Top performers, highlights from the high school football state championships in Washington
The high school football concluded Saturday with six championship games hosted at three sites around the South Sound.
Here’s a bracket-by-bracket glance at the highlights from the title games in each classification.
CLASS 4A
CHAMPIONSHIP SCORE
No. 2 Lake Stevens 24, No. 4 Kennedy Catholic 22
GAME-WINNING DRIVE
Kicker Macray Flanders gave Lake Stevens the decisive lead in a back-and-forth contest with 5:13 remaining on a 22-yard field goal. Clinging to a one-point lead in the fourth quarter, Kennedy Catholic turned the ball over on downs at midfield with 8:34 left, and the Vikings drove as far as the Lancers 5 before Flanders connected on what turned out to be the game-winning kick on fourth-and-2. Lake Stevens’ defense forced a punt and a turnover on downs on the Lancers’ final two possessions to help close out the win.
TOP PERFORMERS
RB/LB Xe’ree Alexander, Kennedy Catholic, sr.
213 all-purpose yards; 14 carries, 45 yards, TD; three catches, 45 yards; 64-yard fumble recovery TD; caused fumble; blocked field goal attempt; 2-pt conversion run
RB/LB Jayden Limar, Lake Stevens, sr.
33 carries, 185 yards, TD
QB Kolton Matson, Lake Stevens, soph.
14-of-25 passing, 182 yards, 2 TDs
DID YOU KNOW?
▪ Lake Stevens secured the first state title in program history with Saturday’s win, finally lifting the championship trophy after finishing runner-up in its first four appearances in 1985, 1994, 2018 and 2021. The Vikings are the first Snohomish County program to win a state title since Archbishop Murphy won its most recent 2A title in 2016, and the first team to claim the 4A crown since Cascade of Everett in 1991.
▪ Notre Dame commit Jayden Limar piled up a game-high 185 rushing yards and an early touchdown in the title game win, finishing a stellar senior season with 2,018 yards and 36 scores on 235 rushing attempts.
CLASS 3A
CHAMPIONSHIP SCORE
No. 1 Yelm 20, No. 2 Eastside Catholic 13
GAME-WINNING DRIVE
Trailing by one point late in the fourth quarter, Yelm got the ball back with 3:14 to play and efficiently drove toward midfield. The Tornados picked up 26 yards on the first five plays of the possession, including converting a pivotal fourth-and-1 with a 2-yard run from Brayden Platt. The next play, Kyler Ronquillo scored an incredible touchdown, lifting Yelm to the win. Tornados quarterback Damian Aalona tossed a long pass toward the left sideline, which an Eastside Catholic defender hauled in for an apparent interception — until Ronquillo snatched the ball away at the 28-yard line and sprinted into the end zone for the go-ahead score. Yelm converted the two-point try to push the lead to 20-13, and Platt caught a game-sealing interception with eight seconds left on Eastside Catholic’s ensuing drive to close out the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS
QB Damian Aalona, Yelm, jr.
16-of-27 passing, 249 yards, 3 TDs
WR/DB Kyler Ronquillo, Yelm, sr.
196 all-purpose yards; seven carries, 53 yards; eight catches, 117 yards, TD
RB/LB Brayden Platt, Yelm, jr.
15 carries, 66 yards; INT
DID YOU KNOW?
▪ The win over Eastside Catholic lifted the Tornados to the first state title in program history in their first appearance in the championship game. Yelm also completed a perfect 14-0 season with the win, and led the 3A classification in both scoring average (49.7 points per game) and fewest points allowed per game (10.7).
▪ Yelm is the fourth Thurston County program to win a state title. Tumwater (2019, 2010, 1993, 1990, 1989, 1987) and Capital (1998, 1996) have each won multiple state championships, while Olympia (1984) has won one.
CLASS 2A
CHAMPIONSHIP SCORE
No. 1 Lynden 31, No. 3 North Kitsap 24
GAME-WINNING DRIVE
After North Kitsap tied the game at 24-24 on a 5-yard connection between Cole Edwards and Benen Lawler with 9:27 remaining, Lynden responded with a drive that took the next 8:27 off the clock. Lions quarterback Brant Heppner scored the game-winner on a 1-yard rushing touchdown with one minute to play, and Lynden recovered a fumble on North Kitsap’s ensuing drive to close out a second consecutive 2A title game win.
TOP PERFORMERS
QB/DB Brant Heppner, Lynden, soph.
15-of-21 passing, 176 yards; 3 rushing TDs
RB/DB Benen Lawler, North Kitsap, sr.
2 rushing TDs; receiving TD
WR/DB/K Troy Petz, Lynden, sr.
70-yard blocked field goal return TD; 23-yard field goal
DID YOU KNOW?
▪ Lynden completed back-to-back 2A state championship runs with Saturday’s victory, and finished the season a perfect 13-0. The Lions now have 10 state titles in their program history.
▪ Lynden was the only program to score 30-plus points against the Vikings this season. North Kitsap allowed only 101 points through 14 games this season, leading all classifications in fewest points allowed per contest at 7.2.
CLASS 1A
CHAMPIONSHIP SCORE
No. 1 Royal 35, No. 10 Mount Baker 20
GAME-WINNING DRIVE
Royal and Mount Baker were tied at 14-14 entering the fourth, but the Knights scored the game-winner 21 seconds into the final quarter, and added two more touchdowns after that before Mount Baker answered, eventually securing their third consecutive 1A championship with a 15-point win. Royal quarterback Dylan Allred connected with Lance Allred for a 6-yard touchdown at the 11:39 mark to make it 21-14, and Dylan Allred followed up with two more scores on a 4-yard pass to Bennett Brown and a 5-yard run to push the lead as high as 35-14 before Mount Baker added another touchdown late.
TOP PERFORMERS
QB/RB Dylan Allred, Royal, sr.
16-of-26 passing, 194 yards, 4 TDs; 10 carries, 84 yards, TD; 9 tackles, TFL, sack
WR/DB Edgar Delarosa, Royal, sr.
8 catches, 73 yards, TD; 3 tackles, INT
RB/LB Marcques George, Mount Baker, sr.
25 carries, 248 yards, 2 TDs
DID YOU KNOW?
▪ Royal has topped the 1A bracket each of the past three seasons the state playoffs have been played — in 2019, 2021 and now 2022. This season’s championship is the 11th in program history.
▪ Mount Baker running back Marcques George set a 1A championship game record with 248 rushing yards in the loss to Royal. That reset the record previously held by Archbishop Murphy’s Jevon Butler (227 yards) in a title game win over Royal in 2002.
CLASS 2B
CHAMPIONSHIP SCORE
No. 1 Napavine 41, No. 2 Okanogan 27
GAME-WINNING DRIVE
Trailing 21-14 entering halftime, Napavine put up a 20-point third quarter as part of an eventual two-touchdown victory. Tigers quarterback Ashton Demarest connected with Colin Shields for a 40-yard touchdown to tie the game less than a minute into the third, and Karsen Denault returned a punt 76 yards for what turned out to be the decisive score with 8:27 left in the quarter. Max O’Neill added a 31-yard touchdown run for Napavine not long after. Okanogan responded with a 5-yard touchdown run from Johnny Swartsel before the quarter ran out, but Napavine shut the Bulldogs out in the fourth, and added one more touchdown on a 35-yard pass from Demarest to Denault to push the lead back to two possessions.
TOP PERFORMERS
QB/DB Ashton Demarest, Napavine, jr.
10-of-24 passing, 189 yards, 2 TDs; 14 carries, 75 yards, TD
WR/DB Karsen Denault, Napavine, soph.
3 catches, 82 yards, TD; 76-yard punt return TD
RB/LB Johnny Swartsel, Okanogan, sr.
25 carries, 195 yards, 3 TDs
DID YOU KNOW?
▪ Napavine completed a perfect 13-0 season with Saturday’s win, and added a fourth state title to its program history in its eighth championship appearance. The Tigers also won championships in 2016, 2008 and 1976.
▪ This was the third 2B championship game meeting between Napavine and Okanogan, and first win for the Tigers. Okanogan won the first two matchups in the title game in 2014 and 2015.
CLASS 1B
CHAMPIONSHIP SCORE
No. 5 Liberty Bell 50, No. 2 Neah Bay 12
GAME-WINNING DRIVE
Liberty Bell and Neah Bay were locked in a scoreless tie at the end of the first quarter. The score was tied at 6-6 entering the break. Then, the Mountain Lions rattled off six touchdowns in the second half to Neah Bay’s one, eventually running away with the first championship win in program history. A 3-yard rushing score from Remington Paz with 9:51 left in the third quarter gave the Mountain Lions a lead they never lost, but Liberty Bell tacked on five more touchdowns after that, including a 92-yard interception return for a touchdown from Paz, a pair of rushing scores from Merek Johnson, a long touchdown run from quarterback Riley Lidey and a scoring toss to Beau Tanguy.
TOP PERFORMERS
QB/DB Riley Lidey, Liberty Bell, sr.
9-of-17 passing, 163 yards, TD; 13 carries, 97 yards, TD; 8 tackles, 3 pass break-ups; 3 2-pt conversion passes
RB/DB Lucien Paz, Liberty Bell, soph.
Rushing TD; INT, fumble recovery; 2-pt conversion catch
RB/DB Remington Paz, Liberty Bell, fr.
7 carries, 38 yards, TD; 3 catches, 73 yards; 6 tackles, 2 TFL, 92-yard INT return TD
DID YOU KNOW?
▪ Liberty Bell’s rout of Neah Bay in the championship game lifted the Mountain Lions to the first state title in program history in their first appearance in the final. Liberty Bell shut out Muckleshoot Tribal (62-0) in the opening round, then posted three consecutive upsets wins over No. 4 Mossyrock (54-20) in the quarterfinals, No. 1 Odessa (70-24) in the semifinals and Neah Bay in the final to secure the 1B trophy.
▪ The Mountain Lions are the second No. 5 seed — joining Colville, which won the 1A title in 2018 — to win a title since the state committee started seeding the brackets in 2018. No team seeded lower than No. 5 has won a championship in this era.
