On Sunday, Aug. 31, the Snohomish County Sports Commission attended the 2025 Wesco 4A Media Day at Echo Falls Golf Club in Snohomish, where Arlington, Cascade (Everett), Glacier Peak, Jackson, Kamiak, Lake Stevens and Mariner high school coaches and players gave their outlook on the upcoming 2025-26 season.
Below are responses from each program’s coach and player, taken from interviews conducted by both the Snohomish County Sports Commission and STSPN Broadcasting.
Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CePdJzboSEs to watch the full broadcast.
Visit the league site to stay updated on all Snohomish County sports teams.
Arlington Eagles
— Finished the 2024-25 season with 10-2 overall and 5-1 league records
— Last state appearance was in 2024
— Graduated 31 seniors
— Opening game is Friday, Sept. 5 vs. Sedro-Woolley (non-conference)
— First conference game is Friday, Sept. 19 vs. Jackson
Greg Dailer (head coach): (I’m looking forward to) new senior leadership, which we have. We’re starting nine seniors on each side of the ball. Although only three on each side of the ball started last year, we still have a veteran group. Not a lot of experience, but this is just different when you have seniors on the field, and we have a bunch, and we’re excited about that group we have. … I think whatever league we’re in, we’re contenders for the league title. That’s just the kind of the program we run and the kind of community we have. They really support football in our community, and we have kids that are excited about growing up to play at Arlington. It’s kind of the culture we’ve developed. One of the good things about me being around so long is that consistency. … I don’t think that 3A to 4A is harder football. … Some people put too much on 3A to 4A. … But, I don’t think that we had any worry about moving up, or we didn’t feel any pressure with that.
Eli Rae (senior, WR/DB): I’m just really excited to prove ourselves again. We lost a lot of seniors, and then there’s a lot of question marks around our team, and I think we’re out of the spotlight. But, I’m ready to just prove our team and show that we aren’t losing. We lost a lot of players, but we didn’t lose the grit that we have, and we’re going to come back, and I think we’re contenders for the league again.
Jace Graham (senior, RB/LB): Our defense is going to be really strong this year. I’m excited at our linebacker core. We got some really good linebackers. And offensively, I’m excited to see how everybody improves week by week.
Kaleb Bartlett-Wood (senior, QB): I’m kind of excited to change it up a little bit. I think we’re going to be running the rock a little bit more this year. We have a lot of raw talent right now, losing 31 seniors. We got 25 back though this year, nine on both sides. But, our O-line is like our strongest group right now so running the football will be good.
Cascade (Everett) Bruins
— Finished the 2024-25 season with 4-6 overall and 1-6 league records
— Last state appearance was in 2013
— Graduated 22 seniors
— Opening game is Friday, Sept. 5 vs. Mountlake Terrace (non-conference)
— First conference game is Friday, Sept. 19 vs. Lake Stevens
Joe Rue (head coach): Last year, we were senior heavy. We’re only returning one offensive starter and two defensive starters, so we’re going to be really young this year. We’re just looking for growth right now. The expectation is still high. Last year, our expectation was to be in the top four of Wesco, but we fell short of that. We lost two games by less than a touchdown, which would’ve put us right where we want to be and possibly getting the playoff spot. That’s still what we expect to be. As a team, we don’t necessarily have as much talent as we did last year, but we’re still in a better place mentality wise as a coaching staff and team, just being on the same page. The kids understand the plays. Our guys are making checks right away. We’re doing all the things that you want to start to see in the second year of the program.
Luke Windrum (junior, OL/DL): We obviously all know the history of this program. And I think our main goal for this year and going forward is to build up ourselves, build up our teammates, have positive energy and just make a positive impact on our school and our league. … I’m excited to see my teammates have fun, make plays and be able to see them just better themselves and have fun playing Bruin football.
Jibran Munive (junior, OL/DL): Stats really matter, but like Jayden said, I feel like it’s the bonding that we need to have. … I’m looking forward to people just flying around, hitting. We’ve been eager to hit. And once we have practice, we just all hit each other.
Jayden Hill (junior, S): I’m looking for to us to build a better bond with each other because it’s honestly not all about winning. I just want to see us improve every game and more communication and teamwork while we’re on that field. … I’m excited to see some pads hitting together, a lot of communication out there, everybody hyping each other up. When someone gets a pick, everybody going up to them, congratulating him. And, I just want to see our team become more one instead of being separate.
Glacier Peak Grizzlies
— Finished the 2024-25 season with 8-2 overall and 5-1 league records
— Last state appearance was in 2021
— Graduated 18 seniors
— Opening game is Friday, Sept. 5 vs. Juanita (non-conference)
— First conference game is Friday, Sept. 19 vs. Mariner
Shane Keck (head coach): We return nine starters on defense, and so we feel really good about our defense. And, we return every offensive skill player. So really for us, it’s our quarterback and offensive line. We have a couple of weeks before we kind of get to those upper echelon teams to help the offensive line come along. … But, you got to get the quarterback some experience, got to get the O-line some experience before we kind of get into the meat and potatoes of the league. … We were younger last year. Like I said, I think we return 15 starters, and so that piece of it you feel really good about. But, we got a hole at quarterback, and then we’re going to replace four offensive lineman. So, those are the shoes to fill in our program. We got two really good quarterbacks, (sophomore) Oliver Setterberg and (junior) Reece Rondeau, who are competing for that spot right now. And, both those guys would’ve started on any team we’ve had. … And then we’ve got a really big, physical offensive line, Luke Jennings, specifically being a sophomore, who’s probably the next power-four offensive lineman for us. I think those guys are going to be just fine, but it’s going to take them a couple weeks to get underneath and go, ‘Holy smokes, this is the speed of varsity football.’
Luke Fullerton (senior, WR/OLB): (I’m excited) to just get back on the field and play with my teammates.
Michael Darling (senior, WR/DB): I’m excited for all the returning starters we have. Like James said it, it makes it a lot easier. I can trust everyone on the team to do their job so I can focus on myself. And, it makes it fun because I’m so close with everyone. So, I think it’s going to be a pretty fun year, and we’re also pretty talented.
James Jenkins (senior, OLD/LB): I’m definitely most excited about how many people are returning on defense and how fun just the defensive side is going to be. The physicality we come and play with, that’s a very fun time, like the bond we all have with each other. Like if a receiver is going this way, I know this guy’s got it. I know he can do his job, and it just helps you play a lot more relaxed and loose and just focus on your job.
Jackson Timberwolves
— Finished the 2024-25 season with 6-4 overall and 3-3 league records
— Last state appearance was in 2012
— Graduated 16 seniors
— Opening game is Friday, Sept. 5 vs. Everett (non-conference)
— First conference game is Friday, Sept. 19 vs. Arlington
Mason Siddick (head coach): With goals, you always have the ultimate goal, and then you’ve got to have short-term goals leading up to that. And as we’ve been building this program, getting to a winning season is one of those short-term goals. And that was last year. And now for us, the goal is to build upon that to see if we can push that envelope or threshold a little bit further this season. Every year, we challenge the players, especially the seniors in our program, to leave the program better than they found it. These guys have inherited a pretty solid program, and they’ve done a great job to build upon the culture that’s been set. And so I’m really excited for them. The next step for us is ‘OK. We’ve made the playoffs, now we want to make the playoffs and win a game in the playoffs.’ Eventually at some point in time, we want to win Wesco and win a state championship and all of that. But everything comes in time and in the process. … Building a program is about more than just a class or a person. … So the expectation is always going to be to do better than we did, regardless of who we have coming in or how young we are. I think youth or age is only an excuse if you allow it to be. I think what really counters that is preparation. How well can you get the kids prepared? How well can you put them in positions where they can play fast and not have to think? So, I think the expectation is the same: Let’s do better than we did last year. … When you’ve got a young team, it’s to see how well the kids adapt to the vibe of a Friday night and the speed of the game. Even though you try to simulate it in practice and scrimmage other teams in the spring, it’s still not game day. So, seeing how the players do under pressure situations when things are actually on the line, how do they respond to those things? And then from that, that’ll kind of show us as coaches how we need to attack or what adjustments we need to make and then what calls are they comfortable with in a pressure situation versus when you’re at practice and the heat is not on.
Colby Bossert (senior, QB): We’re going to be a threat on both sides of the ball and in both the run and pass game. With Tre at running back, he’s a great athlete, super fast, hits hard, not afraid of anything, will hit the hole, he makes good reads. I have a good connection with a lot of my receivers this year, and I’m really excited about that. I feel like last year, I was really good with one receiver, and that’s about it. I feel like this year, I’ve really developed with everybody, and I’m super excited to see what we do as an offense this year.
Matthew Taylor (senior, WR/DB): As a team, I’m really excited to go out and run routes and get all the receivers some catches and also see Tre in the backfield. And personally, I’m excited to just catch the ball more. Me and Colby have grown our connection over the offseason very well, and I feel like I’m excited for that.
Tre Austin (senior, RB/DB): I’m looking forward to seeing our whole offense shine this year. Our whole offense, we’ve been working. As Colby said, the receivers and the QB, the connection’s been growing. I’ve been growing with my O-line, and it’s going to be good seeing the whole team just kind of come together as an offense.
Kamiak Knights
— Finished the 2024-25 season with 5-4 overall and 2-4 league records
— Last state tournament appearance was in 2004
— Graduated 18 seniors
— Opening game is Friday, Sept. 5 vs. Meadowdale (non-conference)
— First conference game is Friday, Sept. 26 vs. Arlington
Ivan McLennan (head coach): I took over the program back in 2023. … This past season, a lot of those kids that I had didn’t know what culture looked like, didn’t understand accountability, commitment, sacrifice and all the little things that I want my program to represent. So, a lot of it was trying to build that and trying to create what is Kamiak football. And through that, some characters within the team either folded or rose up to our expectations, to our standards but was able to still find great success. … We don’t have no transition (after graduating 18 seniors). If anything, we’re leveling up. That’s how I feel. The program’s the program, the standard’s the standard and the culture has been set. The accountability is there, and the expectation to maximize each opportunity we have together is there. … It’s not about losing people. It’s sustaining culture.
Jayce Barrington (senior, DB): I’m just ready to finish my last season with my brothers. I’ve been playing with (Jakob) since about sixth or seventh grade, so it’s been a journey.
Jakob Herbst (senior, LS/OL): Long snap, that’s how I make my money. But deep down, violence on the offensive line. That’s what I’m looking to bring this year. Our run game this year is going to be good. I’m really excited because we got big, fast guys. We got young guys on the offensive line. They know what they’re doing. They’re ready to hit someone. Like we saw last week in our scrimmage, we’re not afraid. Our offensive line coach is big on violence on the offensive line. That’s what I’m excited to bring.
Conner Maxwell (sophomore, QB): I’m going to bring out my all for this Kamiak football team, my football program, and I’m blessed that coach has allowed me to walk into this system as my first year starting on varsity and deliver as the starting quarterback of Kamiak High School.
Lake Stevens Vikings
— Finished the 2024-25 season with 8-4 overall and 6-1 league records
— 2022 and 2023 4A state champions, 2021 4A runner-up
— Last state appearance was in 2024
— Graduated 17 seniors
— Opening game is Friday, Sept. 5 vs. Sumner (non-conference)
— First conference game is Friday, Sept. 19 vs. Cascade (Everett)
Tom Tri (head coach): We’re going to be a little bit different this year in our run game, a little bit different in our pass game. We might be a little bit more play-action than we have, just based on who our quarterback and our running back are. If we’re going to run to the edge and do some of those things out in space, that allows us to do a little bit more play-action instead of being more of a traditional RPO, throw-the-ball-from-the-pocket-type team. Just subtle changes like that, looking at the strengths of our team and trying to get our best athletes the ball. I feel like our team speed is going to be really good this year. We’re doing some things where we’re moving guys around in space to allow them to be able to run more and not be caught in the box and get caught by bigger, more physical teams. … We have two good quarterbacks, so we had a little bit of a quarterback battle in the offseason. We feel like both of them could start on most teams around the state, which is great. Good problem to have. (Junior) Blake Moser is our No. 1 quarterback. (He’s) one of the best athletes we’ve ever had to play that spot. … Arm strength is there, accuracy is getting there. Blake’s biggest weakness? (He) just needs game experience. He’s never started a game at quarterback for us before. … We always say, ‘Let our athletes go make plays.’ Well, he’s one of the best athletes we’ve had, so we’ve got to be careful about not overdoing it, keeping it simple for Blake. To replace Jayshon (Limar) who was All-State running back for us, we have two running backs who are also competing, one of which who’s emerged, his name is (junior) Jay Ferrell. He’s a heck of a running back for us. He’s got great speed, great athleticism as well. So, we’re going to find ways offensively to get him the ball in space. Right behind him is (junior) Colten Fink, who’s a really speedy back and just has that jitter-bug ability to make guys miss in space. So, we’re going to stretch our offense out a little bit more than in previous years where we were always running in-between the tackles with Jayshon. Don’t get me wrong, we’re still going to run the ball between the tackles. But, we feel like we can do some different things with our running backs just because of the speed and athleticism that they provide. … You never want to lose Kolton (Matson), you never want to lose Jayshon or guys like that. Those are big shoes to fill. But, I feel like our quarterback in Blake and (sophomore) Nolan Nettles and our running backs with Jay and Colten, we might look a little different, but I don’t feel like we’re going to skip a beat.
Dylan Phinney (senior, WR/FS): It’s kind of ‘Next man up.’ We’re really going out there, trying to compete with Sumner, and show them what’s right.
Brayden Slezak (junior, OL/DE): Last year, we had a good season. But it wasn’t the best season we could have. … This offseason has been tough. We’re working really hard. But it should be fun.
Kaiden Peck (senior, LB): We’re coming with a different energy this year. We’re coming with more intention. Especially at our house, we’re not just going to fall back and let these guys come into our house and push us back. We’re going to make a stand and show that Lake Stevens is still here.
Mariner Marauders
— Finished the 2024-25 season with 1-9 overall and 0-6 league records
— Last state appearance was in 2016
— Graduated 12 seniors
— Opening game is Saturday, Sept. 6 vs. Mount Vernon (non-conference)
— First conference game is Friday, Sept. 19 vs. Glacier Peak
CJ Adkins (head coach): We want to maintain and continue to build, but now we know the subtleties and nuances of our conference. We know how many teams make the state playoffs, and so we feel confident that we can be in that picture. I don’t like to forecast, but if we perform the way we’re supposed to and the way we have in the spring and fall camp, we should be right in the mix. … For the most part, we’ve had a young team ever since I became the head coach. Right now, I have a sophomore and junior at quarterback, (and) those guys will continue to build. But having a big senior class kind of sets the tone for the season. … I have a good group of seniors that’ve played in the program all four years, and so I understand what they’re going to bring to the table.
Malcolm Sy (senior, RB/LB): I think we’re going to see a lot of aggressiveness. It’ll stand out a lot because we’ve been grinding over this offseason, and I feel like we’ve been working harder than any other team.
Shawn Anker (senior, LB/TE): I want to be able to stop the run and make sure they have to pass because I think we have the secondary to be able to stop that too.
Monty James (senior, RB/LB): You’re going to see from the offense a lot of head on, coming straight at you. And on defense, you’re going to see a lot of run stopping and good coverage.
Junior Larsen (senior, DE): You’ll see definitely more wins with our new offense and hopefully some more sacks.