Eatonville advanced to the 1A title game last fall. Can the Cruisers win it all in 2022?
Nearly three decades have passed since Eatonville High School football last won a state football championship trophy.
Last December, the Cruisers nearly added a fourth undefeated title to the three the program has already won in its history — in 1985, 1990 and most recently 1992.
They made their first appearance in the Class 1A state championship game since that 1992 season, and carried a perfect record into the final week of the season after rolling by their first 13 opponents.
Then, they ran into Royal.
The Knights scored early and often on a chilly afternoon at Harry E. Lang Stadium in Lakewood on the way to a 41-0 rout of the Cruisers, their second consecutive state title and fifth undefeated 1A championship run since 2015.
Fast forward to this fall, and Royal should again be in the mix when the postseason arrives. But, so should Eatonville.
“We’re trying to take advantage of every opportunity we have to get better, and create the right kind of habits and culture within our program,” Cruisers coach Gavin Kralik said in August, when the first week of preseason practices got underway in Eatonville.
“And we know if we are doing that each day, we’re going to be in the best spot possible come the end of the season to hopefully have an opportunity to compete at the highest level toward the end of the season.”
The Cruisers certainly proved last season they can compete with the best programs in the state, winning an undefeated 1A Evergreen title before making their convincing run in the 1A state bracket.
Eatonville averaged 39 points per game last fall while allowing only 10.2, held nine opponents to single digits and shut out three teams, including East Jefferson (58-0) in the first round of the state playoffs before also routing both Riverside (35-6) in the quarterfinals and Lynden Christian (38-6) in the semifinals.
The program graduated both the 1A Evergreen offensive MVP in Kevin Wulff and defensive MVP in Blain Hanly, as well as six more first-team selections from last season’s group, but still return plenty of experience.
Eatonville’s impressive offensive line should be a strength again and key advantage against opponents, led by experienced seniors in left tackle Kyle Cox, right tackle Tristan Lewis and center Carsen Pero.
Cox, a Boise State commit, was a 1A Evergreen first-team pick on the offense line last fall, the 2A SPSL offensive lineman of the year as a sophomore, and a second-team pick in the league as a freshman.
Lewis, another Division I recruit with offers from Eastern Washington and Portland State, is also a returning 1A Evergreen first-teamer and was a 2A SPSL second-team selection as a sophomore.
Eatonville also returns last season’s team leader in all-purpose yards and total touchdowns in Army commit Job Kralik, a two-time first-team wide receiver in the 1A Evergreen and 2A SPSL, as well as its leading rusher in junior Dylan Norman.
The Cruisers bring back seven total starters — including six on offense — from their 2021 team, and a group that has played much of their football careers together.
“It’s awesome,” Cox said. “I’ve been playing with most of the guys since I was a kid. So, being able to grow up with them coming to games when we were younger, and now we’re the ones playing, it’s really special and I’m really excited to be a part of the team.”
Eatonville’s senior class enters the fall with a 24-7 record the past three seasons, which has included a share of the 2A SPSL title in the shortened spring season in 2021, last year’s 1A Evergreen championship and back-to-back trips to the state playoffs.
The Cruisers advanced to the first round in 2A in 2019 before losing to Prosser. The 2020 season was pushed to the following spring and the postseason canceled. Then, they made their run to the 1A title game last fall. They will look to end this season at the top of that bracket.
“We’ve been working really hard,” Pero said. “COVID year, couldn’t go to state. Last year we made it there, didn’t finish what we wanted to do. But, this year, it’s really cool to have that chance and opportunity to get back to it.”
The Cruisers know what it will take to return to the state playoffs, and challenge again for a state title, but in the weeks ahead have nine regular season contests on the schedule in front of them.
They open a set of four consecutive nonleague games Thursday, when they host Olympic, and also play Orting, Cascade Christian and Bellevue Christian in September.
Eatonville then plays league rivals Tenino and Montesano — which also both advanced to the 1A state playoffs last season — in consecutive weeks before traveling to W.F. West, which played in the 2A state bracket last fall, midway through October.
The program wraps up its league season against Elma and Hoquiam before the playoffs begin in November.
For now, though, the Cruisers are focused on Week 1, and then the opponent scheduled each week after, as they look to be in position to make a run when the postseason does arrive.
“That’s the ultimate goal,” Cox said of the chance to compete for a state championship again this fall. “But, obviously we have some tough games throughout the season, so I’m kind of taking it one game at a time.”
“Nothing is guaranteed,” Lewis said. “So, you obviously don’t want to think too far ahead, but our goal is definitely to get back there.”
