Sumner, Enumclaw both in football state quarterfinals. Their coaches’ careers, lives intertwine
Two South Sound high school football programs separated by less than 15 miles along State Route 410 have advanced to the state quarterfinals this weekend.
Sumner, the No. 3 seed in the Class 4A bracket, is set to host a 4A South Puget Sound League rival and the defending 4A state champion in No. 6 Graham-Kapowsin, in what sets up to be another thrilling clash in the series Friday night.
Enumclaw, the No. 4 seed in the 2A bracket, will welcome No. 5 Othello the following afternoon, with an opportunity to keep a convincing undefeated run moving ahead.
The Spartans will play for their first trip to the state semifinals since 2017, and the Hornets for their first appearance in the semifinals in school history.
Two longtime coaches in the area — Keith Ross, now in his 22nd season as Sumner’s head coach, and Mark Gunderson, in his 11th season at Enumclaw — will look to lead them there.
But, there’s much more to the connection between the two coaches than a chance for both to advance in their respective state brackets this week.
Ross played high school football at Enumclaw, when Mark’s father, the late Gordy Gunderson, coached there, and Mark was a ball boy for the program.
Ross later returned to his his high school as an assistant coach following his college career at Central Washington.
Then, when Ross later joined Sumner’s staff, there was a familiar name on the roster — Mark Gunderson was beginning his junior season with the Spartans.
“Right then and there I just thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this is cool.’ His dad coached me, and now I have a chance to impact his life,” Ross said.
Ross, then Sumner’s defensive coordinator, coached Gunderson his final two seasons playing for the Spartans, and kept up with Gunderson’s career at PLU in the years that followed.
Like Ross, Gunderson later returned to coach alongside his former coach, joining Sumner’s defensive staff for two seasons after college.
Gunderson also coached as an assistant at more programs in the Puget Sound area before Enumclaw’s head coaching job opened up and he was hired ahead of the 2012 season.
“I don’t think that there was anybody more excited than Coach Ross,” Gunderson said.
In the years since, Ross’s connection to Enumclaw and Gunderson’s to Sumner has remained.
Ross even gave Gunderson his Enumclaw jersey from his high school playing days, which Gunderson has since displayed on a wall in the Hornets’ locker room, along with Gordy Gunderson’s and others.
“My junior year, I was No. 12 at Sumner, and he was No. 12 at Enumclaw. My dad was also No. 12 at Enumclaw,” Gunderson said. “So, that was kind of a cool thing. He gave me his jersey. I always held onto it.”
The two coaches have also made time to attend each other’s games, and reach out to talk football strategy often.
“It’s fun to just talk about that stuff with somebody that you played for and coached for, and have such a strong relationship with even separate of football,” Gunderson said.
Gunderson said Ross has “kind of been like my football dad for a long time.”
“It’s just a special relationship,” Ross said. “ … I’m his biggest fan. I’m super proud of him.”
Gunderson is “all about toughness, and character and working hard,” Ross said. Which are characteristics Ross also shares. Ross has installed “so much just grit and toughness,” and Gunderson said he has always looked up to the way Ross has built positive relationships.
“When you have a coach that you want to run through a wall for like we did as players for Coach Ross, you want to be that for your players,” Gunderson said.
BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESS
Like Ross at Sumner, Gunderson has spent his years at Enumclaw building a consistently successful program — and this fall, the work has resulted in both teams reaching the final eight.
“I can’t say enough about the impact that he’s had on me as a person first, and then a coach obviously second,” Gunderson said. “And to just have that relationship, and then where we both are, I don’t think it’s a coincidence.
“I think that this is a hard job. … But, when you do it the right way, and you treat people the right way — coaches, players — these kind of things happen. You get to play a little bit longer, and it sure is fun.”
Both programs have made convincing runs to reach this stage.
Following a slower-than-expected start, which included their only regular season loss back in Week 3, the Spartans (10-1) have posted eight consecutive victories. They also secured their first 4A SPSL title since 2016, and in the past two weeks, have routed their first two postseason opponents in Kentridge (56-12 in the district round) and Woodinville (31-0 in the state first round).
Enumclaw (11-0) opened the season with a pair of wins over 3A programs, rolled through its 2A SPSL schedule on the way to an undefeated league championship and has piled up 569 points this season — the most of any team in 2A. The Hornets have posted convincing shutouts in their first two postseason contests against Lindbergh (56-0 in the district round) and Olympic (55-0 in the state first round).
The impressive seasons this fall add to the continued success both programs have built through the years.
In more than two decades leading Sumner, Ross has compiled a 141-80 record, and guided the Spartans to the state playoffs eight times in the past 10 tournaments, including the past two.
Gunderson has a 70-39 record in more than a decade with the Hornets, who are also playing in the state bracket for a second consecutive season.
FOR NOW, ROSS HAS BRAGGING RIGHTS IN HEAD-TO-HEAD MEETINGS
Three times during their head coaching careers, the two have lined up on opposite sidelines — twice in regular season contests as 3A South Puget Sound League rivals, and once more in a mini-tiebreaker game. Gunderson remembers that first matchup back in 2014.
“I get amped for games, but not really nervous,” he said. “I was nervous, man. I wanted our team to play so good, because I know that he coached us up well, and I want to do that for my guys.”
Enumclaw led early in the contest, but Sumner eventually won the game, paced by Connor Wedington, who rushed for three touchdowns in the contest as a sophomore. The Spartans also won the mini-tiebreaker against the Hornets later that season to advance to the playoffs.
The following September, Wedington — who was named TNT All-Area player of the year his senior season — and Josh Riley had big rushing performances to lead Sumner to another win.
That was the most recent meeting between the two programs, which have moved to separate leagues and classifications since.
Much more often through the years, though, Ross and Gunderson have had opportunities to attend each other’s games as fans.
They have another opportunity to this weekend in the quarterfinals. Sumner hosts Graham-Kapowsin at 7 p.m. Friday at Sunset Chev Stadium, then Enumclaw hosts Othello at 3 p.m. Saturday at Pete’s Pool.
“My alma mater, his alma mater, and both still going,” Ross said. “It’s pretty cool. ... It’s a pretty cool story.”
A story the two coaches get to continue to share this weekend.
“In football, we talk to our kids a lot about how it’s a family, and I think that this is one of those examples of — look at what sports do for people,” Gunderson said. “So, pretty special deal.”
