The Yelm Tornados football team completed a perfect 14-0 season in stunning fashion, defeating Eastside Catholic 20-13 in the 3A state championship game on Saturday, Dec. 3.
While the team was built up by many star players, perhaps the most unsung group on the field is the offensive linemen.
Yelm’s most common offensive line of the season featured junior left tackle Landen Barger, senior left guard William Snodgrass, senior center Kolby Henry, junior right guard Tyler Blevins and senior right tackle Ami Fakava. Junior Kyle Kaaiwela, sophomores Shane Creegan and Chris Hauss, and freshman Jonah Smith were all more than reliable when their numbers were called this season.
Brian Foote, the offensive line coach for Yelm, entered his fifth year of coaching the trenchmen. Before they played their first game against Camas, he knew the unit was going to be special.
“As soon as we started lifting in the offseason, these linemen were usually the first one’s into the weight room and the last ones out. That’s the biggest difference about this group than in the past. They all made sure to be committed to their bodies,” Foote said. “This group’s cohesiveness was special too. It wasn’t just two guys hanging out in the offseason — it was the entire offensive line unit. They rolled deep everywhere they went.”
Foote was impressed with the effort his offensive line gave throughout the entirety of the season, which was especially prevalent during the 3A state semifinals game against Bellevue and the state championship game against Eastside Catholic.
“From my standpoint on the sidelines, these guys were spent, but they always give it everything they have. One thing I want these guys to remember is that not just in football, but in life, if you don’t give it all like you gave it your all (on Saturday), then you’ll always have the doubt of could I have given more?” Foote said. “The way you guys played, you guys gave everything you had and you left it all out there, especially in the state championship game. Just to see the way you guys played is why I coach the game of football.”
Collectively, Yelm’s offensive line paved the way for a total of 6,292 yards, which included over 3,700 yards rushing.
The linemen all agreed that when run plays are called, they take pride in doing the dirty work.
“That’s a big and surprising number, but that’s expected out of us,” Barger said of the team’s rushing total on the year. “We believed in ourselves all year long and the results followed.”
Fakava said those numbers are “state championship material,” which was followed by a chorus of laughter from his linemen teammates. Blevins said when he heard the rushing total, he initially thought it was the team’s total yards. He added the offensive line was “always up for the task.”
Throughout the course of the year, the Tornados played six to eight different offensive linemen on the field in each game. Foote said there was no ego among the linemen when he announced who was starting for the week.
“Me, personally, I had to put the team before myself,” Kaaiwela said. “The way that I saw it, we had to do whatever it took to win, even if it meant we didn’t start the game. We knew our number would get called to go in.”
Creegan said no one on the offensive line took it personally if they didn’t start.
“You have to be for the team if you want to be a lineman,” he said.
Barger attributed it to the unit’s mental toughness. No matter which five players were on the field, they were confident they would conquer the task at hand, Barger said.
Blevins said while he initially wasn’t happy with the rotation of the offensive line, he realized the importance further into the season. He said the breaks they received when they were rotated out gave them the chance to catch their breath and talk with Foote about what they needed to improve on the field.
Over the course of the 14 week season, Yelm’s offensive line allowed just one sack. Foote’s unit takes great pride in that statistic.
“It was one sack too many,” Barger said. “But we were prepared for different fronts all year, starting at the Pacific Lutheran camp where it was a majority passing camp. We trusted our rules and it worked out for us in the end.”
Blevins and Fakava both agreed keeping it to one sack on the season involved a lot of trust in each other throughout the process. They also said the offensive line room spent plenty of time in the film room, which ultimately made the biggest difference.
Barger said he remained faithful during the state championship game even when the team trailed behind Eastside Catholic. That deep belief the team would win helped keep his effort at 100%.
“I have a saying I tell myself all the time. It’s ‘above all else, you’re going to get this done.’ I tell myself you’re going to get the job done, or that’s it,” Barger said. “I believe that I’m going to do it, no matter what it takes.”
Creegan added, “you have to leave it all out on the field” when opportunity presents itself.
And of course, the unit was still ecstatic over Kyler Ronquillo’s game winning touchdown, which they described as “insane” and something that is quintessentially Ronquillo.
As the state championship game was deep into the fourth quarter and Yelm trailed behind, the offensive line recalled all they had accomplished during the historic season up to that point.
“It came down to who wanted it more in the fourth quarter,” Fakava said. “I reminded myself of all the hard work, the blood, sweat and tears that went into this season, and we refused to go home without that win.”
Foote said one of the most underrated plays of the game was a William Carreto run that was initially stopped at the line of scrimmage until Snodgrass pushed the entire pile forward by himself, securing a first down.
“I wanted to keep my running back safe,” Snodgrass said. “I didn’t want to let Willy get injured and I wanted him to get the first down.”
Once the team secured its first state championship victory in the program’s history, Barger compared the feeling to the movie “Friday Night Lights.”
“That’s what I thought of — I felt like a movie star,” Barger said. “Everyone was yelling, cheering and going crazy for us, and it made me realize that we finally did it.”
Creegan said the community support shown on Dec. 3 at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup during the championship game is something people usually only see on television. The entire unit said they’re grateful for the support of their fans throughout the entire season and especially during their final game of the season.
Foote said his goal was to get all of his linemen to week 14. He said he has never had the depth of this year’s offensive line in his five years of coaching.
“With this group of guys, we really had six and a half starters,” Foote said as he also credited Kaaiwela and Creegan. “Some kids played different positions throughout the year, but it didn’t matter to them. Our guys were always ready to play.”
The Tornados finished the season with close to 6,300 total yards. Some of the Tornados offensive stats include:
Passing Stats
Damian Aalona: 2,478 pass yards (161 for 231 or 69.7%), 29 TDs 2 ints
Rushing Stats
Brayden Platt: 132 carries for 1,242 yards and 24 touchdowns
William Carreto: 67 carries for 805 yards and nine touchdowns
Kyler Ronquillo: 75 carries for 683 yards and nine touchdowns
Ray Wright: 46 carries for 386 yards and nine touchdowns
Anthony Kamco: 31 carries for 351 yards and five touchdowns
The Tornados totaled 3,787 rushing yards on the season, with 12 different ball carriers on the year.
Receiving Stats
K. Ronquillo: 67 catches for 953 yards and 11 touchdowns (+189 yards 1 TD kickoff return, 461 yards punt return)
Aden Schaler: 21 catches for 404 yards and nine touchdowns (247 yards, 1 TD kick return, 15 yards punt return)
Marius Aalona: 25 catches for 312 yards and three touchdowns
Trevontay Smith: 11 catches for 242 yards and five touchdowns
B. Platt: 12 catches for 227 yards and one touchdown
Total Offense: 6,292 yards, 91 touchdowns
Defensive Stats
R. Wright: 130 tackles, six sacks, 17 tackles for loss, four interceptions, two forced fumbles, one defensive touchdown after an interception
Isaiah Patterson: 111 tackles, 11 sacks, 17 tackles for loss
W. Carreto: 72 tackles, three sacks, six tackles for loss, one interception
B. Platt: 69 tackles, one sack, five tackles for loss, one interception
Onyx Carter: 61 tackles, 10 sacks, 13 tackles for loss
L. Barger: 48 tackles, two sacks, three tackles for loss
K. Ronquillo: 46 tackles, one tackle, two interceptions
C. Hauss: 37 tackles, three tackles for loss, one touchdown after a blocked punt
Total Defense: 2,416, 20 TDs allowed, 8 takeaways, 35 sacks, 4 defensive TDs
Score Recap
Stats 14-0 (30-1 in the last three seasons)
44-14 vs. Camas
46-6 at Union
58-0 vs. CK
68-7 at River Ridge
63-0 vs. Thurston
71-0 vs. Capital
56-14 vs. Timberline
58-14 at Peninsula
50-14 at Gig Harbor
50-7 vs. Bishop Blanchet (district playoff)
51-7 vs. South Ridge (state playoffs opening round)
36-27 vs. Kennewick (state quarterfinals)
28-27 vs. Bellevue (semifinals at Art Crate field)
20-13 vs. Eastside Catholic (state championship at Sparks Stadium)
50 points per game
699 points on season, 49.92 points per game, 10.71 points allowed per game
