SEATTLE — Joe Cronin’s squad had never been under the bright lights of Husky Stadium, where teams play their respective state football title games. Though they went up 14-0 early, the No. 1 Archbishop Murphy Wildcats (13-0) were getting a crash course in how hard it is to close out a team like No. 2 Tumwater (12-1) in a title game setting on Saturday night.
Minutes after his team put in an insurance score to bring the game to its final resting point of 35-20, the third-year head coach got a chance to catch his breath.
“I’m glad that’s over!” Cronin said with a laugh as he greeted members of the media.
Archbishop Murphy head coach Joe Cronin has ice water dumped on him after winning the 2A state championship game against Tumwater at Husky Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
The win, as huge as it was in adding some hardware to the Wildcats’ trophy case, represented more than one season of hard work.
Archbishop Murphy, just three seasons removed from an 0-8 campaign, raised the state football trophy for the fourth time in program history by taking down a Tumwater team that knocked the Wildcats out 42-0 in the 2024 semis. It represented the first title under Cronin, who took over in 2023 after the winless campaign, and the first trophy for the program since 2016.
“They went through zero wins,” Cronin said of his team postgame. “It’s a storybook, it’s like out of a movie … they grinded and made it happen, it’s all hard work.
Junior running back Isaiah Smith (169 rushing yards) found the endzone twice while senior receiver Henry Gabalis (49 yards) caught a TD from senior quarterback Evan Ruiz (99 passing yards, two TDs). Junior defensive lineman William Wilson put the finishing touches on the game, running in a 48-yard scoop-and-score off a late Logan Fryberg strip sack to make it 28-7 in the fourth. Senior tight end Jack Sievers had a 35-yard TD late for an insurance score after a late surge from the six-time champs.
Gabalis and Sievers were on that 0-8 squad, and the progression of making it to last year’s state semis to this golden moment was one to behold.
“It’s crazy, I’ve never experienced anything like this,” Gabalis, an Arizona commit, said. “We knew Murphy was a powerhouse team. We switched it after going 0-8, and we’re another power again.”
It was all Archbishop Murphy from the opening whistle, as sophomore Cole Sievers’ tackle-for-loss highlighted an early three-and-out for the Wildcats defense.
Archbishop Murphy’s Henry Gabalis yells after scoring a touchdown during the 2A state championship game against Tumwater at Husky Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
From there, Ruiz and the offense took care of the rest. After some decent runs from Smith, the run-heavy Wildcats found themselves in an obvious passing situation at third-and-10 from midfield. That was when Ruiz decided to go for it all, airing a go route to Gabalis down the right sideline for a back-breaking 49-yard touchdown.
Archbishop Murphy linebacker Robert Moses found himself in a position to make the next big defensive play, as the senior made a tackle at the line to gain on fourth-and-1 to get the Wildcats the ball back in plus territory.
It was all Smith from there on out, as he burst down the left sideline for 25 total yards after a facemask penalty. Two plays later, Smith ran it in from one yard out behind senior offensive lineman and Boise State signee Hakeim Smalls to give Archbishop Murphy a commanding 14-0 lead.
“They were making the right holes for me, and all I had to do was just run through the right holes,” Smith said of his line, as his 16 carries accounted for half of the Wildcats’ attempts on the night.
Archbishop Murphy’s Hakeim Smalls reacts to getting a stop on fourth down during the 2A state championship game against Tumwater at Husky Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
For Smalls, who moved around on the offensive line to fit where the ball was run, this win was a long time coming. By Cronin’s account, Smalls wrote “2026 champs” on a board when he was asked what his goal was after his freshman season in 2022 — signaling a desire to return the team to state prominence.
After the score, the Wildcats then decided to kick the ball deep for the first time all game, as Cronin and company had opted for shorter soaring kicks to prevent the long runbacks that plagued the Wildcats against Anacortes in the semis.
That decision proved costly, as the Thunderbirds ran it back for 45 yards. That was when Archbishop Murphy’s Keagen Joseph got to Tumwater quarterback Jaxon Budd for a costly sack. Gabalis followed that play up with a tackle for a loss, while Smith, a defensive back as well, tracked down Budd on fourth-and-22 to force another turnover on downs.
“Once I saw (Budd) pass the line of scrimmage, I just had to go up and make a play and get the ball back,” Smith said.
His play on the jittery Budd was just another instance of the sound tackling the Wildcats showed all day, as the T-Birds rarely gained yards after first contact.
The offense appeared to take advantage right away, as Ruiz launched a deep ball to Gabalis for a 78-yard score. The TD was called back on an illegal shift, leading Ruiz to deliver another 48-yard completion to Gabalis that was called back due to holding in the backfield.
Those two penalties forced a rarity: a Wildcats three-and-out.
The T-Birds proceeded to find their groove.
Tumwater converted three fourth-down chances to score on a pass to the back right corner to Wyatt Chase with just 10 seconds remaining in the second, making it 14-7 with the Wildcats set to receive after the halftime break. The scoring drive lasted 18 plays.
“They’re a tough team to play, man,” Cronin said of the six-time state champs. “They made plays.”
T-Birds defensive back Ethan Bello put his fingerprints on the game in the third, picking the Wildcats off on third-and-goal to put the offense back in business. Jack Sievers was the target on the play, but slipped trying to work back to an underthrown ball as the Wisconsin-commit was yet to make an offensive impact against plenty of double teams.
On the defensive end, though, Cronin could see what his 6-foot-4 lineman was contributing throughout the game. The former O’Dea assistant noted how the T-Birds found success by running away from Sievers, whose deterrence let linebackers and defensive backs like Moses (three tackles for loss) rack up hits in the backfield.
A crucial drop on third down stalled the ensuing Tumwater drive, and the Wildcats made sure to capitalize on their next chance. Ruiz scrambled to deliver a ball to Cole Sievers, who broke a tackle for a 30-yard gain to get his squad into opposing territory. After an illegal shift wiped away a short TD run to cap the drive, Smith rumbled for his second score of the night to make it 21-7.
On the very next defensive possession, the Wildcats defensive line, which had been a force all night, made its biggest play. Fryberg stripped Budd in the backfield, leading to a 48-yard scamper from Wilson to make it 28-7 at the top of the fourth quarter to break the game wide open.
“The best feeling,” Wilson, typically a run-stuffer, said of running the ball back for a crucial score. “I saw my opportunity, scooped it up, and took it back.”
The T-Birds refused to go away, as senior tight end Evan Baxter hauled in a 38-yard score to make it 28-13, which the special teams unit followed up with a recovered onside kick. Pass breakups from Gabalis and Sievers put an end to that opportunity, leading to a turnover on downs as the Wildcats, in effect, sealed state title number four.
Or so they thought.
A late fumble from Archbishop Murphy led to Tumwater’s own scoop and score from Mason Houskeeper to make it 28-20 with 3:43 left.
“We thought we had it,” Cronin said. “We were going to loosen up, not (Tumwater), they’re going to battle.”
Nursing a late lead, the Wildcats turned to their star tight end, who had yet to make a catch.
Archbishop Murphy’s Jack Sievers runs the ball upfield to the end zone for a touchdown during the 2A state championship game against Tumwater at Husky Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Jack Sievers ran an out route on the ensuing possession at the 35-yard line, finding plenty of space in the flat. After breaking a tackle, Sievers saw nothing but green grass to make it 35-20, a scoreline that would stand by the game’s end.
“I turned that corner, and I just knew I had to make a play happen and I had to seal the game,” he said.
The senior has scored his fair share of touchdowns for teams that went 0-8, 6-4 and 11-2. But his final score with a 13-0 squad to all but seal a state title stands alone.
“That’s gotta be number one,” Jack Sievers said of how he’d rank that late score, his 10th of the season to go with 14 sacks. “When the play was happening, you just don’t gotta think. I just caught the ball and went, so I’m really glad. Looking back on it, that’s gonna be a fun one to watch.”
As the final seconds ticked off following a Tumwater completion, the emotions of the moment poured out.
Archbishop Murphy holds up the 2A state championship trophy after beating Tumwater at Husky Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Fryberg, another member of that 0-8 squad, cried as his teammates embraced him while the team hoisted that elusive trophy for fans to see.
To do it against Tumwater, who Gabalis’ brother, Victor, had lost to twice as a quarterback, made all the difference in the world.
“I think this is the most satisfying way I could have gone out my senior year,” Gabalis said. “I’m gonna call (Victor) right after the game … I did it for him.”
Before Cronin took the reins, the Wildcats hadn’t been to the state playoffs since 2019. Now with a back-to-back deep runs on the highest level, he’s focused on maintaining the standard.
“We want to get that tradition back that we had at Murphy,” Cronin said. “No pressure.”
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