Wahkiakum's historic season comes to end in semifinals

The Mules had their sights set high this season, and their efforts returned the best campaign for a Wahkiakum football team in two decades. The semifinal run was the furthest a Mules team has gone since Head Coach Ryan Lorenzo's senior year in 2004, when he was a player.

The Mules put up an 11-1 record this fall, a credit to their drive and consistency. Entering the semifinal against Liberty Christian, the Mules were unbeaten but came in as underdogs. The Patriots were the #2 team in the state, with Wahkiakum sitting at #3. As the higher seed, Liberty Christian hosted the Mules at Fran Rish Stadium in Richland, a lengthy four-and-a-half-hour commute from Cathlamet. In the end, it was Liberty Christian who advanced, beating the Mules 36-18.

It was a high-intensity battle, one befitting the penultimate game of the 1B football season, and the Mules took the challenge head-on, refusing to back down to the Patriots. Lorenzo came away proud of his team's effort in defeat.

"The boys didn't back down and played a heck of a game," Lorenzo said. "We had to play perfectly to win, but they stayed in it and fought to the end."

With the margins so thin, it was always going to be a big ask to knock off a perennial contender, but the Mules brought the fight to the Patriots early. Wahkiakum took a 6-0 lead in the first quarter, and one of the highlight plays was an acrobatic catch by senior Gage Robinson to extend the opening drive of the game.

"Gage made an insane catch to keep our first drive alive," Lorenzo said. "He went up in [between] two defenders and came down really awkwardly and held onto the ball."

The Mules struck first on the scoreboard, with Preston West punching in the first touchdown of the game. In the second quarter, Wahkiakum scored again through a Jayden Stoddard rush into the end zone, but Liberty Christian took the lead into halftime 14-12.

In the third, the game started to fall out of the Mules' grasp. Though Wahkiakum scored a touchdown through the signature connection of Stoddard to star-target Parker Leitz, Liberty Christian outscored them 14-6 in the quarter. Entering the fourth, the score stood 28-18.

Throughout the game, the season, and their careers, the seniors led the way for Wahkiakum. Stoddard threw for 279 yards and a touchdown, Robinson had 55 receiving yards, Leitz racked up 162 receiving yards to go with his TD, and Cooper Carlson contributed 28 total yards and six tackles. "All the seniors played incredible roles all four years," Lorenzo said. "From great scout team players to great leaders."

In the final frame of the season, Wahkiakum couldn't quite get the lift they needed to get back in the game. Liberty Christian tacked on another touchdown and two-point conversion to bring the final tally to 36-18. The final whistle signaled that it would be the Patriots who would advance to take on DeSales in the state final at Husky Stadium on Friday, Dec. 5. The final whistle also marked the end of the best Wahkiakum season in recent memory.

Not every season can end in a championship, and, for a Wahkiakum program that has seen its win count go up each of the last three seasons, the 2025 season was a culmination of years of growth for the players and the coaching staff. After the semifinal ended, Lorenzo told the team they were "part of history" and integral to "bringing the Mule train back on track."

While getting the results on the field is vital in the moment, and writing your name in program history is undoubtedly something that every player dreams about, Lorenzo hopes that the lessons his players take away stretch beyond the field. Football season lasts about four months and passes in a flash. Being part of a group working towards a greater goal can last a lifetime.

"I hope they learned that being a good teammate and leader is more important than wins and losses," said Lorenzo.