Jake from…

When it comes to recognizing athletes and teams from the past, EWU goes out of its way to make sure credit is given. That is one of the things that I missed about not having a football season last fall, because former athletes and teams get their recognition on a Saturday afternoon with many being inducted into the Eagle Athletic Hall of Fame.

Recently EWU football announced the all-decade team from 2000-2009. The teams were coached by Paul Wulff 2000-07 and Beau Baldwin 2008-09. A total of 67 players made up this group and a great team it would have been, for sure. Former Bronco Jake Kragt made this team as a defensive end. This column will focus on his trip to Cheney.

Kragt graduated from Ritzville in 2005. He played for the Ritzville and Lind-Ritzville Broncos in the early stages of the co-op. He would play in the state football championship with his brother John in 2002 when the Broncos finished second. With the combine came a little growing pain. The Broncos’ numbers put them over the limit and forced them to play in the Northeast ‘A’ League in 2003-04. This may have been a blessing in disguise, as Bronco football finished second in league and made the playoffs losing in the first round to a solid Zillah Leopard squad. This step-up in competition helped them in 2004.

In the fall of 2004 the Broncos had a nucleus for a dream season. Kragt would play both ways as a running back and a linebacker/defensive end. The Broncos would win the league championship and win the next three games, two of which were played on the west side, and earn a trip to the state championship game in Tacoma against the DeSales Irish. The Broncos beat Wahkiakum in the semi-final game in the Tacoma Dome.

DeSales’ vaunted passing attack would lead them to a 14-0 halftime lead and an early 21-0 lead in the third quarter. The Broncos battled back and would score late in the third to make it 21-6. Lind-Ritzville would continue their rally and the defense made key stops against the Irish. The Broncos came back strong and scored two more TDs making one PAT and with about three minutes remaining, would score on a Travis Dewald to Jake Phillips pass play to make it 25-21 Broncos.

As fans, we were all worried that Lind-Ritzville had scored too early. This is when Kragt would really shine. Kragt looked exhausted after each play, yet he and his teammates continued to pressure the QB to throw earlier than he wanted; resulting in incomplete passes. On fourth down, Kragt broke through and sacked the Irish QB victory, secured for the Broncos. One of the greatest games and comebacks I’ve ever witnessed.

For Kragt and several other Broncos, there was not a lot of rest as basketball season was next. Lind-Ritzville would have a great season and would earn a berth into the state tournament. At the arena in Spokane, the Broncos would split their first two games and would play DeSales in a loser-out game. The Broncos would eliminate the Irish by three. Lind-Ritzville earned the fourth place trophy when they defeated the Wahkiakum Mules by 10 on Saturday.

Baseball was next up for Kragt, with many of the same teammates he had in basketball and football. The Broncos would have another great season and move on to the playoffs. They made it to the final four and would meet up with DeSales again. The Irish were a real power in baseball and would finally defeat a Bronco team in that school year 10-7. The Broncos would end up the season as the fourth place team in state.

Jake Kragt and many of his teammates started playing sports their senior year around August 20 and would end their season two days before Memorial Day in May. It was quite a ride for these kids and their families, friends and fans.

With the year Jake had on the football field brought an offer from EWU to play football for the Eagles. Kragt was recruited by present day EWU football coach Aaron Best.

Kragt would red-shirt his freshman year at Eastern to get bigger and stronger. At defensive end he was always playing against big tackles who outweighed him by 40 to 80 pounds. Krgt was smart, and neutralizing a blocker often led to teammates making tackles, but Kragt did his job. I saw him use his speed and smarts to sack the QB as well.

Jake Kragt was named as a Big Sky Honorable Mention defensive end his senior year. He also earned academic All-American status receiving a degree in Biology with a 3.89 GPA. Today he is carrying on the family tradition as a chiropractor in Wenatchee.

Jake Kraft from Ritzville deserves his spot on the EWU 2000-09 all-decade team. Hard work on the football team and in the classroom is a great accomplishment indeed.