State title dream turned reality for Yelm’s father-son Ronquillo duo

Yelm High School football coach Jason Ronquillo shared a photo on his Twitter page a day after Yelm beat Bellevue in the Class 3A state semifinals, advancing the Tornados to the state championship game.

The photo was from 2013 — Ronquillo smiling for the camera with his son, Kyler — at the 4A state title game between Chiawana and Camas in the Tacoma Dome.

That day, Kyler told his dad that he would play in a state championship game one day.

That dream became reality Saturday, when Yelm played Eastside Catholic for the 3A state title at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup.

“It’s been a long journey for both of us,” Jason said, following Yelm’s 20-13 win Saturday afternoon. “Being a coach’s kid is not easy. But man, he just wears that with pride.

“He just plays so hard. His attitude is so good. Such a great captain for us.”

And to end the championship game and a stellar high school career the way Kyler did was “just phenomenal,” Jason said.

It was Kyler who made the incredible play that lifted the Tornados to the first championship win in program history, as Jason watched from Yelm’s sideline.

Yelm was trailing by one point late in the fourth quarter, and for a moment it appeared the program’s undefeated run was about to come to a conclusion — until Kyler wrestled away what seemed a sure interception from an Eastside Catholic defender and sprinted into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown with 52 seconds to play.

“We lose that game if he doesn’t do that,” Jason said. “We’ve lost. There’s always time on the clock, but you’re talking (50) seconds. Defenses are on point. To make a play like that under that kind of pressure — crazy.“

“I had to rip the ball out,” Kyler said. “If I didn’t rip the ball out the game was over. I wanted it more.”

From Kyler taking in that state championship game in the stands in 2013, to winning it on the field his senior year in 2022, it’s been a ride for the Ronquillo family.

“That photo, he’s dreamt about it,” Jason said. “He’s wanted to do that. At the end of the day, he did it. He did it. No. 5 is a baller, he’s an absolute baller.”

Moments after Kyler’s game-winning touchdown, the Tornados ended Eastside Catholic’s finale drive with an interception near midfield, and Kyler got to lift the 3A trophy with his teammates — and his dad.

“It means so much,” Kyler said. “To see a smile on his face meant a lot to me because, just me and him, put in so many hours — and he honestly might put in more work than me just being a head coach. And he really did it. He changed the culture here. He did it.”

When Jason took over as Yelm’s head coach in 2013, the Tornados had not advanced to the state playoffs since 1987.

In 10 seasons leading Yelm, Jason has guided the program to winning records each of the past six, at least a share of the 3A South Sound Conference title each of the past three — including an undefeated run this fall — and appearances in the state playoffs in each of the past four.

He brought the program back to the state playoffs for the first time in 2018, when the Tornados advanced to the 3A quarterfinals.

Yelm returned to the 3A bracket the next fall, advancing to the first round when Kyler was a freshman, and again in 2021 — the next season the state playoffs were held —advancing to the quarterfinals last season when Kyler was a junior.

“Since he got here, we’ve just been working,” Kyler said. “We’ve been putting in the work. Once he got here, honestly it just started trickling down. More people started putting in work, grinding and grinding, and as you can see it pays off.

“And on every level. TCYFL, high school — you just see people getting better and better in the Yelm community, and it’s really great to see.”

Both Jason and Kyler Ronquillo, as well as the rest of the Tornados’ coaching staff and team, also got to share what they have built in recent seasons with the Yelm community, which packed the stands for Saturday afternoon’s championship game.

“It’s so amazing,” Kyler said. “It feels so good just to be able to give back to the people that I really care about. Those fans in the stands are family, man. They’ve done so much for us. All we can do is repay them with a big trophy.

“ … It meant more than just us. It was Yelm. It was the city. This is for the city.”