The rematch has arrived.
One year after Seton Catholic ran into small-school football power Royal in the Class 1A state semifinals, the teams will meet again in Friday’s 1A state championship game at Husky Stadium in Seattle. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
“We’re excited,” senior linebacker Aeven Napoleon said. “We’ve got something coming for them. Let’s go.”
The No. 2 seed Cougars reached their first state championship game in program history after dispatching No. 6 Montesano 35-14 on Saturday at McKenzie Stadium.
The win was highlighted by three touchdowns from senior Jacob Williams (including an interception return for a touchdown), plus a defense that forced three turnovers and held the Bulldogs under 300 yards of total offense.
No. 1 Royal handled No. 4 Cashmere 44-7 to reach their eighth state championship game in the last nine seasons.
The Cougars had something of a welcome-to-the-big-leagues moment last year in the state semifinals when they suffered a humbling 42-0 road loss against Royal, which went on to defeat Lakeside of Nine Mile Falls for the 1A state championship.
Playing a tradition-rich Royal team with 12 state championships was an eye-opening moment for the Cougars, and it set the stage for them to begin working toward a return trip this season.
One year later, both teams are undefeated heading into Friday’s championship tilt.
“Royal is a well-coached team (with) excellent character (and) they’re a good football team,” Seton Catholic coach Dan Chase said. “We know we’re going to get a good performance from them. That’s what we want, because we want to be able to have a great football game.”
At the same time, the Cougars don’t want to get caught up in the storylines of a rematch against Royal.
This week they’ll look to prepare for Royal with an oft-used cliché in mind — as a nameless, faceless opponent.
“It’s just another football game,” Williams said. “We’ve just gotta take it one play at a time, like I said, and I think we’ll be ready.”
