Eatonville faces Royal for 1A title. Cruisers’ line has been a strength all season
Even potential future Cruisers understand the importance of the trenches.
It was late December in 2017. New Eatonville football coach Gavin Kralik and his team had completed the fall season having suffered a 66-25 playoff defeat to North Kitsap. And the Cruisers had lost the trenches huge, with the Vikings having run for close to 400 yards.
On Dec. 30, Kralik and his son Sam were watching the Fiesta Bowl.
“My 9-year-old suddenly turns to me,” Kralik said. “(Penn State running back Saquan) Barkley was running through big gaps in the Washington line. McSorley had all sorts of time. My son looks up and says says, ‘So pretty much, whoever has the bigger, stronger line wins.’”
Kralik knew there was a little more to it. But really, he didn’t disagree. The coach already had implemented a strenuous weight program for his team, and the players bought in.
Along the lines, both offensive and defensive, that program has turned the Cruisers into one of the biggest and strongest in Class 1A. Those linemen, in turn, have stoked Eatonville’s current 17-game winning streak with their consistency and athleticism.
The Cruisers (13-0) face Royal (13-0) on Saturday afternoon at Harry E. Lang Stadium in Lakewood for the Class 1A title. Kickoff is set for noon.
“It’s very unusual to have the line we have,” Kralik said.
The group has melded together, coming from experienced players and some that are newer to the sport.
The most acclaimed of the group is the guy getting the most attention from recruiters. Junior Kyle Cox anchors the left side at tackle, and provides an imposing presence at 6-foot-6, 270 pounds.
“Everybody is just super tight on our line,” Cox said. “No matter who is in there, there’s not really a drop off in skill. We’re all weight room guys. We all want to do what it takes to win. So it’s pretty easy to buy in when we all have the same goal – to win a state title.”
If Eatonville completes its quest on Saturday, this team will add to a legacy that harkens back to the previous generation. Cox’s father, Jim, played for the last Eatonville team to win a title in 1992.
But Cox isn’t the only lineman with championship ties. Defensive nose tackle Waylan Mettler’s father played on a previous state championship team in Eatonville.
The community ties with the Cruiser program have led to buy-in all over Eatonville this fall.
“The whole town made it to state,” Cox said. “It’s definitely special. And, to do something my dad was able to do – hopefully we’ll be a part of the same legacy he was a part of.”
Cox already has individual accolades to his credit. He was named the Class 2A SPSL lineman of the year following the 2020-21 Covid-19 delayed spring season.
Cox also is one of four offensive and defensive linemen for Eatonville that essentially have started their college classes through Running Start. The group as a whole carries a cumulative GPA of 3.5 (out of 4).
And while many of them – Cox, Mettler, Zach Barnett, Julian Evans, Carsen Pero, Tristan Lewis – have more or less grown up in the Eatonville junior system, a pair of starting contributors have come to the team and the sport later.
Senior left guard David Ausmus didn’t pick up the game until his freshman year in high school.
“He didn’t start until this season,” Kralik said. “At first, he didn’t understand the game. But he kept working. They’re all just crazy-hard workers.”
Defensive end Chase Grant was a sophomore when he came to football. He began as a tight end, a year that Kralik said, “we had him at the wrong position.” Grant moved to the defensive side and blossomed for a unit that has allowed only 102 points (7.85 a game) all season and hasn’t given up more than 12 since Week 6.
“People sometimes miss the foundation,” Kralik said. “The core. The depth and size we have, it’s very, very unique about us. And it’s very similar to what my 9-year-old (who is now 13 and just a couple of years away from getting to high school) said. It’s the line.”
This story was originally published December 3, 2021 at 5:00 AM.