Under Jason Ronquillo, Yelm one win away from first semifinal appearance in school history
A few years ago at a road game against Gig Harbor, Yelm’s football team was greeted to John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” blaring on the speakers at Roy Anderson Field during pregame warmups.
Hearing hick and redneck jokes was nothing new for Yelm’s players, who used it as motivation, going on to win the game against the Tides that year. In those days, Yelm was a program on the rise under coach Jason Ronquillo, who was midway through his decade-long tenure coaching the Tornados.
This year, Yelm is the No. 1 ranked 3A team in the state and is one win away from reaching the state tournament semifinal round for the first time in school history. Yelm plays Kennewick on Saturday afternoon at home in the state quarterfinals.
And after wins at home, Yelm’s players run over to the student section to sing a joyful rendition of their favorite song, one they’ve claimed as their own since that night in Gig Harbor several years ago.
“Almost heaven, West Virginia…”
Every insult, every slight, every perceived piece of disrespect — Yelm’s players remember every single one of them. Everything is fuel for the fire, a chip on their shoulder, motivation to prove people wrong. They save the receipts.
It wasn’t too long ago that the school in Thurston County, off the beaten path to the southeast of Olympia, wasn’t taken seriously in football circles. When Jason Ronquillo arrived in 2013, Yelm was viewed as a pushover, not having made the state tournament since 1987.
“Growing up here, we weren’t always the greatest,” said senior receiver and Portland State commit Kyler Ronquillo, Jason’s son. “You see that and it makes you upset, you want to be respected and known as one of those top dogs.”
‘STEADY CLIMB’ FOR RONQUILLO’S PROGRAM
Jason Ronquillo grew up in the Tri-Cities, attending Kennewick High School before transferring to Pasco and going on to play receiver at Central Washington University. He ended up near the coast, coaching as an assistant at Aberdeen and then Hoquiam, where he became the head coach for six seasons.
Ronquillo’s wife was from that area, but the family didn’t view it as a long-term home, hoping to wind up somewhere closer to Interstate 5. When the Yelm job came open, Ronquillo toured the school, liked what he saw and applied.
Yelm was playing in the Class 4A Narrows League when Ronquillo arrived, coaching the football team and working in the weight room during the day as the school’s strength teacher. With no recent track record of success, Ronquillo had his work cut out for him.
“It was tough,” he said. “We had a team of 50 athletes. When you’re in 4A and only have 50 kids to work with, we were super thin.”
The numbers steadily crept up year after year and the wins followed. After back-to-back 5-5 seasons with 2015 and 2016, Yelm won six games in 2017, eight in 2018, seven in 2019, and went 6-0 during the covid-shortened spring season of 2021. Last fall, Yelm went 10-1, losing only to Marysville-Pilchuck in the state tournament quarterfinals. This season, Yelm is 11-0.
“Absolute steady progress,” Ronquillo said. “You try to make sure the men are in place, the athletes are in place, the offseason is in place, the in-season’s in place.”
There are many reasons Yelm finds itself where it is today. A couple notable ones: dedication to the weight room and Ronquillo’s emphasis on relationship building. Ronquillo remembers going to a winter basketball game during his first year at Yelm.
“At any school this size, there’s athletes walking around campus,” he said. “I see all these studs playing basketball and I’m like, ‘You need to be playing football for me.’ But they’re not going to do that unless there’s a relationship first. So being in the school, being a teacher, being the strength coach at the school, that has really helped the program a lot.”
Take for example offensive coordinator Bryan Irion, who has been coaching alongside Ronquillo for the past eight years. Prior to that, he played for Ronquillo at Hoquiam. Yelm’s c-team coaching staff is comprised entirely of Yelm graduates. The community aspect is important to Ronquillo’s coaching philosophy. He is meticulous in everything he does.
“Complete oversight, every detail, everything is accounted for,” Irion said. “He’s always willing to learn and grow and develop all of his coaches. I think he takes the time in the offseason to develop everyone from the freshman coaches all the way up to the varsity.
“I think he understands that he needs everyone to be successful, especially in a town like Yelm that’s not traditionally a football powerhouse.”
Ronquillo, who coaches with an edge that trickles down to his team, demands a lot from his coaching staff. Yelm’s offense has been the best in the state in 3A this year, averaging 55.6 points per game game through 11 weeks, the only program in the state that has eclipsed 600 points this season, with 612 at this point. Despite humming along and putting up huge numbers all season, Irion will receive texts from Ronquillo about what the offense needs to do better.
“I’m like, ‘Are you messing with me right now?’ Irion said, laughing. “He’s like, ‘No, we need to do this better.’ I’m like alright, you’re gonna piss me off this week but we’re gonna do it. Keeping everyone just, never being satisfied. I think for us, we’ve never been to the semifinals, so he’s not letting us be satisfied with putting up 50 points in the first round.”
Kyler has a front-row seat to watching his dad work. And that’s what he’s always doing.
“He’s a workaholic,” Kyler said. “He’s always putting in work, coaching, teaching. He’s always working. He really wants it more than all these people out here.”
ONE WIN AWAY FROM A MILESTONE
The last time Yelm lost, besides last season’s state tournament loss to Marysville-Pilchuck, was all the way back in 2019. Coincidentally enough, that loss came at the hands of Kennewick in the state tournament.
That game was on the road. Kyler Ronquillo and senior linebacker Ray Wright played on that year’s team. They remember the disappointment after the overtime loss.
“It was so heartbreaking,” said Wright, a man of few words. “One of the first big losses as a freshman. … Coming into this feels like revenge.”
Jason Ronquillo has seen this special group coming for a long time, much of the core group of juniors and seniors playing together for Yelm’s feeder program since the fourth grade. A win over Kennewick would be a full-circle moment in many ways and would clinch a berth in the state semifinals for the first time in school history.
Of course, this is the state’s top-ranked team, and their ambitions lie beyond the semifinals.
“It means a lot for the community and program and it’s a big stepping stone,” Kyler Ronquillo said. “But it is a stepping stone, there’s a goal afterwards.”
