It’s not often that schools with an entire county and change separating them meet six times in a decade, but that’s exactly what Lake Stevens football and Graham-Kapowsin have done since 2015.

The No. 2 Vikings (12-0) and No. 6 Eagles (11-1) have played some of their highest-stakes football against each other, with Lake Stevens beating GK in the semifinals and championship games of their 2022 and 2023 state title seasons. The Eagles got the best of Vikings head coach Tom Tri’s squad in the 2021 state title game, a loss that pushed Lake Stevens to new heights by instilling “hunger,” by Tri’s accounts.

“They have a system that works,” Tri said of the Eagles’ consistency after Tuesday’s practice. “I’m sure they have high expectations and they expect to win, just like we do … I think that’s

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