiden Rivera into four interceptions and a fumble and held Prosser’s powerful rushing attack to just 28 total net yards.
“Those guys up front have been amazing,” Davies said. “We thought that we could play with a light box and still keep them from running the football. That allowed us to put some extra coverage in the back end, allowed us to play some 2-man, getting into some heavier coverage. Those guys up front have been the rock of our defense ever since we played Lynden. They’ve done an amazing job and have stepped up to the challenge of being that physical group up front. They’re tough.”
And now Steilacoom is trail-blazing, heading to the semifinals for the first time in program history.
“It’s just awesome to see those guys invest into the school and community, see all the hard work, dedication, buy-in,” Herd said. “We have a bunch of guys on the staff that went to Steilacoom. I think it bleeds into our kids. We care about this community, we care about this school. We hold them to a high standard.”
For Davies, he knew it was a road-block the program needed to pass.
“I told these guys, ‘You win this game, you cement yourself as the greatest team in Steilacoom history,’” Davies said. “No one has ever been here. They did that tonight and next week, we get an opportunity to punch our ticket into the big dance, so that’ll be the focus. Being able to practice on Thanksgiving week, that’ll be fun.”
This story was originally published November 23, 2019 at 12:20 AM.
