2025 Fall Preps Preview: Gonzaga Prep football's experienced senior class turns sting of semifinal loss into high expectations

Part of growing up is learning how to deal with disappointment. Some choose to forget and move on. Others use pain as motivation.

For the Gonzaga Prep football seniors, that pain is losing in the quarterfinals or semifinals of the State 4A playoffs each of the past three seasons.

“We’ve just been thinking about that every day,” senior receiver Isaiah Docken said. “It’s actually my lock screen on my phone.”

“It” is a picture of the scoreboard at Camas High School, where the top-seeded Papermakers used a 21-0 fourth quarter run to knock off the fifth-seeded Bullpups 28-20 in a state semifinal on Nov. 30.

“I still watch film from that game knowing what we did wrong, what we could have done better,” senior wing back Jonah Keller said. “That’s definitely motivated me and this team for this summer, to push us to make us better.”

“We were that close last year to playing in the state championship game against a really good Camas team,” second-year head coach Nate Graham said. “We have a lot of kids coming back, but we don’t focus on (last year). I haven’t talked about it at all. We’re out here all spring, all summer, all fall, trying to get better from day to day, and what happens, happens.”

There is a prevailing thought that Greater Spokane League teams get overlooked statewide, until the final eight at state emerge and there’s another GSL team “surprising” everyone. But this year, the Bullpups are already garnering attention for all the right reasons.

“Everybody does tend to forget about us,” Graham said. “But we should be getting noticed. And that’s a credit to this group of seniors. It’s a talented group.”

The roster checks all the boxes:

Senior-heavy with 14 starters returning? Check.

A three-year run of deep playoff experience? Double-check.

Speed on both sides of the ball? Check and mate.

It’s a recipe for another long playoff run, but the Bullpups first have to navigate a GSL schedule where they will be targeted each week as their opponents’ biggest game of the season.

“Our kids know that,” Graham said. “They actually embrace that. We talk about that, like, we’re gonna get everybody’s best game. We feel we owe it to those other teams to be the best version of Gonzaga Prep we can be.”

Docken, listed at 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, and Keller get most of the attention – and rightfully so. The Bullpups “dynamic duo” on the outside can generate instant offense every time they touch the ball – rushing or receiving. But there’s experience at all the skill positions and a tested formula with the multiple-option offense that G-Prep has run since time immemorial.

“I expect all these kids to take another step,” Graham said. “I mean, everybody sees Jonah and Isaiah and, I mean, they’re just the visual guys. Jonah stands out because he’s pretty fast. Isaiah stands out because he’s pretty big. But we have a lot of guys on this team that are really, really good.”

Gonzaga Prep returns its senior quarterback, Sam Kincaid, along with senior running backs Jimmy Grainger, Andy Agada and Nikko Alexander – who is a multiple-time state sprint medalist. There aren’t any behemoths on the offensive line, but the option offense creates a lot of moving parts that defenses have to account for.

“They’re all different. Jimmy’s a bigger, stronger guy, and Andy’s a smaller, twitchier guy,” Graham said. “So it’ll be fun. It’ll give us something a little different, having those guys. It makes us even more multiple.”

“We’ve got a lot of options out there,” Keller said. “It’s gonna be scary.”

The Bullpups are still going to be run-oriented, but Graham has confidence to go deep as well. G-Prep completed 5 of 7 pass attempts in its opening night 38-10 win over Ridgeline – but four went for touchdowns, three to Keller.

“We’re just continuing to build off some of the stuff we did last year,” he said. “If teams dare us to do it, I’ve told our guys we’ll throw it 30 times (per game). I don’t think teams want us to throw it 30 times.”

“It’s the nice part about having other dudes, you know, is we can spread the ball around,” Docken said. “We’re way better with multiple options than one, which is very nice.”

One of those options this season is Jacobe McClelland, an all-state defensive back who will play in certain packages on offense.

Gonzaga Prep doesn’t make players play both ways, something they call “two platoon.” But Graham will make an exception this season for McClelland.

“He’s a playmaker on both sides of the ball,” Docken said. “He’s a quick, shifty dude, and can definitely take one to the house.”

Listed at 6-0, 165, McClelland is a ballhawk on defense and returns who will get a chance to utilize his breakaway speed and instincts on the offensive side in his senior year.

“I’m excited to finally get to play offense and defense. It’s the first time in a while,” McClelland said.

“If he were two inches taller, everybody in the country would be recruiting (McClelland),” Graham said. “He’s that good. He’s a technician. He’s so, so good, so quick and his football IQ is off the charts.”

“I’m definitely undersized. I know that,” McClelland said. “But I don’t really take it as a diss. It’s just reality. I just try to play with my skills and really just focus. It doesn’t really matter to me. I’m gonna go out there and play my best, and I think I’m one of the best, too.”

Of course, playing offense isn’t going to get in the way of McClelland once again being the leader on the defensive side, which returns eight starters including defensive back Jack Pierce, linebacker Will Jackson and lineman Nehemiah Areta – all of whom were named all-league.

“We have a lot of returning starters, so I feel like we have really good team connection, and we all play really well together,” McClelland said.

McClelland and the rest of the Bullpups will get a chance to prove it should they reach the 4A playoffs again, which this year will be seeded with a Round of 32 in Week 10 like 3A has been the last two seasons. Like his teammates, the loss to Camas still haunts McClelland.

“I’m going to play with a chip on my shoulder,” he said. “I want that game back, but I can’t. I’ll make it up when we get back there this year.”