For more than a decade, Tri-Cities Prep football lived in the space between promise and payoff.
The Jaguars made playoff appearances. They notched wins in November. They absorbed first-round exits, quarterfinal losses, and season-ending defeats at the hands of familiar postseason opponents — including Toledo more than once. The standard had been set long ago, but the climb back to the top had proven steep.
On the grandest stage in Washington high school football, that climb finally reached its summit.
After falling behind early, Tri-Cities Prep stormed back to defeat top-seeded Toledo in the 2B State Championship at Husky Stadium, completing a perfect 14–0 season and delivering the school its first 11-man football state title and first state football championship since 2009.
“It was a roller coaster of emotions for the entirety of that football game,” said head coach and athletic director Kyle Cairns.
The championship also represents the closing of one chapter and the full arrival of another.
In 2022, Kyle Cairns took over for longtime athletic director and head coach Dan Whitsett, who spent nearly two decades building the Jaguars into a perennial small-school contender and guiding them to multiple state championships. Cairns inherited not only a program, but a culture — one rooted in accountability, multi-sport excellence, and community investment.
Now, just a few seasons into his tenure, Cairns has guided Prep all the way back to the state’s highest stage.
“With that dual role, I’ve had to rely on a lot of people,” Cairns said. “This isn’t possible without my community.”
The title game unfolded as a mirror of Prep’s postseason journey — early adversity followed by collective resolve.
Just like the week before against Adna, the Jaguars found themselves down 14–0 early to Toledo. But a deep scoring strike finally put Prep on the board, and by halftime the Jaguars had worked their way back within one score.
The third quarter became the decisive stretch. Back-to-back takeaways led directly to touchdowns, flipping the scoreboard and momentum in a matter of minutes. Another short-yardage score following a mishandled kickoff pushed the Jaguars firmly into control.
Toledo answered to keep pressure on, but Prep’s defense delivered the final blow late in the fourth quarter with a 47-yard interception return for a touchdown, sealing the championship and igniting celebration across the sideline.
“Our kids just took off after halftime,” Cairns said.
This championship roster was not built during football season alone. It was forged across fall, winter, and spring.
Many Jaguars on this roster are three-sport athletes who commit to football in the fall, basketball in the winter, and the three-pear state champions baseball program in the spring, while lifting year-round. Summer days routinely featured multiple practices and training sessions — not out of obligation, but out of expectation.
“These kids are committed, dedicated, and resilient. They’ll be sore,” Cairns said of his players returning to other sports. “But they’ll be ready to go again.”
The victory capped a 14–0 season and elevated Tri-Cities Prep into a rare group of programs statewide to win a 2B championship in the 11-man era.
“That moment felt like an out-of-body experience,” Cairns said of when the final whistle blew. “You don’t know if you deserve it or not. Then you realize what you just accomplished.”
