Federal Way football wins Fife camp, now preps for fall season

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, July 15, 2026

The Eagles were named the winners of the 2026 Fife football camp on July 5.

The Federal Way High School football team continues to look like it will compete for a league title as head coach Marcus Yzaguirre retools, and adds a freshman class that is going to make an immediate impact.

But it is not just the youth that are making headwaves, as a couple juniors and seniors are set to lead the Eagles this season. “We have a good mix of veterans with some young talent that we have. It’s been fun because they mesh really well and they like each other,” Yzaguirre said.

Specifically, Kace Carter who just picked up an offer to the University of Oregon according to Yzaguirre.

Carter is a physical specimen and as just a junior the 6-foot-3, 210 pound swiss army knife can do it all for the Eagles.

“He is a work horse. He is constantly working, sometimes he over-works. He’s constantly training, constantly in the gym and constantly doing the right things. I am super excited to see what he does,” Yzaguirre said.

Federal Way is coming off a standout performance at the Fife High School camp, where they were crowned champions.

The Eagles will be led by Carter and a defense that Yzaguirre has described and will continue to describe as ‘nasty’.

Coach Yzaguirre credits a lot of the success this summer to the work ethic and time in the weight room as a marker of success. The Eagles average around 50 players through summer workouts and that number has stayed consistent the entire time.

“The guys are putting in massive amounts of work and coming together through the work,” Yzaguirre said. “They are seeing the fruit of their labor, that is what they have been building on. They are starting to see success, but still have a lot more work to do.”

Last season the Eagle defense was third in points allowed and pitched three shutouts last season. Federal Way allowed over 23 points one time and held teams to single digits three separate times.

Federal Way as a defense has always had speed, this year they have speed and an ability to wreak havoc on opposing offenses. That was on full display as the defense stood tall in the “four 2 score drill” when the intensity was cranked up to 11.

“They understand the assignment, that was the cool part,” Yzaguirre said. “It was cool to see them understand, ‘We had fun and now it is time to turn up and bring the energy.’ It was definitely fun watching that.”

Yzaguirre is a coach that thrives in those high energy environments, as a high-energy coach he loved seeing his team compete.

Federal Way is no stranger to having a freshman start on defense and make a name for themselves, recent graduate Zamarie Tellez was the most recent example. Now that baton is being passed to Dash Jones, son of former NFL defensive back Reggie Jones.

Jones’ name carries weight, his dad is one of the most notable names in high school and youth football. But now Dash is starting to create his own path.

“He is like Zamarie, Dash has played a lot of football. He just understands the position because his dad played DB and played at a high level in the league and in Canada. He understands the game,” Yzaguirre said.

Federal Way also added a new coach to the staff this offseason in Corey Sampson, who stepped down from his head coaching position at Rainier Beach last season.

“He’s such a good coach, he’s just been there supporting me. He’s been quiet and brought the energy,” Yzaguirre said.

Yzaguirre made it a point of emphasis on Sampson being one of the only Black coaches ever to take a team to the state championship besides Keith Terry of Mount Tahoma. “He’s been bringing that leadership with things that he sees,” Yzaguirre added.

Last season the quarterback room was a rotation and eventually turned to a scramble to play the position. Anthony Marchetti was the initial starting quarterback, then when he got hurt Jacob Yan came in. Then when Yan got hurt, Jay Sinclair took quarterback snaps. But this year, all three of those quarterbacks graduated in June. Now, there is a new quarterback room where it is as full as it has ever been for Federal Way.

Yzaguirre has two freshman quarterbacks and two sophomores who will compete for the starting job. Isaiah Healy is the returning player who was the juniopr varsity quarterback a year ago, while Cordae Norling is a transfer from Casecade Christian. Norling is awaiting his approval to be ready to play, but Yzaguirre has liked the competition he has seen from the two youngsters.

“The are both super athletes so it will be super cool to watch what these two will be able to do in the future,” he said. “They have been helping each other and leading each other and getting better.”

Federal Way continues to workout throughout the summer as they prepare for their week one matchup against Kent-Meridian on Sept. 4 at Federal Way Memorial Field.