Football is finally back, which means it’s time for The Herald’s 2025 Wesco 4A football preview, including a coaches poll and specific team information.
COACHES POLL
The predicted order of finish, as voted on by the league’s coaches. Included is the average placing for each team with the number of first-place votes in parentheses.
1. Lake Stevens (4) – 1.0
2. Glacier Peak (1) – 1.75
3. Arlington – 2.5
4. Jackson – 3.75
5. Kamiak – 3.8
6. Cascade – 5.5
7. Mariner – 5.6
NOTE: Coaches weren’t allowed to vote for their own teams. Mariner and Kamiak chose not to vote. All other coaches fully participated in the voting.
ARLINGTON
Last season: 10-2 overall, 5-1 in Wesco 4A
Coach: Greg Dailer (18th season)
Offense: Spread
Defense: 3-3 Stack
Returning starters: 3 offense, 2 defense
Key players: Kaleb Bartlett-Wood, sr. QB; Jace Graham, sr., LB/RB; Eli Rae, sr., WR/DB; Colton Hermans, sr., OL/DL; Miles Ecker, sr., OL/DL; Tanner Van Dongen, jr., OL/DL; Dirci Ngondo, sr., RB/OLB.
Overview: After a dominant 2023 season in which they went 11-1 and won Wesco 3A North with a 7-0 league record, the Eagles didn’t miss a step once they moved up to Wesco 4A in 2024, where they finished second in the league and reached the 4A state quarterfinals. The Eagles boasted six players in the 2024 All-Wesco First Team, including The Herald’s All-Area Offensive Player of the Year Leyton Martin, but none are returning to this year’s team. With all those key departures and Bartlett-Wood taking over at quarterback, the Eagles plan to lean into the run game behind a more-experienced offensive line.
“We have our two starting tackles from last year, so that experience is really important,” Dailer said. “And then our other three guys are really strong. (It’s) a really good group, so it’s nice for a first-year starting quarterback to have a run game, and I think that’s where we’re going to hang our hat at the beginning of the year. Be able to run the ball, take care of the ball, and play great defense.”
The players on the 2025 roster can sense people have lower expectations for the program this season given the overhaul, but they hope to prove doubters wrong.
“I would say just not to count us out,” Rae said. “I think we’re gonna be a lot better than what people think, and that everyone should be ready. May not start out great Week 1, but I still think we’re gonna be a contender in the league, that we always are.”
Arlington squares off with Sedro-Woolley at 7 p.m. on Friday.
CASCADE
Last season: 4-6 overall, 1-6 in Wesco 4A
Coach: Joe Rue (2nd season as head coach, seventh season at Cascade)
Offense: Spread
Defense: 3-3-5
Returning starters: 2 offense, 2 defense
Key players: Mason Nelson, sr., OL/DL; Steven Wilson, sr., OL/DL; Alex Sayavong, sr., K; Jayden Hill, jr., WR/DB; Riley Ivey, jr., RB/OLB; Grayson Henry, so., WR/DB; Ryan Kraemer, so., WR/DB; Luke Seelbach, so., WR/DB.
Overview: Once he had his first season at the helm under his belt, Rue got to work molding the program towards a better future. Between hosting 5 a.m. workouts since January and changing the defensive scheme from a 4-2-5 to a 3-3-5 to better fit the athletes on the roster, the Bruins are hoping for improved results this season. The team lost several All-Wesco players from last season, but Rue believes the whole will be greater than the sum of its parts when it comes to the 2025 roster.
“We’ve got a lot of kids committed,” Rue said. “At this point last year, we had more physical talent, probably overall, but right now, we’re a more cohesive unit, which is really awesome to see.”
Despite the cohesion, the Bruins will be rolling with a smaller roster — around 50 players total across all levels of the program — which will make health a big factor this season. While everyone on the varsity roster will have more chances to get on the field and master the playbook, a thin depth chart will pose its issues.
“Someone may go down, and you only have like, one guy behind you or two,” junior offensive/defensive lineman Jibran Munive said. “I feel like that’s going to be a really (big) challenge, but I feel like we can overcome it, for sure, by exposing people to new positions and just switching them around.”
Cascade hosts Mountlake Terrace at 5 p.m. on Friday.
GLACIER PEAK
Last season: 8-2 overall, 5-1 in Wesco 4A
Coach: Shane Keck (7th season)
Offense: Power Spread
Defense: 3-4
Returning starters: 5 offense, 9 offense
Key players: Dan Chapman, sr., OL/DL; Isaiah Owens, sr., RB/DB; Luke Fullerton, sr., WR/LB; Michael Darling, sr., WR/DB; Isaiah Olson, sr., WR/DB; Noah Green, sr., DL/TE; Kevin Bonshe, sr., WR/DB.
Overview: With more returning starters than any other team in the league — including seven All-Wesco selections — the Grizzlies feel confident that they can pick up where they left off last season and get a jump on teams dealing with more personnel changes early in the season. The team focused more on refining the existing playbook this offseason than installing new things. As a result, Keck believes the team is further along than ever, especially on defense.
“We’ve gone through, I think, basically all of our plays and installed them through fall camp and spring camp,” senior linebacker/offensive lineman James Jenkins said. “Last year, we were installing them throughout Week 1, 2 and 3, but I think because all of us are mostly returning, it just helps.”
That deeper understanding and growing cohesion in the group has also bred a deeper sense of accountability. Without having to learn a new scheme, the players can focus on correcting mistakes and emphasizing good habits, for themselves and their teammates.
“These guys aren’t afraid to call each other out,” Keck said. “They’re not afraid to challenge the next guy, and I think part of that is, how does the other guy receive it? That talks a lot about your culture. Is there a resistance to that, or is there ownership in, ‘Hey, I’m not doing my part,’ and I think that’s where the maturity of this group shows up.”
Glacier Peak travels to Juanita for a 7 p.m. game on Friday.
JACKSON
Last season: 6-4 overall, 3-3 in Wesco 4A
Coach: Mason Siddick (7th season)
Offense: Spread
Defense: 3-4
Returning starters: 4 offense, 3 defense
Key players: Seamus Williams, sr., WR/FS; Tre Austin, sr., RB/CB; Colby Bossert, sr., QB; Matthew Taylor, sr., WR/SS; Jon Freeman, sr., TE/OLB; Mo Abukhder, jr., OL/DL; Justin Nguyen, jr., OL/DL.
Overview: Perhaps the biggest advantage for the Timberwolves this season will be quarterback experience. Bossert enters his third season as the starting quarterback, ready to elevate the offense. After showing greater signs of physical development between his sophomore and junior seasons, Bossert believes he’s developed the intangibles more this offseason.
“I definitely was able to throw the ball farther,” Bossert said. “Throw harder, faster, all that. I think my biggest change has been coming into the leadership role.”
From a coaching perspective, the continuity at such a premier position allows Siddick to take the training wheels off and maximize the offense to its fullest potential.
“You just add on to the plate,” Siddick said. “He’s able to get his pre-snap reads, make decisions, maybe even check an audible play if need be, so it’s nice because you can start getting to the bells and whistles of an offense, so to speak.”
Aside from quarterback, the Timberwolves returned Williams, a 2024 All-Wesco First Team defensive back and Second Team wide receiver, but lost six other All-Wesco players from last season. Jackson faces Everett at 8 p.m. on Friday to open the season.
KAMIAK
Last season: 5-4 overall, 2-4 in Wesco 4A
Coach: Ivan McLennan (3rd season)
Offense: 12 Personnel
Defense: 3-3-5
Returning starters: 2 offense, 2 defense
Key players: Jayce Barrington, sr., S; Jakob Herbst, sr., LS/LG/LB; Chase Osbjornsen, sr., C; Conner Maxwell, so., QB; Jayden Harris, so. RB/DL; Lucas Burd, so., WR; Daniel Oburu, sr., S; Daniel Zieve, sr., OL/DL.
Overview: After finishing 1-9 in “Coach Macc’s” first season at the helm in 2023, the Knights improved to five wins in 2024. The biggest reason for the improvement? A culture that the players are buying into. Attendance at early-morning practices and team activities such as a breakfast club has grown exponentially over the past couple seasons.
“People this year just care more,” Herbst said. “Last year, we had a lot of people that skipped classes, so they wouldn’t be eligible for practice, wouldn’t be eligible for games. This year, obviously school hasn’t started, but even in the spring, nothing like that happened. … People want to play football this year. (In the past) it was just kind of a thing that people did.”
With just four total starters back in the mix, it will be difficult to maintain the momentum, but McLennan has complete faith in the new-look offense led by Maxwell, who takes over the signal-calling as a sophomore.
“Conner Maxwell was born to be a quarterback,” McLennan said. “He lives it. I can’t— that’s the difference between what we’ve had in the past, to be honest with you. We’ve probably had guys that could throw the ball, but we haven’t had a quarterback. …
“I think Conner Maxwell exceeds in the intangibles, and obviously I’m not knocking his natural talent. He can sling the football, right? He’s very talented, but his intangibles and him understanding what he wants to do on a play-by-play basis is what makes this young man special.”
McLennan also pointed out the help Maxwell has, with a “gnarly” offensive line and “selfless” playmakers at all the skill positions. In his eyes, if the team can avoid turnovers and commit to blocking and tackling, the Knights program can reach new heights in 2025. Kamiak faces Meadowdale at 7 p.m. on Friday.
LAKE STEVENS
Last season: 8-4 overall, 6-1 in Wesco 4A
Coach: Tom Tri (21st season)
Offense: Spread
Defense: 4-2-5
Returning starters: 5 offense, 5 defense
Key players: Dylan Phinney, sr., WR/DB; Kekoa Okiyama, sr., WR/DB; Ted Kuhrau, sr., OL/DL; Kaiden Peck, sr., MLB; Javian Ferrell-Gilkey, jr., RB/DB; Seth Price, jr., WR/DB; Ty Tautolo, jr., TE/DL; Blake Moser, jr., QB.
Overview: The Vikings entered the 2024 season as reigning back-to-back state champions, and went on to finish atop the Wesco 4A standings yet again, but failed to win a third straight title after falling in the quarterfinals. With five starters on each side of the ball returning and a new conditioning program installed over the offseason, the Vikings are not only aiming to regain league supremacy, but return to the top of 4A as well.
“Just focusing on our fundamentals, taking care of the ball, being physical, giving great effort,” Tri said. “That’s probably cliché, but those are really our areas of focus right now.”
The Vikings will have a new starting quarterback in Moser for the first time in nearly four years, as 3-plus-year starter and 2023 Washington Gatorade Football Player of the Year Kolton Matson graduated. But with talent littered across the roster and a championship-level culture, the Vikings believe there will be an easy transition.
“I think we got a lot of energy at practices,” junior offensive/defensive lineman Brayden Slezak said. “We have a good family and we try to keep intensity high at practices and try to make it translate over games.”
Lake Stevens opens the season by hosting Sumner, the reigning 4A state champions, at 7 p.m. on Friday.
MARINER
Last season: 1-9 overall, 0-6 in Wesco 4A
Coach: CJ Adkins (3rd season)
Offense: Response not received
Defense: Response not received
Returning starters: 8 on offense, 8 on defense
Key players: Shawn Anker, sr., LB; Monty James, sr., LB/RB; Junior Larsen, sr., DL/OL; Malcolm Sy, sr., RB/LB. (Players present at Media Day; no official response received).
Overview: After finishing winless in Wesco 4A last season, Adkins felt like it was time to ramp up the offseason training program for the Marauders. No longer student teaching and finishing school, as he had been doing through the first two years of his tenure, Adkins strived to bring a “college-life” style to the offseason with spring ball and added weight room sessions that he believes will help the team take a step up. It’ll be a tall mountain to climb, but Adkins is eager to build the Marauders into a playoff-level program, not having reached the state tournament since 2016.
“We want to get into the playoffs,” Adkins said. “We want to get into the dance, and then who knows what happens? That’s the goal. But we’re going to take it one game at a time — coach speak, right? — We want to get into that. We think we belong. We want to get into the dance and see what happens.”
In order to get there, the seniors on the team — many of whom have received significant playing time since they were freshmen and sophomores — understand the importance of making plays but also maintaining intensity and confidence even when things go wrong.
“I think keeping the team morale up (is important),” James said. “Because as soon as the team morale drops, everyone just kind of gives up, does whatever. So I think if we can keep that up, we’ll do (well).”
Mariner hosts Mount Vernon at 1 p.m. on Saturday to open the season.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
