East beats West in Barden All Star Classic

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, June 23, 2026

An opportunistic East squad beat the West in the Earl Barden Football Classic at East Valley High School in Yakima Saturday.

The East cashed in on short fields with five interceptions and a fumble from the West quarterbacks, and they pulled away in the third quarter to cement a 36-6 win after a 16-6 halftime lead.

Nine Twin Harbors area players represented the West with seven from Montesano: Toren Crites, Kole Kjesbu, Zach Timmons, Mason Fry, Kyle Caton, Isac Hawkins and Lucas Delgado. Chris Banker from Raymond/South Bend and Blane King from Pe Ell/Willapa Valley also made the game.

All nine played well in a losing effort versus an excellent East All Star squad that flipped turnovers into points.

Timmons led both teams in rushing and was voted the West Offensive MVP. Fry was picked by the West coaches as one of four captains for the team. Five of the eleven starters for the West defense were from the Twin Harbors with Crites (5 tackles, interception) at safety, Kjesbu (6 tackles, tackle for loss) at outside linebacker, King (3 tackles) at cornerback, Fry (5 tackles, sack) and Hawkins (4 tackles) at defensive line. When Delgado (4 tackles) rotated in at defensive tackle it was six of eleven.

Caton started at center and Banker rotated at running back with Timmons. The West ran the ball effectively before turnovers turned it into a catch-up game script in the second half.

An interception by Crites in the second half threatened to change momentum to the West, but a subsequent costly quarterback fumble ended it.

Crites’ instincts set him up for the crucial play: “All of the Cashmere guys came into the game and I knew they were going to try to get it to one of them. When the QB started to scramble I baited his throw to the guy near me, stepped in front and picked it. I thought I was gonna score but that guy caught my foot from behind.”

With the threat averted, the East team would drive and put the game away.

It is improbable that Montesano or another 1A school would ever have seven seniors play in another state all star game. That thought was not lost on the former Montesano football coaches in attendance to watch their final football game.

Retired Montesano Head Coach Terry Jensen offered his thoughts on his last Monte senior class at the all star game: “I thought they all represented Monte football well and were great teammates. It was great to see them all on the field one more time. We are very proud of all of them and what they accomplished in this game and their high school career. What a great way for them to close their football time together. Go Dogs.”

Barden Football Classic organizers stressed the importance of giving players “a chance to experience the brotherhood learned from spending a week together highlighted by a Saturday football game.” To a man, the Montesano players agreed that a favorite part of their experience was meeting new people, getting to know them, and quickly forming friendships and bonds with their new teammates.

Timmons added, “It was surprising how now you like people that you didn’t before because you were playing against them, and now you’re friends … like real friends.”

Hawkins echoed that he “loved the camaraderie with the old and new teammates we made over the week.” Crites said, “It was kind of weird, but also cool, how we’re just meeting these new kids and almost immediately relying on them to do their job and making friendships along the way.”

Delgado and Caton noted that while meeting all of their new teammates and making friendships was a great surprise, the game itself was their most favorite part of the week.

Caton, an all league lineman in the trenches on both sides of the ball “loved how the game was full bore and competitive down in there, it was a lot of fun.”

Delgado stated how “the game was my favorite because you could turn up the aggression down on the defensive line and then go to the sidelines like it was a sort of football vacation.”

West and East players participated in a community service event at the local Salvation Army. Kjesbu described a favorite part of his week as, “Doing competitions there and then working and helping at the Salvation Army was fun, and we got to play with people’s kids, it was a blast.”

Fry was told by the coaches the morning of the game that he was one of the captains, an honor that fit one of his goals for the week: “I wanted to seize the opportunity while I was there, I mean, it would never happen again, so I wanted to make sure I did all I could with the opportunity … and the competitions were cool and fun.”

Team building competitions were frequent and varied between the two teams. Montesano versus East Valley in a four man Popsicle eating contest was a favorite (Monte lost in a close one) as was bowling, but the granddaddy of them all was the East vs. West belly flop competition at the hotel swimming pool. Coaches and players could participate and while there were some complaints about (un)biased judging, the 6-foot 7-inch 305-pound Delgado took home the 2026 title. It was reported the pool was “missing a lot of water” by the end of the competition.

A tradition at all star football games is for players to trade or barter helmet stickers and add them to their own helmet. Decorative intentions aside, it is considered a sign of respect. Bulldog players were surprised at how the Monte helmet sticker was the hottest item of the week.

Although players bemoaned the “ruthless” two-a-day practice schedule in the blistering Yakima heat to prepare for Saturday’s contest, all agreed “it was worth it” in the end.

Timmons and Crites, Evergreen League Co-MVP’s in baseball will return to Yakima for the state all star baseball games tabbed for this weekend.