White River flag football seems likely to make inaugural state championship

Published 12:00 pm Monday, January 19, 2026

The next few days will see flag football’s regular season come to a close, with the excitement of postseason play just around the corner.

This winter brought a maiden voyage for programs at both Enumclaw and White River high schools, giving girls another sporting opportunity. Other schools are a couple of years into the venture, which has grown rapidly across the United States.

Here’s a recap of how things went the past week for both Plateau programs, a look at this week’s calendar and an explanation of the postseason picture.

WHITE RIVER

It was a banner week for the Buckley bunch, as the Hornets picked up four victories in six days and is currently tied for No. 1 in the standings.

The busy week began Jan. 12 when White River notched a 23-2 win over rival Enumclaw. After a midweek breather the team defeated Class 4A Auburn High 49-35 on Jan. 16 then swept a doubleheader the following day – beating Kentlake 35-7 and whipping Federal Way 42-0.

Against Auburn, Jordyn Daigle led the way with four touchdown receptions. Also factoring into the scoring were Riley Soule, who returned two interceptions for TDs, and Ella Stone who grabbed a tipped pass and ran for a score.

Against Kentlake, Daigle was again a major contributor with three touchdown receptions. Also on the receiving end of TD tosses were Jayna Vain and Stone. In the victory over Federal Way, Giuliana Fioretti found the end zone three times, twice on the receiving end of passes and once on the ground. Charlee Sproed caught a TD pass and returned an interception for a score, while Stone added another touchdown reception.

Freshman quarterback Danika Scott three 14 touchdown passes during last week’s three contests and Sproed totaled five interceptions.

Now sporting a 5-1 record in North Puget Sound League 3A play (8-3 overall), the Hornets return to action tonight (Wednesday), hosting Auburn Mountainview. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. at Arrow Lumber Stadium. The regular season ends Jan. 24 when White River travels to Federal Way Memorial Field to square off against Thomas Jefferson (11:45 a.m.) and Todd Beamer High (1 p.m.).

The contest against Beamer, who is competing for the No. 1 spot with the Hornets, will likely decide the regular season championship.

ENUMCLAW

The EHS crew added two more tallies to the victory column on Jan. 14, opening with a 42-7 romp over Thomas Jefferson High before squeaking past Kent-Meridian 16-14.

The lopsided win against Thomas Jefferson was “a bit of a blur,” admitted coach Christopher Blakely, perhaps due to the Hornets’ rapid scoring. The victory featured multiple passing touchdowns by quarterback Madison Holden and, in a bit of a twist, saw wide receiver Ashlyn Elder tossing a TD to Sutton Kelsey.

The following contest against Kent-Meridian brought both excitement and drama, highlighted by a nearly-last-second, game-winning score.

After falling behind 7-0, EHS tied the game midway through the first half when Bristal Markus hauled in a TD pass. After falling behind a second time, the Hornets tied the game when Holden connected with Elder with just two seconds remaining. In overtime, Enumclaw converted on a two-point play (Holden passing to Teagin Clark) and secured the win when Natalie Otero sacked the K-M quarterback.

The victories left Enumclaw with a 3-3 record in league play (5-6 overall), good for fourth place in the NPSL 3A standings. The regular season concludes tonight (Wednesday) when the Hornets host Kentlake at 5 p.m. and Decatur at 7:30.

POSTSEASON PLAY

At the conclusion of the regular season the top five teams from the NPSL 3A will advance to the West Central District tournament, which will be contested Jan. 30-31 at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.

With a field of a dozen flag football teams, the first four games will be loser-out contests with the winners advancing to a double-elimination round. After two days of action – and 14 games – seven teams will head to the Class 3A state tourney.

The 16-team state festivities begin Feb. 7 with opening round games and quarterfinal affairs. The four teams earning a berth in the semifinals will play Feb. 13 and the following day brings both the championship game and the battle for third- and fourth-place honors. Games on the final two days will be contested at Federal Way Memorial Field.