‘Compete for our brothers.’ Undefeated Cascade Christian football built to last
If you’re wondering where Tayven Collins dominates a football field, it’s easier to list where he doesn’t.
Cascade Christian’s Swiss Army knife is a three-star recruit, a 5-foot-11, 192-pound junior already with Division-I offers from BYU, Nevada, and others. Projected as a safety at the next level, the flashes of all-around potential blossomed in 2024 when Collins ranked second on Cougars passing, rushing, and receiving leaderboards — but what unfolded last Saturday at Sumner’s Sunset Chev Stadium was something the Cougars faithful may never see again.
Ready for one of the wilder stat lines the South Sound has ever seen? In Cascade Christian’s 49-7 win over Klahowya, Collins rushed for 37 yards and a touchdown, adding a six-yard touchdown pass as backup quarterback. At his natural position on defense, he tackled five (1 TFL) with a sack. He caught an interception. And on special teams, Collins punctuated an absurd performance in the game’s third phase with a field goal block and 138 return yards on two Klahowya kickoffs.
All in one game.
“(Tayven’s) one of my best friends,” Cougars safety Caleb Donahue said.
“He’s also one of the best football players I’ve ever played with.”
Collins isn’t playing for stats. At Cascade Christian, he’s playing for something greater.
For the first time since 2019, the Cougars are 8-0. Collins headlines a young nucleus on the rise, again in the upper echelon of 1A contenders. Cascade Christian seeks a third state title after capturing first-place trophies in 2010 and 2014.
They start a freshman quarterback emerging as the future and the present. Their lead rusher (and sack leader) is a sophomore, as is their leading tackler. Of their four top receivers, only Chace Jenkins graduates in 2026.
“We all want to play for each other,” Collins said. “We don’t just want to win for our stats, or for the name of it. We want to compete for our brothers.”
‘CEREBRAL’ NORLING THRIVING UNDER CENTER
Who was Cascade Christian’s starting quarterback on their first day of practice? You guessed it — Tayven Collins.
But head coach Devin Snyder knew the best version of his program featured a 14-year-old freshman at quarterback and Collins everywhere else.
When Collins attended a college camp on Day 1 of August practices, the door opened for Cordae Norling, who took Cascade Christian’s first-team reps at signal-caller by Day 2. The rest is history.
“We just never looked back after that,” Snyder said. “(Cordae) earned it. He was a leader naturally as a freshman. Of course, his understanding of the game through years of being around it, he just was a natural fit there. It allowed us to use Tayven where he’s best, giving him the ball creatively.”
Norling has answered the call, providing Snyder his best-case scenario as 1A’s leading passer. The freshman quarterback has tossed 21 touchdowns through eight career games in 2025, projected to eclipse the 2,000-yard passing mark in Week 9. Collins has thrown four more touchdowns on just 13 pass attempts — also with nine scrimmage scores, three sacks, and four interceptions.
“(Cordae’s) very, very cerebral,” Snyder said. “He’s been around the game since he was six, seven years old. He’s always had great coaching and great mentors in his life. Coming out here, his football IQ’s off the charts for a 14-year-old. He turned 14 in July. He really could be in eighth grade right now.
“He’s going to throw that ball a mile when he’s a senior. Right now, he just knows where to put it. As he gets bigger and stronger, he’s just going to become one of the best quarterbacks in the state.”
Even sweeter? Collins is one of several beneficiaries on the perimeter, averaging over 15 yards per catch.
“The way (Cordae) reads the field… he’s such a smart guy,” he said. “He’s so young and has so much more to go. But it’s the receivers, too. Josiah Laurence and Chace Jenkins and Caleb Donahue are getting open for him to make those kinds of throws.”
Perhaps Collins omitted his own name because he’s defined more as a football player than a receiver. Either way, it’s a subtle nod to the leadership role Cascade Christian’s standout has embraced in Year 3.
Snyder remembers when Collins left last year’s 1A state opener early due to injury, an eventual 40-14 loss to Lynden Christian. He remembers his sulking sideline as if everyone had asked themselves: “What are we going to do without Tayven?”
“This year, he has brought confidence to all players on the team,” Snyder said. “If Tayven needs to come off the field to get a break, everybody says ‘My turn. I can step up. I’m ready.’
“Honestly, if you could give a guy Most Improved, it’s probably Tayven — not as a football player, but as a leader. He commands the huddle. He gets everybody dialed in during film time, weight room, whatever it is. He loves his guys and he plays hard for them so they want to play hard for him. It shows every day at practice. He’s definitely that alpha-male on our team.”
THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT
Snyder coaches Cascade Christian’s junior high football team in the spring.
It explains why the coaching staff has anticipated Donovan Walson’s breakthrough in the Cougars offense since 2022.
The powerful, shifty runner split varsity carries with Casper Appleman as a freshman in 2024. And however you define a sophomore slump, Walson has accomplished the opposite — rushing for a career-high 242 yards over Annie Wright in Week 7 with eight touchdowns and more than 10 yards per carry this fall. A two-way RB/LB, Cascade Christian’s sack leader (seven) has tackled 10 for a loss, blocked a field goal, and recovered a fumble.
“We slowly built a relationship with each other, one we haven’t had in years,” Walson said. “We could trust each other. We’ve just been going out there, taking care of business, and doing our thing.”
Donahue, a junior, has eclipsed 40+ receiving yards in four of his last five games. MLB/TE Asher Floyd has tackled a team-high 92 with three sacks and two receiving touchdowns. Cougars receivers Chace Jenkins (36-641-6) and Josiah Laurence (32-628-7) have cemented themselves as Norling’s top targets, a balanced attack with Walson operating as the featured back.
“We have a lot of starting freshmen on this team, and so it was really big growing that bond and getting that connection,” Donahue said. “Once it clicked, we became unstoppable.”
And Snyder directs it all, a Cougars football alum current players want to win for.
“He’s one of my No. 1 mentors in life, in general,” Donahue said. “He has a great leading aspect to bring the whole team together. People just want to play for him. We talk a lot throughout the season about playing for your brothers, and (the) fact that this could be your last game with your brother as a team. We just want to play for him because he puts so much into it.”
1A NISQUALLY CHAMPIONSHIP ON DECK
The Cougars visit Lakewood’s Harry E. Lang Stadium for Saturday night’s 1A Nisqually Championship with Life Christian Academy. Cascade Christian seeks their second league title in three years before the district playoffs begin in Week 10.
“(A win) would be great. We want state, though,” Collins said. “We don’t just want league championships. We want to go all the way.
“We practice with a nameless, faceless opponent, is what Coach (Snyder) says. We don’t look at our opponent. We’re focused on ourselves and focused on getting better.”
The host Eagles opened their schedule with three straight losses to non-league opponents (Orting, Nooksack Valley, Yelm) before finding their form, victorious in four of their last five contests and undefeated against 1A Nisqually rivals. Can the Cougars disrupt Life Christian’s dual-threat QB Jabez Boyd and roll into the postseason with momentum?
A win would match Cascade Christian’s 9-0 start in 2019, their best streak to open a season since 2016 (10W).
“What we’re looking at: How long can we play together? We want to drag this out and be able to keep the bond and the brotherhood going,” Snyder said. “We’re not ready to start getting ready for basketball and wrestling. Let’s keep the cleats on and drag this out as long as we can.”
