Wolfpack woeful in AF1 opener

Published 11:22 pm Sunday, March 16, 2025

EVERETT — Things just didn’t show up the way the Washington Wolfpack expected on Sunday.

First, the new batch of uniforms failed to make it in time for the Arena Football One game at Angel of the Winds Arena due to a shipping issue. More importantly, the precision Washington head coach J.R. Wells expects missed parts of the season opener. The Southwest Kansas Storm, which started their season a week earlier, showed fewer jitters in a 63-33 thumping of the Wolfpack.

“We’ve got a lot to work on, a lot to improve on,” said Wells, who coached Washington during its inaugural 2024 season. “And we know it’s going to be tough. They have a game under their belt. They started a week early, but no excuses. You’ve got to get back to the drawing board and clean up those minor mistakes.”

Wearing the black and yellow uniforms of the Everett Royals semi-pro team along with the Wolfpack’s distinct helmets featuring teal and purple, Washington showed flashes of brilliance but looked out of sorts at times.

Receiver Deshon Williams led Washington’s offense with nine catches for 137 yards and a TD. Aakiel Greer, Ledarian McAllister and Josh Meir each caught three passes and scored a touchdown.

Starting quarterback Joe Hess, who sustained an arm injury of unknown severity, left the game after throwing a pick-six in the second quarter. Adam Kruse, playing with a hand injury, completed 14 of 28 passes for 159 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. He also rushed for Washington’s other TD. Hess, who beat the Wolfpack twice last season while playing with two different teams, went 4-for-8 for 35 yards.

Wells said it was “both” injury and the interception that led to the quarterback change.

“You’ve got to make the right read and get the ball to the right guy,” Wells said. “That’s where we’re at. There’s no excuses. When we get to the tape, we’re going to break that down.”

The Wolfpack and Storm were virtually even in most team statistical categories, including yards (200 for the SW Kansas, 198 for Washington), but the Wolfpack lost the turnover battle 6-1.

Johnny Navarro, a linebacker who starred at Jackson High School before playing at Central Washington, got into the Storm’s backfield for two tackles for loss among his four total. Navarro, who played for the Royals and the Rapid City Marshals before joining the Wolfpack midseason last year, enjoyed another game in front of friends and family despite the lopsided loss.

“It’s like hometown here,” Navarro said. “That’s really what it feels like, and it’s really awesome. I’ve always dreamt of playing in front of my family and friends. I was playing football down the street in high school. Hopefully, it’s all coming together and we keep building.”

Navarro believes the team shook off the cobwebs and will show improvement at home against the Oregon Lightning on Saturday.

“I think, mentally, we were just kind of down,” Navarro said. “Just not getting our uniforms here, obviously, and battling through some sickness. So we were already all on an uphill battle. But I think it’s all things we can fix, so that’s nice, and we’ll get back to the drawing board and prepare for Oregon next week.”

Greer, who scored Washington’s first touchdown of the season on a 22-yard pass from Kruse, believes the team will correct its mistakes and show marked improvement.

“The only thing we can do is go up from this — learn from this,” said Greer, moments after handing a young fan his receiver gloves and some wristbands. “We have to get better each and every week. We want to be the premier team in the AF1, and I promise you we will be that team. … We will be better from this.”