‘A new standard.’ White River football is 6-0 for the first time since 2004
Some coaches wait years to find their quarterback.
Wyatt Evenson found Chaz Strickland when he was in eighth grade.
In the spring of 2023, White River’s new head football coach attended three games at the local middle school, where Strickland was already playing with the poise of a veteran. Sure, he could make every throw. But what Evenson saw above all was a leader, admired by teammates and confident beyond his years.
“That’s going to be (our QB),” Evenson remembers thinking.
Within months, a new head coach and incoming freshman would embark on a daunting journey together — to turn a one-win Hornets program into a state contender. In 2022, White River beat Capital in Week 1, 21-20, before losing eight straight and discovering rock bottom. This was more than a rebuild; it was a revival.
The wins have followed Evenson to Buckley, and Strickland’s a big reason why. From his first days at White River, he’d visit his coach’s office with football-related questions on schematics, formations, and film study: “What do I have to do to understand this more?”
“As a 14-year-old? This kid can’t drive a car,” Evenson joked during Thursday’s practice at Arrow Lumber Stadium. “And I’m like, ‘OK, here’s depth of corner, number of safeties, flat side defense… He just breathes football. We’re a little too similar sometimes, which is good and bad.”
It’s a cliche response, Evenson admits, but the program’s turnaround began in the weight room. As a young nucleus strengthened, it learned what dedication to winning looks like. It was where young men could be family, could laugh, could be goofy, and be themselves. The passion for football trickled down.
“He set a new standard. A new everything,” Strickland said of his coach. “The seniors (and) their work ethic just grew and grew. They set a standard for us in the weight room, and I think that just made everyone better.”
White River went 4-6 in Evenson’s first season (2023), the program’s final year in the 2A SPSL. They rolled Foss by 40 points and went on to win three straight games over Fort Vancouver, Washington, and Fife.
After losses, some were brought to tears. They’d ask their new leader: “What can we do to make sure this doesn’t happen again?”
“Stick to it. Stick to the process,” he’d reply. “That was one of the times where I knew this group was going to be special.
“They hate to lose.”
Just like Evenson.
This fall, they haven’t.
White River is 6-0 for the first time since 2004. The Hornets have dismantled opponents by an average score of 46-4. The defense has allowed a total of 26 points, allowing double-digits just once, and Strickland is throwing for nearly 260 yards per game in his second year as QB1.
“Having (Evenson) as a coach coming in with a program that had one win, he really came in and held the same confidence that he had his whole life,” Strickland said. “That really brushed off on all of us to really push through losses.
“(He) just set a new standard on what this program should be.”
Strickland is the South Sound’s leader in passing touchdowns (24), completing 81 percent of his passes (104-for-128) and recording consecutive games with six touchdowns over Todd Beamer and Kentlake. It’s the byproduct of a seamless rapport with wide receiver Parker Fry, the area’s leader in receiving yards (637) who has secured 11 of Strickland’s touchdowns.
“Based on what the cornerback is doing, I know if I’m getting the ball or not,” Fry said. “I know where the ball is gonna go. Always knowing what (Chaz is) thinking… It’s special.”
Strickland trusts his No. 1 target “more than anything,” regardless of the defensive back guarding him. And though Fry is the primary beneficiary, he doesn’t see it that way.
“I try to just tune it out,” Fry said of the leaderboards and noise. “The stats go to me, but it’s attributed to the whole team. I couldn’t do it without Chaz throwing me the ball. I couldn’t do it without my O-Line blocking for me. I couldn’t do it without a good run game.
“I might have the stats, but really, it’s the whole team working.”
DEFENSE PAVING THE WAY
White River’s defense has surrendered just 26 total points in six games. They’ve pitched two shutouts and allowed exactly 10 points once. Of their six opponents, three have scored a touchdown.
“I’ve been on teams when I was younger, where I didn’t know what anyone else was going to do,” defensive end Palmer Beus said, the team’s leader in tackles (30), tackles for loss (15), and sacks (6.0). “But (here), I know what the kid next to me is going to do, and it definitely helps a lot to be able to trust them.”
Nine returning starters combined for their statement effort of the season in Week 6 — a shutout of high-flying Federal Way, 17-0. When a disciplined Eagles secondary muted the Hornets pass game, Strickland was more than willing to defer to Evenson’s inside run scheme that established the physicality in White River’s best win yet.
The Hornets feel overlooked, despite the unblemished 6-0 record. It placed a chip on their shoulders ahead of marquee matchups with Decatur (Oct. 24) and crosstown-rival Enumclaw (Oct. 31) that could decide the 3A NPSL title.
“We went in, we were 4-0 and we were blowing every team out, and nobody’s talking about us,” Fry said. “But we kind of just drown out the noise. We do our own thing at practice, just focus on ourselves. We take every game one week at a time and just do our own thing.”
Hornets senior Blake Bargelt has notched 10.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks alongside Beus on the defensive line, doubling as the bruising running back with seven touchdowns. Senior safety Ray Palmer has a team-high three interceptions with a fumble recovery, one of the sophomores who played meaningful minutes in Evenson’s first year. Senior Kovi Poulin, a defending second-team all-NPSL linebacker, has tallied 21 tackles (7.5 TFL), 2.5 sacks, and a pick.
“This school wasn’t really known for football,” Fry said. “And there’s definitely schools in this state that are known as football schools.
“Previously, this school has been kind of overlooked. This year, I think we’re really putting ourselves on the map, that we’re one of those football schools.”
