LAKE STEVENS — In a match where emotions ran high, the margin for error was thin — and a league title hung in the balance, Lake Stevens soccer dug deep, leaned on veteran depth — and ensured their hard earned 2025 Wesco 4A crown wasn’t going anywhere in 2026.

Last year, the Vikings shot out of the gate with an undefeated blitz through 4/5ths of the season before sputtering out late. This year, an injury-plagued Lake team collected itself after an off-and-on first half of the season and mashed the accelerator through the finish line.

On Friday, Lake shot out of the gates in front of a boisterous home crowd, pinning the guest Grizzlies back under a withering first-half offensive blitz.

A three goal first half was followed by a late-game clinic in defense and goalkeeping as the Vikings (9-2-3, 8-1-2 league) secured a second consecutive conference championship Friday with a 3-1 victory over the rival Glacier Peak.

Coming in, the stakes were clear: a Glacier Peak win would have pulled the Grizzlies within a single point of the top spot heading into the season finale.

Instead, Lake Stevens dictated the terms early, overwhelming the visitors with three goals in the first 31 minutes.

“They were still in the running for the league title as well: they wanted it just as badly as we did,” senior attacking midfielder Colby Flanders said, concluding “We were a little stronger.”

Breaking the Deadlock

The Vikings applied pressure from the opening whistle, but the breakthrough arrived in the 17th minute via opportunistic play from Mac Wilson. The junior forward exploited a gap on the right sideline off a throw-in, driving toward the 18-yard box and locating a Flanders run, cutting through the center of the pitch. Wilson teed up Flanders, who buried it in the netting for the 1-0 lead.

The advantage doubled five minutes later, after Vikings’ head coach Wes VanHooser sent in senior striker George Meadows Morrice — a double digit scorer from 2025 who recently returned from ankle injury. The senior attacker slotted a shot past the keeper in the 22nd minute. 2-0.

The Vikings capitalized on an Arsenal-like set-piece proficiency in the 31st minute to put the game out of reach. Jiovany Estrada served a corner to the near post, finding Xander Blair for a clinical tap-in and a 3-0 cushion.

Resilience Through Adversity

The title marks a significant turnaround for a Lake Stevens squad that started league play 2-1-2, including a shutout loss to these same Grizzlies on April 3.

The team also had to navigate the loss of All-Wesco first-teamer Lucas Mooring to an ACL injury early in the campaign — who, combined with the absence of Meadows-Morrice — represented a drop off of 25 goals from the season prior.

The horsepower deficit resulted in a midseason stretch in which — coming into the April 14 match at Cascade — the Viks had just one win out of their last five games.

“We went through a low spot, and honestly, I wasn’t sure if we were going to come out of it. We just climbed our way back out,” VanHooser told the Daily Herald.

The climb-out began with what amounted to a must-win match (with regard to title defense hopes, at least) at Cascade.

That night, the Vikings responded with a classic effort, pushing past the Bruins 3-2 in a driving rainstorm, courtesy of a Colby Flanders extra time golden goal. This was the first of five straight Wesco wins, with Lake running the table on conference opps.

Glacier Peak (8-6-2, 6-4-1) pulled a goal back in the 34th minute to make it 3-1. The Grizzlies then mounted a furious late-game charge, forcing Lake Stevens goalkeeper Liam McIntyre into a series of heroics.

McIntyre spectacularly denied Kai Jewett in the 72nd minute before recording an even-better series that included a point-blank diving save on Ashton Resendiz and a subsequent kick save in the final two minutes to seal the win.

Senior center back Xander Blair once again anchored the defense, snuffing out a promising Grizzly counterattack with a vicious tackle. Though Blair limped off under his own power — dealing with a knee injury — VanHooser praised the senior’s impact on the unit, calling Blair “the best defender in the league.”

“He brings something to the back line that I don’t think any other team in the league has,” VanHooser concluded.

The Road Ahead

Lake Stevens concludes the regular season Tuesday against Mariner before entering the District 1/2 4A Tournament as the No. 2 seed.

The focus now shifts to the postseason and a potential clash with KingCo opponents, who’ve historically been difficult for Lake. But with a resurgent attack and a successful defense of the Wesco crown completed, the immediate future could be bright for this increasingly prominent soccer program.

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For more local coverage, visit www.thejournal425.com.

EAST WENATCHEE — Snohomish County is saying goodbye to a local gridiron stalwart. And a new 4A power may be emerging on the banks of the Columbia.

But respectful goodbyes may turn into “Oh it’s you again?” grumbles come early November, as the head coaches at local 4A powers like Lake Stevens and Glacier Peak — could well be seeing an old friend once again.

Rory Rosenbach, the 1994 Snohomish High School graduate and the inaugural football coach at Glacier Peak High School, has been named the new head football coach at Eastmont High School, a 4A program in East Wenatchee.

The 2018 state champion Rosenbach steps in to replace Jay Foster, who resigned in December after back-to-back runner-up finishes in the CBBN.

For J425 readers, Rosenbach’s name is synonymous with local football excellence and tied in many ways to the career arc of Tom Tri.

After playing tight end at the Air Force Academy and the University of Oregon, he cut his teeth coaching in Oregon, winning two state titles at Marist Catholic High School.

He then returned home to build the Glacier Peak program from scratch, serving as its first head coach from 2008 to 2016.

As Rosenbach was opening GP, Tom Tri was installing what was then a highly-innovative spread passing attack. And when Tri looked across the valley, he saw Rosenbach pulling the strings on a similar spread shotgun attack.

At the time, the two future hall of famers were the only 4A offensive coordinators on the west side implementing the no huddle attack.

Both saw considerable success and have evolved their offenses over time, and both men have considerable respect for each other. Rosenbach once wryly told J425

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LAKE STEVENS — Alec Pierce, 25, is considered a premier deep threat in the NFL.

The Colts wideout led the NFL in yards-per-reception average in 2024 and 2025. The fifth-year big play machine was just rewarded with a $116 million dollar contract.

At the NFL Combine, Pierce ran a 4.41 40 yard dash with a 1.58 10 yard split, good for 87th percentile among a…

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Update 4:11 pm — The University of Montana Grizzlies offered Lake Stevens QB BLAKE MOSER yesterday following the UA NEXT Camp in Phoenix. This is Moser’s second D1 offer as his recruitment is picking up, as expected. The Grizz are a perennial power in the Big Sky conference, finishing 13-2 last season. They consistently churn out Power 4 transfer and NFL players — 65 draftees in their history. Montana has also offered Anacortes QB Ryan Harrington. - KTH.

PHOENIX, AZ – The nation’s top invited football prospects from the classes of 2027 and 2028 gathered in Maricopa County last weekend for the Under Armour UA NEXT Camp Series – and the Pacific Northwest was well represented, with one rising Evergreen State prospect nabbing a camp MVP trophy and an offer from the hometown Dawgs before the weekend was over.

Representing Lake Stevens and the 425 was dynamic Lake Stevens Vikings 2027 quarterback BLAKE MOSER, the 2025 All State selection, appearing in his first major camp. Moser is coming off an electric 55-touchdown debut season as a starting QB.

Moser’s campaign culminated in what would’ve been a state record five touchdown performance in the title game, if Sumner’s Lance McGee (2026 WSU commit) hadn’t scored six himself.

Also of note to Vikings fans was the appearance at the invite-only UA camp of rising SPSL star JAYCE HALASZ, a 2028 wideout and defensive back from Graham-Kaposwin, who lit up the Lake Stevens scoreboard with six catches for 167 yards and two touchdowns in the 2025 state semifinal matchup ultimately won by the Vikings, 44-35.

Given that the Vikings and Eagles seemingly meet at least once a year, it’s likely Halasz will play in front of Lake fans again soon.

J425 reached out to Rivals/On3 National Recruiting Analyst Brandon Huffman to check in on how the local players performed.

Brandon – an extremely busy man and a former northwest native – was good enough to share some time and insight with us.

Regarding the Vikings’ Moser, who picked up his first division one offer from Thomas Ford and Idaho last month, Huffman had a positive report.

Continue past the jump for Huffman’s report on several players and updates on 15 Washington State prep stars including Zach Albright, Ryan Harrington, Will Lynch, Seth Price, Jay Ferrell, Ty Tautolo, AJ Tuivaiave and more.

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PHOENIX, AZ — Coming in to the 2025 season, Lake’s Blake Moser was a bit of an unknown to those who hadn’t played youth football against Lake Stevens’ perennially successful junior divisions.

Those close to the program were watching with anticipation as number 6 took his first snap as a varsity starter in the home opener against defending champion Sumner.

Moser led the Viks to a memorable 31-28 victory, finding Seth Price in the corner of the endzone as time ran out. Moser helmed the Viks to wins in his first 13 starts before the same Sumner team put an end to the undefeated season with a 41-35 OT victory at Husky Stadium.

That said, even the winners were talking about Moser’s 5-TD effort postgame, with Sumner head coach Keith Ross notably calling Moser “the most dynamite QB I’ve seen in my 28 year career.”

Now, tomorrow, for the first time (largely because of his commitment to baseball and status as a high end recruit on the diamond), Moser will step onto a national stage, appearing at the prestigious Under Armour UA NEXT Camp in Phoenix, AZ tomorrow. The UA Next series is an invite-only prospect event and Moser earned an invite from near legendary recruiting guru Brandon Huffman, the National Recruiting Analyst for Rivals/On3 Media.

Players will check in…

(continue past jump for info on UA Next, Elite 11 and Blake’s recruitment by Idaho, WSU and more.)

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TACOMA DOME — For a half, the Lake Stevens Vikings went toe-to-toe with the defending state champions, electrified by a stunning buzzer-beater that will live forever in memories and on social media.

But a relentless second-half surge by the Davis Pirates and their player of the year candidate Cheyenne Hull ended the Vikings’ championship dreams.

The top-…

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TACOMA — The Lake Stevens Vikings (21-3) are moving on to the state quarterfinals after an impressive win against KingCo-power Bothell, and the only barrier between the Viks and a trip to the state semifinals is top seed Davis, the defending state champion who hasn’t lost to an in-state team in over a year.

But after today, the top-ranked Pirates may fe…

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TACOMA DOME — The athletic eligibility of Tyran Stokes, the nation’s top high school basketball recruit, remains under scrutiny on the eve of the WIAA 3A State Tournament after numerous published reports say his transfer to a Seattle public school involved an eligibility review process that omitted multiple details — including a violent disciplinary record at his previous California high school.

Stokes, a 6-foot-7 forward and the consensus No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2026, enrolled at Rainier Beach High School on Nov. 13, just days before the basketball season began. Seattle Public Schools (SPS) and the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) District 2 granted him immediate varsity eligibility, citing a “bona fide change of residence” prompted by his mother’s new job, a fiction contradicted by over 30 contemporaneous reports from local and national outlets.

An investigative report published by J425 confirmed that Stokes was actually forced to leave Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, CA, after a series of physical altercations with students – including a fight with a senior and a scuffle with a 14-year-old freshman.

The J425 story aggregated local reporting and identified sources with firsthand knowledge of the situation, confirming that Stokes transferred to Seattle for the purpose of finding a place to play his senior season of basketball after his behavioral problems closed off his chance to continue playing in Sherman Oaks.

If the nature of his transfer had been accurately documented by SPS, Stokes would not be eligible.

According to J425, SPS provided the WIAA with a registration packet that omitted all details of Stokes’ problems at Notre Dame and the reasons why he left. Mandatory questions regarding past school conflict,

(Continue through the jump to learn what’s next…and what’s at stake for the state’s top 3A team.)

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“I got stabbed in my right eye with her thumb….That kind of set me off and I was like, ‘Okay, I got to win this.’ I took my shot…and I went and pinned her.”

- Kylee Wicklund, 4A State Champion at 145.

TACOMA — Going into the Mat Classic, the goal was top three.

At least if you’re buying what Lake Stevens Girls Wrest…

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HENRY M. JACKSON HIGH SCHOOL, EVERETT — Lake Stevens Vikings Girls Basketball completed a perfect Wesco campaign and extended their winning streak to 12 as they closed out the Jackson Timberwolves 56-43 on the road Monday.

The win sets the Viks up for a top two seed in the upcoming playoffs and continues Lake’s climb up the p…

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RENTON, WA — Investigate recent football transfers, change the post-season system and re-think classifications — or we’ll stop scheduling games with Archbishop Murphy High School (AMHS) football, the state’s reigning 2A champion.

These are the explosive takeaways from a letter eight public school head football coaches wrote to the Washington State Football Coaches Association (WSFCA) last Fall.

“Without a doubt, a school with a 50-mile recruiting radius in a population dense area like Everett /North Seattle should not be playing 2A sports,” the coaches argued.

Citing existing private school transfer and eligibility advantages — and a spate of high profile football enrollees at the Everett-based Catholic high school — all eight Northwest Conference (NWC) public school coaches petitioned the state coaches association for help dealing with perceived competitive imbalances tied to AMHS football and its status as a private school — and referenced the 2016 scandal in which competitors refused to play against Archbishop Murphy’s stacked rosters.

J425 subscribers can read and download the entirety of the coaches’ letter at the bottom of this post, as well as the WSFCA draft response.

Coaches Call for Open Division in Playoffs; Immediate Investigation of AMHS Transfer Practices

The letter proposes an overhaul of current classification and playoff systems, including moving the 2A champs to 4A and/or implementing a California-style “open division” for WIAA postseason football, in which private schools and competitive public schools could elect to compete, theoretically.

The eight coaches also called for WSFCA’s assistance in requesting an immediate WIAA investigation into AMHS’ recent history of football transfers, writing that AMHS has “added 16 new or transfer players in 10th grade or above over the past few seasons, many of them all league” while noting that “seven of the current year’s starters were not on the roster two years ago”.

“While each transfer may individually meet WIAA eligibility standards, the collective effect of this talent influx has created a competitive landscape that is no longer level for 2A schools,” the coaches wrote. J425 did not independently verify these claims.

A draft response from the WSFCA argues that the coaches’ association lacks the power to adopt changes, while pledging to assist the coaches in communicating their concerns to the WIAA.

NWC to Oust AMHS Football

The call for an investigation and systemic change comes on the heels of a November 2025 J425 report that the Northwest Conference (NWC) moved to revoke AMHS’ football membership at the end of the 2025 season.

J425 also reported that Wesco membership was seen as a non-starter and that the 2A champs would likely have to consider other KingCo/Metro petitions — or the possibility of going fully independent in football. From our November 22 report:

J425 is hearing that more momentous decisions were made coming out of the Northwest Conference 2A league meeting, where apparently Archbishop Murphy is expected to be shown the door following the Wildcats’ dominant 8-0 league campaign.

However it’s not the 10-0 state quarterfinalists’ league record at issue, instead it is a series of complaints and issues piling up, some having to do with the inherent advantages that private schools maintain with respect to attracting athletes, whereas other issues involve what some coaches and adminstrators see as the Wildcats weaponized use of a 7v7 program run by figures linked to Archbishop football. Finally, there’s questions around facilities, improvements and contractual obligations laid out when Archbishop’s football program joined Northwest Conference play. Football is an outlier at Archbishop, as the rest of the private school’s sports compete in Wesco.

At the private school’s inception, famed initial Wildcat head coach Terry Ennis hammered out baseline rules with then-Marysville School District athletic director Greg Erickson regarding what it would take for Archbishop football to receive an invite into Wesco…(link to the rest of the article)

Apparently, J425 hears that Wesco remains a non-starter as far as a future destination for Wildcat football, leaving several less-than-ideal possibilities including Metro League and independent status. How exactly does an independent team qualify for postseason play? We aren’t sure. Regardless, the current fissure between Northwest Conference and Archbishop shows that while it may be permissible to leverage advantages related to private status or to push the boundaries of regarding maintaining staff with links to are

AMHS retains Wesco membership in its other sports, although sources tell J425 that member schools want to see improvements in line with contractual components (regarding facilities, for instance) agreed at the time AMHS was granted membership.

A Coalition of Concerned Coaches

You’ve received the summary, now let’s get into the weeds.

In the October 21, 2025 letter, the coalition of eight public high school head football coaches from the Northwest Conference (NWC) formally requested the Washington State Football Coaches Association’s (WSFCA) assistance in addressing what they describe as a “growing competitive imbalance” in 2A football caused by private school transfer trends and recruiting advantages.

The letter generally argues…

Continue for further details from letter plus WSFCA response, and PDFs of both documents.

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LAKE STEVENS — BLAKE MOSER, the Lake Stevens Vikings Class of 2027 dual sport standout, was named to the Prep Baseball Report 2026 Washington State Player of the Year preseason shortlist this week.

“Moser had a great 2025 offensively, hitting .373 with 24 runs scored, wrote Dylan Grenz, an area scout for Prep Baseball Report.

The prep baseball industry publication shortlists the top 20 candidates from across the state, regardless of classification.

“Moser also flashed some of the highest arm talent we saw at any high school game last spring, featuring an electric fastball up to 93 MPH in a short stint,” Grenz added.

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CHICAGO (January 9, 2026) — Gatorade announced Laura Eichert of Lake Stevens High School as the 2025-26 Gatorade Washington Volleyball Player of the Year (POY).

This is Eichert’s second consecutive Gatorade POY honor.

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Moser threw for over 2,600 yards and 39 TDs while rushing for 850 yards (12.3 per attempt) and 16 TDs on the year, earning WSFCA First Team All State honors.

The 2027 standout had nine TDs combined in the state semifinals and finals showing an ability to rise to the highest levels of competition.

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Previously: https://www.thejournal425.com/p/vikings-dominate-2025-4a-all-state

The Washington State Football Coaches Association (WSFCA) released its 2025 All-State First Team package today, and the Lake Stevens Vikings are once again well-represented among the state’s elite.

Five Lake Stevens Viking juniors earned 4A first-team honors, following another deep postseason run culminating in a 13-1 season and second place finish.

The…

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LAKE STEVENS - Junior running back Jay Ferrell of the Lake Stevens Vikings was recognized with a Washington State Football Coaches Association First Team All State selection today.

Ferrell earned the first team honors after a stellar season in which the first year starter rushed for 1,764 yards on 177 carr…

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LAKE STEVENS — Offensive Guard Will Lynch, a top Class of 2027 recruit with an offer from Nevada-Las Vegas was recognized with a Washington State Football Coaches Association First Team All State selection today.

The 6’5 265 pound Lynch is one of four Viking juniors on the 4A All State first t…

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