Drew Hatch knows exactly why he likes playing football.
“I like to be the one to hit people. I’m not the biggest person, I don’t like to get hit,” the Marysville Pilchuck linebacker said. “If I am running the ball, I’m not going to try to run and let you hit me, I’m going to try to hit you. There’s something I feel about hitting people, and it’s not in a violent way, but on the football field in the right mindset.”
Hatch did plenty of hitting in his TomahawkS career. He finished his senior year with 134 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and two forced fumbles while helping anchor a defense that, when its starters were in, allowed just 10 points per game this season, earning Hatch The Herald’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
“He’s a superior athlete,” Marysville Pilchuck head coach Brandon Carson said. “He’s one of the top wrestlers in the state. There’s not much from a linebacker position that he can’t do. He can cover you, blitz, chase you down. I think his quickness in diagnosing plays is probably his biggest strength. His ability to find a seam and hit it.”
Carson complemented nearly every aspect of Hatch’s game, including his ability to make tackles. However, there was one thing in particular that stood out to Carson.
“His greatest attribute is his ability to talk. He is talking all the time,” Carson said with a laugh. “He talks just to talk half the time. He’s always got questions. He’s always talking. He’s fun to be around, he really is. You put the good player aside, he’s just a good kid to be around.”
Football wasn’t always at the forefront of Hatch’s mind this season. Hatch was related to several victims of a shooting at the school on Oct. 24. The senior said going back to practice immediately after the tragedy was incredibly difficult.
“That week it was definitely hard. Not a lot of motivation to come back to those first practices. I almost didn’t suit up,” Hatch said. “I just couldn’t focus on anything. It was definitely hard at the beginning, but once we saw the community rallying for us – it was like, ‘We’ve got to do something about this.’ We’re not going to forget what happened but we’ve got to rally around it and help get everybody better.”
Hatch and the Tomahawks used football as a coping mechanism, and responded with a strong postseason run. In its first three playoff games, Marysville Pilchuck outscored its opponents 161-27, with the defensive starters allowing just one touchdown in three games.
The Tomahawks clinched their second-ever berth in the state semifinals, where they met nationally-ranked Bellevue, the six-time defending state champion.
Marysville Pilchuck battled with the Wolverines, before eventually falling 20-10 in Bellevue’s closest game since 2012. Hatch helped limit the Wolverine offense’s gains, and caught the Tomahawks’ lone touchdown pass.
When it comes to reflecting on his Marysville Pilchuck career, one game in particular stands out to Hatch: his last one.
“Well, that last game stood out,” Hatch said of the 3A state quarterfinal game against Bellevue. “Playing in the Tacoma Dome. It was fun. It was a great ride. I wouldn’t want to have played anywhere else. The friends I have on the team and the brothers I’ve accumulated over the years. It was a good run.”
This year’s Tomahawks were the closest team Hatch said he’s ever been a part of. He even dyed his hair along with teammate Killian Page.
Although, he admits he’s not incredibly fond of his current color.
“I’m not a big fan of the greenish-blue right now,” Hatch said. “I think I’m going to end up dying it back or a different color.”
Other coaches quickly took notice of Hatch, including Oak Harbor head coach Jay Turner. Turner’s Wildcats didn’t play the Tomahawks this season – the teams’ were scheduled to play Oct. 24 but the game was canceled because of the shooting and Oak Harbor gave Marysville Pilchuck the No. 1 seed and, essentially, the league championship.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to see him in person until the Bellevue game but the guy just makes plays,” Turner said. “He reads plays really quickly and he disrupts plays like crazy. He’s such a good high school football player. When you have a great football player he stands out on film and Hatch just does.”
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Hatch, who placed third at the state wrestling meet last season, wants to continue his football career at the next level. He’s not sure where he might go – he’s talked to a couple schools including Pacific Lutheran University, San Diego State and the University of Montana – but he does know what he wants to do.
“I’m not sure on a place yet but I want to play football in college,” Hatch said. “I want to get my degree in business and hopefully come back to the (Tulalip) Tribes and see what that can help me with.”
“He’s got the size and speed to play somewhere, and we’re working hard to find the place for him to play,” Carson said. “There’s a spot for him. He’s that good. He could play somewhere.”
More than anything, Hatch just hopes that Marysville Pilchuck fans know that the Tomahawk football team did all it could to help rally the community after a horrific tragedy.
“I hope that they just remember that we tried our hardest,” Hatch said. “We rallied for, not only ourselves and not only our coaches, but for everybody that needed it. We’re the ones that were trying to reach a hand out and do it for everybody. It’s just about the love aspect of it more than the football aspect of it.”
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