It started in fourth grade. Now Emerald Ridge on cusp of 4A state championship appearance
At football practice Tuesday afternoon, Emerald Ridge coach Adam Schakel pulled up a video on his phone. It’s his son, Jake, doing a video interview after a tournament in fourth grade. Nervous, hands fidgeting and trudging through responses with a high-pitched voice clearly belonging to a fourth-grader, Schakel was asked who he felt was the offensive MVP for his team that day.
“Uh, I don’t know his last name, but Tony,” Schakel says.
How about the MVP on the defense?
“Uh, I feel like Tony again — no, Gio!” he responds.
As Emerald Ridge gears up for its Class 4A state tournament semifinal game on Saturday against Kennedy Catholic, only one thing has changed: Schakel can tell you the first and last names of Tony Harste and Gio Kafentzis now. What hasn’t changed: the trio of juniors is still making plays for the Jaguars.
Schakel, the 4A SPSL co-offensive player of the year, has been one of the state’s best quarterbacks this fall. He has passed for 2,892 yards and 35 touchdowns this season. Harste has racked up 1,049 yards and 12 touchdowns and before exiting last weekend’s road upset over top-seeded Chiawana in Pasco last Saturday, Kafentzis had racked up 952 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns.
Pretty good production for three kids who met for the first time at a fourth-grade football tournament when a parent graciously signed the team up.
“I just knew from day one that we were just going to be in it together all the way till the end,” Schakel said. “Me, Gio and Tony, we’ve been in it together forever and I feel like we’re one of the best trios. … Just the connection we’ve had forever. You can’t really coach it up, it’s something you develop over the years.”
Watch an Emerald Ridge football game and spectators will see how true that statement rings. Especially to Harste — a 5-foot-11, 160-pound quick receiver — the ball is often out of Schakel’s hand before he even makes his break.
“It kind of started in 7 on 7,” Harste said. “You’d have a choice route. Wherever I see an opening in the defense, I shoot there. Jake kind of has to know where I’m going to go, so I think we’ve been doing that all throughout, all the way now through high school. So it’s almost second nature for him.”
Kafentzis’ injury has his status in doubt for Saturday’s semifinal game against Kennedy Catholic. But when he’s on the field, he’s a dynamic two-way threat.
“He’s as explosive of a player as I’ve coached,” Adam Schakel said. “He can jump out of the gym. 1on1, he’s a big problem. Strong, physical, aggressive. He’s really improved on his route running this year. Tremendous hands. He’s so good on both sides of the ball.”
Harste, meanwhile, is a smaller, craftier player who creates separation with quickness, elite route running and a thorough understanding of how defenses are playing against him.
“Tony is better in the underneath routes because he’s really quick,” Jake Schakel said. “And really smart, too.”
Harste sits in with Schakel in his quarterback meetings, dissecting film through the same lens as Schakel.
“A lot of times quarterbacks get the characteristic of ‘coach on the field.’ I’d say the same about Tony,” Adam Schakel said. “Super smart kid, understands grass, leverage, routes, how to set things up so he can be open.”
And of course, Jake Schakel has been the one orchestrating it all.
“The speed of his decision making — if that’s not there, he’s gonna throw it there,” Harste said. “Obviously, his pinpoint accuracy is killer. That definitely helps. If you’re covered, he can still put the ball on you and it’s a catch.”
They’ve racked up a lot of wins together, posting a 10-2 record this fall and have beaten Eastlake and Chiawana in the school’s first state tournament appearance. Could the Jaguars win the whole thing in their first try?
“Ever since fourth grade, we’ve been talking about making a state run,” Jake Schakel said. “It’s so awesome to see the program turning around. … It’s amazing to see the support we’ve gotten.”
Emerald Ridge plays Kennedy Catholic on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup. The winner will face the winner of the Lake Stevens vs. Graham-Kapowsin semifinal game in the state championship game the following weekend.
This story was originally published November 24, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
