The Chronicle's 2024 All-Area Football Team

W.F. West’s Brumfield ends career with All-Area MVP campaign

By The Chronicle staff
Posted 12/27/24

When W.F. West coach Dan Hill turned to Gage Brumfield at QB prior to the start of the 2023 season, he had trust in the junior to lead an efficient attack.

The 2023 season was successful, as the …

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The Chronicle's 2024 All-Area Football Team

W.F. West’s Brumfield ends career with All-Area MVP campaign

Posted

When W.F. West coach Dan Hill turned to Gage Brumfield at QB prior to the start of the 2023 season, he had trust in the junior to lead an efficient attack.

The 2023 season was successful, as the Bearcats made it to the state tournament.

This fall, though, Brumfield took his game to another level, earning the EvCo MVP award and The Chronicle’s All-Area MVP award while leading W.F. West to the state semifinals.

“They’re the best coaching staff I could ask for,” Brumfield said. “They have always given me confidence and encouragement …It was amazing to get to play for them one more time.”

With a bevy of talented skill-position teammates to work with, Brumfield consistently diced up opposing defenses. He finished the year with 1,781 passing yards and 26 touchdowns to just three picks, and he also added 945 yards and 16 touchdowns as a runner.

He also occasionally made the trip out wide to his old stomping grounds, where he caught six catches for 107 yards and a touchdown.

With Brumfield at the helm, the Bearcats made the state semifinals for the second time in three seasons.

“It was amazing,” Brumfield said. “The whole year was so much fun for all of us. We had a plan and a goal, and we did everything that we possibly could to achieve that goal. We were just locked in the whole time, just doing everything that we could, and having one last run.”

Brumfield made sure to credit his teammates as well, adding that he “couldn’t do it without them.”

“They help me more than they know and get credit for,” Brumfield said.

Brumfield’s football career isn’t over, as he’s headed to Cheney to suit up for Eastern Washington University next fall.

The move east will come with another position change.

Brumfield will move to linebacker for the Eagles, a position where EWU Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers coach Eric Sanders believes Brumfield can thrive.

“I think that (Sanders) can put me in the right spot to have the best success I possibly can,” Brumfield said. “I’m excited for the challenge … I’m excited to get faster, stronger, a little bit bigger, and just kind of see how college football really is.”

And when Brumfield is at Eastern, he can always think back on the final trip to the semifinals with his teammates.

“It’s still my favorite memory that I’ll hold onto forever,” Brumfield said.

Quarterback

Blaze Underhill, Onalaska

One of the C2BL East’s Co-Offensive MVPs, Underhill helped the Loggers win a league title and reach the state quarterfinals by rushing for 1,708 yards and 25 touchdowns, throwing for 100 yards and two more touchdowns, and hauling in a 19-yard TD reception and a two-point conversion to himself.

Grady Wilson, Napavine

The C2BL West first-team QB tallied 1,731 passing yards, 1,043 rushing yards, and 38 total touchdowns to lead the Tigers back to Husky Stadium for their fourth consecutive state championship game.

 

Running Back

Ethan Rodriguez, Rochester

Rodrigues ran for 1,568 yards and 22 touchdowns to lead Rochester to a league title and earn 1A Evergreen League MVP honors.

 

Michael Vassar, Tenino

Vassar tallied 1,438 yards and 15 touchdowns and the ground, which was enough to be named 1A Evergreen League Offensive MVP.

 

Rodrigo Rodriguez, Onalaska

Rodriguez did it all for the Loggers, rushing for 1,657 yards and 27 touchdowns while also adding three receiving touchdowns and five return touchdowns. He was named Co-Offensive MVP along with Underhill.

 

Judah Kelly, Morton-White Pass

The MWP senior eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark and scored 20 total touchdowns (16 rush, 4 pass) to lead the Timberwolves to a crossover.

 

Beau Miller, Adna

Miller made a consistent and prominent impact for the Pirates, rushing for 1,786 yards and 20 touchdowns to help Adna reach the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2019.

 

Jaylin Nixon, Tumwater

The EvCo’s Offensive MVP headlined Tumwater’s rushing attack, leading the team with 700 rushing yards while also hitting paydirt 10 times.

 

Wide Receiver

Daniel Rodas, Oakville

Rodas was named the Southwest 1B Offensive Player of the Year after hauling in 1,454 yards and scoring 21 touchdowns, leading the Acorns to a crossover.

 

Tucker Land, W.F. West

An EvCo first-team receiver and linebacker, Land earns a spot as a wideout here, as he hauled in 34 catches for 572 yards and nine touchdowns to help W.F. West reach the state semis.

 

Karsen Denault, Napavine

Denault was named the C2BL West MVP for his play on both sides of the ball, but his 44 catches, 909 receiving yards, 14 receiving touchdowns, and eight return touchdowns (five punts, three kicks) earn him a place on offense here.

 

Tristan DeVille, Black Hills

DeVille was Black Hills’ No. 1 receiver all season, and he finished with 34 receptions, 667 yards, and seven receiving touchdowns to earn a first-team all-league spot.

 

Adam Kruger, Toledo

The junior wideout was a big reason the Riverhawks returned to the state tournament, as he hauled in 613 yards and six touchdowns on 31 catches, which landed him a place on the C2BL East First-Team.

 

Hunter Howell, Rainier

Howell tallied nearly 1,600 yards for the Mountaineers, hauling in 37 catches for 821 yards and six touchdowns, rushing for 537 yards and five touchdowns, and throwing for 236 yards and a pair of TDs.

 

Tight End

Jake Dillon, Tumwater

The Tumwater tight end took advantage of the chances he got in Tumwater’s run-heavy offense, averaging nearly 20 yards a catch and scoring five touchdowns.

 

Offensive Line

Wyatt Dahl, Rochester

The 1A Evergreen Lineman of the Year, Dahl led an O-Line that blocked for the 1A Evergreen MVP in Ethan Rodriguez, who ran for over 1,500 yards.

 



Jackson Knittle, Adna

A first-team lineman on both sides of the ball, Knittle led a Pirate O-Line that had its way running the football all season long.

 

Kieler Jackson, Rainier

Jackson played well enough to be named to the C2BL East First-Team on the O-Line, and he also showed off his arm on a 70-yard touchdown pass in Rainier’s regular-season finale.

 

Justin Jacoby, Onalaska

The Onalaska senior was named to the C2BL East First-Team on both sides of the line, and he helped pave the way for Underhill and Rodrigo Rodrgiuez to have monster seasons on the ground.

 

Christian Martin, Toledo

The Toledo senior ended his high school career with an excellent campaign blocking for Eli Weeks, as he was named to the C2BL East First-Team.

 

Carlos Vallejo, W.F. West

A first-team EvCo O-Lineman, Vallejo led a Bearcat O-Line that protected All-Area and EvCo MVP Gage Brumfield.

 

Defensive Line

Malijah Tucker, Tumwater

The Washington State commit ended his high school career with a bang, recording 57 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, six sacks, two fumble recoveries, and two blocked kicks to earn EvCo Co-Defensive MVP honors.

 

David Daarud, Centralia

Centralia’s lone EvCo first-teamer, Daarud wreaked havoc all year long by logging 39 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and five sacks to headline the Tiger defensive line.

 

Jack Nelson, Napavine

One of the best 2B linemen in the state, Nelson earns a place on the D-Line after a 2024 season with 59 tackles, seven tackles for loss, and a sack.

 

Mehki Richardson, Tumwater

Another staunch piece on the Tumwater D-Line, Richardson tallied 67 tackles, 13 sacks, and 12 tackles for loss while also forcing two fumbles, recovering three, and returning one for a touchdown.

 

Grady Westlund, W.F. West

Westlund was a regular in opposing teams backfield this season, as he finished with 61 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, and six sacks while also forcing three fumbles, recovering one, and coming down with an interception.

 

Cameron Kuberth, Mossyrock

Kuberth was a staple on the Mossyrock defensive line, earning a place on the C2BL second-team with his production.

 

Linebacker

Beau Guyette, W.F. West

Another key piece on the W.F. West defense, Guyette ended the year with 76 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks, which was good enough to end up on the All-EvCo First-Team.

 

Beckett Wall, Tumwater

The other EvCo Co-Defensive MVP, Wall had 95 tackles, a whopping 25 tackles for loss, and six sacks while also blocking three kicks and recovering a fumble to help lead the T-Birds back to the state championship game.

 

Cash Short, Tumwater

Short was all over the field on both sides of the ball, but his 64 tackles, nine tackles for loss, four sacks, two fumble recoveries, two interceptions, and two defensive touchdowns gets him on as a linebacker here.

 

Colin Shields, Napavine

Another first-teamer on both sides of the ball, Shields was named the C2BL East Defensive MVP after tallying 134 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, three sacks, and two interceptions to lead the Napavine defense.

 

Kenny Bell, Black Hills

Bell led the Black Hills’ defense with 92 tackles, seven for loss, two forced fumbles, and six total blocks (four punts, two field goals), which landed him alongside Short and Guyette as first-team linebackers.

 

Cody Strozyk, PWV

Strozyk was another C2BL stud to earn first-team honors on both sides of the ball, and he earns a spot at LB here for his work leading a defense that allowed just 12.4 points per game in its wins this season.

Defensive Back

Cooper Lawrence, Onalaska

Lawrence was one of two shutdown corners for the Loggers this year, as he hauled in five interceptions to shut down one side of the field.

 

Sam Pannkuk, Onalaska

The second of Onalaska’s shutdown corners, Pannkuk also hauled in five interceptions and made it difficult for any offense to attack vertically against the Loggers.

 

Eli Weeks, Toledo

Also a first-team QB, Weeks added 47 tackles, three interceptions, and a fumble recovery to land on the C2BL East First-Team as a DB.

 

Austin Gonia, Tenino

The Tenino senior put together an incredible season for a DB, tallying 29 tackles, grabbing three picks, and only allowing one completed pass to his receiver all year.

 

Carson Rotter, Rochester

Rotter was one of the best ball tracking DBs in the area, as he hauled in six interceptions while also adding 14 tackles for loss to earn a First-Team Evergreen League spot.