Sleeper teams in the 1A class

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As players wrap up their 7v7 seasons and wrap up attending camps and showcases, I wanted to take a look into each class within the state and see which teams that you need to keep an eye on as the season goes along. Here are a couple teams in the 1A class that could be sleeper teams to keep an eye on.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Freeman HS </strong>- Last Season: 9-3</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Freeman made a surprise run in the 1A state tournament last year as the 12th seed, winning 2 games before losing in the semi-final round to number 1 overall seed, Royal. Boen Phelps will be an extremely hard player to replace on both sides of the ball but they will have some solid young talent on the squad. Kanoa Rogan ('24, RB) will be back and will get a lot of carries out of the backfield next season. Sage Gilbert ('24, WR/DB) will be back and he was one of the top defensive backs in the 1A class last year after having 9 interceptions. Ethan Hernandez ('24, OL/DL) is another player who will help lead the team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lynden Christian HS</strong> - Last Season: 8-1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lynden Christian is a team that is always one of the top teams within the 1A class. Last year, they were just 1 play away from making the state tournament, but lost to Nooksack Valley and Mount Baker in a 3-way tiebreaker. They will be losing a couple key players, including USC commit Kade Eldridge. But with a ton of players returning who will have big seasons, the Lyncs will be back in the mix of the top teams. Starting quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='643367' first='Jeremiah' last='Wright'] ('24, QB) will be back to lead the Lyncs and be the main offensive option. Dawson Bouma ('24, WR/DB), Tyson Bajema ('24, DB/WR), Treven Blair ('24, RB/LB), and [player_tooltip player_id='915286' first='Kayden' last='Stuit'] ('24, ATH) will all be back as playmakers on both sides of the court, which will really help the Lyncs make it back to the state tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Meridian HS</strong> - Last Season: 6-4</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This Meridian team does play in a stacked Northwest Conference, having to play the likes of Lynden Christian, Nooksack Valley, and Mount Baker. Meridian is a young team but will be returning one of the best players in Whatcom County last year in Joshtyn Elmer. Elmer is an elite running back who can carry his team to victories and also rack up tackles on the defensive side. Jaeger Fyfe ('25, QB) is one of the more promising up and coming quaterbacks within the NWC and the entire state. He has great length and makes big plays with either his arm or legs. [player_tooltip player_id='1136341' first='Lincoln' last='Hoefer'] ('25, OL), [player_tooltip player_id='957347' first='Landen' last='Downey'] ('25, LB), James Hedahl ('25, TE/DE) are some other names to keep an eye on.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bellevue Christian HS</strong> - Last Season: 6-4</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bellevue Christian did sneak into the state tournament as the 15th seed and lost in the first round to Lakeside. They were such a young team last year, having many underclassman on the roster. They will be more experienced this year and will show signs of growth all over the field on both sides of the ball. Ryder Brickman ('25, LB/OL) will be back after a MONSTER season, especially on the defensive side. Tristian Drummond ('25, RB/LB) will be back after being named 2nd team all conference for running back and linebacker. Kaden Kivett ('26, ATH) and, Mason Hill ('25, ATH) are some other names to keep an eye on. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->