By Bill Reynolds
La Conner Community News
There’s one thing for certain this fall sports campaign: The La Conner High football team won’t play in the postseason.
Not due to lack of talent, though.
Instead it’s because La Conner, which has been assigned to the Northwest 1B Eight-Man Football League’s Cascade Division, remains a Class 2B enrollment school district at least until the next state reclassification round ahead of the 2028-29 academic year.
La Conner, the smallest 2B enrollment district in Washington — and a rare small school system that fields both football and boys’ soccer programs in the fall — was recently denied by the state in its bid for 1B grid playoff eligibility in 2026.
So, Braves players — the team’s roster numbered 19 for its first preseason workout on Aug. 19 — will play for pride and love of the game.
But La Conner Middle & High School Principal/Director of Athletics Christine Tripp and Braves second-year head football coach Kirk Melton have successfully worked playoff-level contests into La Conner’s upcoming nine-game regular season schedule.
A key test for the youthful Braves lineup — versatile Max Page, a La Conner High track-and-field standout, was the lone senior to report to the start of preseason practices — is a Sept. 12 date at Neah Bay.
Neah Bay, which competes in the NW1B Olympic Division, posted an 8-3 mark last season, including a five-game winning streak before falling 58-24 to DeSales in third round playoff action.
“We wanted to play them because they’re a really good program and had a deep playoff run last year,” Melton said.
Traveling to Neah Bay will be challenging enough. The Braves team bus will roll out of town at 6:30 a.m. for the Saturday game.
La Conner, coming off a solid 6-3 season in 2025 during which it played as an independent, opens its ‘26 slate at home Sept. 4 (6 p.m.) opposite NW1B Olympic foe Quilcene.
Melton said that while his squad is young, he and his staff welcome back a core group of players that saw considerable action last year. The backfield, led by dual threat junior quarterback Keaton Bailey and dynamic junior running back Yandel Rosales-Rojas, returns fully intact.
La Conner’s line play should be a strength as well. Many candidates for playing time upfront invested time this past summer in the weight room and attended clinics and camps.
“(Being) a little older, a little stronger, a little better never hurts,” Melton said of the gains Braves players made during offseason training.
In addition to Page, Bailey, and Rosales-Rojas, the Braves roster features juniors Vireo Angell, Duron Clark, Xavier Keo, Evan Magill and Landon Stevens; sophomores Benny Allen, Tucker Caplinger, Josiah Herring, Gabe Joe-Thomas, Drew Loranger, Brysun Pogline and Wes Whiteacre; and freshmen Desmond Miller, Conner Ritchie, Jayce Seward-Perry and Caiden Shadrick.
All received playbooks on Day One, checked in at the La Conner Schools Fitness Center, and then hit the outdoor practice field for drills in the summer heat. It was a seamless transition from last Halloween when the Braves wrapped up their 2025 season with a convincing 37-18 win at Lummi.
This year Melton will be assisted by program operations director Gena Seaberg and coaches Eddie Almaraz, Ernie Almaraz, Isaiah Amaraz, Mike Hurn and Chas James, the latter of whom is a 2026 La Conner High grad who was a stalwart on last year’s Braves squad.
After debuting against Quilcene and visiting Neah Bay, La Conner hosts Entiat Sept. 18 (6 p.m.) and longtime Skagit County rival Concrete on Sept. 25 in another 6 p.m. kickoff.
The Braves face successive road trips on Oct. 2 (Darrington), Oct. 9 (Tulalip Heritage), and Oct. 16 (Lummi Nation), all 6 p.m. starts. La Conner closes with an Oct. 23 (6 p.m.) Homecoming match against Muckleshoot and Oct. 30 (6 p.m.) tilt at Vashon.
“Our schedule this season is tough,” acknowledged Melton, who previously coached at Everett and Stanwood, “but we’ve got a really good group.”
Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
