MaxPreps Football Tour of Champions celebrates Eastside Catholic High School

As the sun broke through the clouds over the Issaquah plateau the MaxPreps travel team arrived at Eastside Catholic (WA) High School to honor the football team on the 11th Annual MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard, which is in its 11th year honoring football. This truly amazing team earned the recognition by clinching the WIAA 3A state football championship and finishing as one of the top ranked teams in the nation out of nearly 17,000 high school programs.

Upon arrival on Friday, Jan. 28 MaxPreps representative Todd Gowin and Washington Army National Guardsman Sergeant First Class Dustin McClure were greeted by Athletic Director and head coach Jeremy Thielbahr. During lunch period, the campus was filled with excitement as students talked about the football team and the special trophy presentation scheduled for the end of the day during a special assembly devoted to the Crusaders.

As the ceremony grew closer students, parents, faculty as well as local community supporters started to assemble in the gym. Every seat in the house including standing room only was filled to capacity and anticipation grew as the football team began to gather on the gym floor. Something special was about to happen and the buzz was in the air.

To kick it off, Dani Standish, a member of the schools leadership took the microphone and introduced Todd Gowin. Gowin congratulated the team and Coach Thielbahr on a highly successful and historic season — a rarely accomplished back-to-back state championships.

Gowin talked about the game against long-time rival Bellevue and the Crusaders’ impressive come from behind victory as they overcame a 28 point deficit to capture the state title. The team’s impressive finish to its perfect 13-0 season secured the No. 40 spot in the MaxPreps national rankings.

Next, Gowin introduced Sergeant First Class Dustin McClure from the Washington Army National Guard. SFC McClure commended the players on their season and spoke about the shared traits and goals between the Army National Guard and Eastside Catholic’s championship team. SFC McClure then presented Coach Thielbahr with the Army National Guard national ranking trophy along with the rafter banner.



Coach Thielbahr graciously accepted the Minuteman trophy and promptly passed it to his team before thanking the Army National Guard and MaxPreps for the prestigious award and national recognition.

Congratulations to the Crusaders on their back-to-back state championships and high national ranking!

To view the Eastside Catholic TOC Photo Gallery, click here.