Royal RB Dax Jenks voted VarsityWA's Football Athlete of the Week, Week 13

The junior rushed for five touchdowns in a Class 1A state semifinals win over Lynden Christian

Dec 01, 2025

Dax Jenks rushed for a career-high 226 yards and five touchdowns in Royal’s Class 1A semifinals win over Lynden Christian. (Lauren Smith / VarsityWA)

Update, Dec. 7: Congratulations to Royal running back Dax Jenks, who was voted as VarsityWA’s Football Athlete of the Week for Week 13 by readers.

Jenks rushed for a career-high 226 yards and scored five touchdowns — including scoring runs of 32 and 37 yards in the fourth quarter — in the Knights’ 61-35 victory over Lynden Christian in the Class 1A semifinals.

Thank you to everyone who voted. The Week 14 poll will be posted on Monday, Dec. 8. To nominate an athlete, please send us an email or direct message by 5 p.m. Sunday for consideration.

Original post, Dec. 1: The 13th week of the high school football season in Washington featured big individual performances on offense, defense and special teams.

Here are 10 standouts up for VarsityWA’s Football Athlete of the Week voting after state semifinals games:

Jameson Elliott, Tri-Cities Prep: 2B EWAC East player of the year rushed for a touchdown (4 yards), caught a TD pass (7 yards) and returned a kickoff 76 yards for a score in the second half as the Jaguars beat Adna, 34-28, in the Class 2B semifinals.

Henry Gabalis, Archbishop Murphy: Arizona commit came up big in the Wildcats’ pass game, hauling in four passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns, including a 75-yarder in the first quarter of a 59-17 win over Anacortes in the Class 2A semifinals.

Rylan Hatmaker, Cashmere: Guided Bulldogs to first WIAA title game since 2008 by completing 18-of-25 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns — two to Logan Spies — in team’s 41-14 win over Mount Baker in the Class 1A semifinals.

Dax Jenks, Royal: Rushed for a career-high 226 yards on 22 carries, scoring five touchdowns in the Knights’ 61-35 victory over Lynden Christian in the Class 1A semifinals. Had scoring runs of 32 and 37 yards in the fourth quarter.

Shan Jones, Mount Tahoma: The T-Birds’ 3A PSL first-team linebacker accounted for half of the defense’s four turnovers in the team’s 21-6 win over Eastside Catholic in the Class 3A semifinals. He had a pair of interceptions, both in the second half.

Will Lynch, Lake Stevens: Two weeks after notching his first interception, the junior lineman picked up a blocked field goal and raced 36 yards for a score on the final play of the first half in a 44-35 victory over Graham-Kapowsin in the Class 4A semifinals.

Lance McGee, Sumner: What more can you say about the 4A SPSL North player of the year? He rushed 38 times for a career-high 313 yards and five touchdowns as the Spartans stunned No. 1 seed Puyallup, 42-35, in the Class 4A semifinals. McGee cracked 2,000 yards for the year.

Tevita Nonu, O’Dea: State’s top junior prospect blocked a punt in the first half that was returned for a touchdown, and saved the Irish’s 20-14 win over Bellevue in the Class 3A semifinals by sacking Kason Carta and recovering a fumble in final seconds.

Ryan Powell, Liberty Christian: Patriots recorded nine sacks in their 36-18 win over Wahkiakum in the Class 1B semifinals — and this senior defensive end had five of them. Also registered 14 tackles, including seven TFL in big outing.

Cohen Wood, DeSales: Led the No. 1 Irish to Gridiron Classic by passing for 170 yards and two touchdowns, and rushing 12 times for 145 yards and three scores in their 44-22 victory over ACH in the Class 1B semifinals.

Editor’s note: Click on the poll or follow this link to vote. Voting will remain open until noon Friday and is unlimited. To nominate an athlete in future weeks, please send us an email or direct message by 5 p.m. Sunday for consideration.