The rematch has arrived.
One yr after Seton Catholic bumped into small-school soccer energy Royal within the Class 1A state semifinals, the groups will meet once more in Friday’s 1A state championship sport at Husky Stadium in Seattle. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
“We’re excited,” senior linebacker Aeven Napoleon mentioned. “We’ve got something coming for them. Let’s go.”
The No. 2 seed Cougars reached their first state championship sport in program historical past after dispatching No. 6 Montesano 35-14 on Saturday at McKenzie Stadium.
The win was highlighted by three touchdowns from senior Jacob Williams (together with an interception return for a landing), plus a protection that compelled three turnovers and held the Bulldogs below 300 yards of whole offense.
No. 1 Royal dealt with No. 4 Cashmere 44-7 to succeed in their eighth state championship sport within the final 9 seasons.
The Cougars had one thing of a welcome-to-the-big-leagues second final yr within the state semifinals once they suffered a humbling 42-0 street loss towards Royal, which went on to defeat Lakeside of 9 Mile Falls for the 1A state championship.
Enjoying a tradition-rich Royal crew with 12 state championships was an eye-opening second for the Cougars, and it set the stage for them to start working towards a return journey this season.
One yr later, each groups 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 mentioned. “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.”
On the similar time, the Cougars don’t need to get caught up within the storylines of a rematch towards Royal.
This week they’ll look to arrange for Royal with an oft-used cliché in thoughts — as a anonymous, faceless opponent.
“It’s just another football game,” Williams mentioned. “We’ve just gotta take it one play at a time, like I said, and I think we’ll be ready.”