What School Will Be 2026-27 1A State Champs?

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last season finished with Lynden Christian taking down the Zillah Leopards in the 1A state title game. When this coming season ends, will the Lyncs be lifting the trophy again? We have seven potential contenders listed below, and while it sure looks like the Lynden Christian Lyncs and the Royal Knights could be the far and away favorites, you never know how the season will play out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lynden Christian boasts a strong trio in [player_tooltip player_id='2392727' first='Dawson' last='Hintz'], [player_tooltip player_id='2739562' first='Gunnar' last='Dykstra'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2457277' first='Kaden' last='Veldman'], all of whom produced at a high level last season and give the Lyncs the best top three in the 1A. Royal is led by [player_tooltip player_id='2375339' first='Grant' last='Wardenaar'] and [player_tooltip player_id='3690749' first='Manuel' last='Ruvalcaba'], with a solid cast around them. They played a bunch of 4A and 3A teams tough just this past June at the D1 Recruiting Event, taking down Chiawana, Edmonds-Woodway, and Sumner. Then you have some teams that could make things interesting.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Zillah, last year's runner-up, loses some key guys but they always seem to pump out more and more talent. Annie Wright is still young but have a very promising core led by [player_tooltip player_id='2879457' first='James' last='Thomas'], and they will battle it out with Bellevue Christian and 2025-26 league MVP [player_tooltip player_id='2835724' first='Kyler' last='Skogstad'] in the Nisqually League. Bear Creek and King's are another pair of tough teams that will battle it out in their league play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Will we have a new champion or a repeat winner? Will a surprise team emerge? Let us know your thoughts and vote for your pick to be 1A state champs this coming season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://poll.fm/17280658","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"crowdsignal","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-crowdsignal wp-block-embed-crowdsignal"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://poll.fm/17280658 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->