EVERETT — Joe Cronin had to rein it in.

As the Archbishop Murphy football coach told his team to try to do better with their energy on the sideline after a 55-14 drubbing of Sehome, he remembered to tell his players to enjoy winning on Fridays. Of course, avid watchers remember the team went 0-8 just four years ago before going 13-0 last season to win the Class 2A state title.

Now 2-0 through two league games, both of which ended with running clocks on account of 40-point leads, Cronin is making sure his team remembers what each win means.

“A win is a win; can’t take it for granted,” Cronin told The Herald postgame.

Of course, a symbol of excellence in Wildcats football was in attendance on Friday.

Former A-M and Washington State offensive tackle and current Seattle Seahawk Abraham Lucas watched from behind the east end zone as his alma mater got out to a 48-7 halftime lead. Lucas, a 2017 graduate, helped lead the Wildcats to their first 2A title in an undefeated 2016 campaign.

He was there in part to watch his brother, senior running back Andrew Lucas, pick up over 120 total yards and three TDs, and to see the athletic center he contributed over six figures toward be renamed at halftime.

All eyes were on the east end zone at halftime as the sign marking “Lucas Athletic Center” was unveiled with Abe and his family looking on.

“Just leaving a lasting impression that generations of people will be able to enjoy long after I retire from football,” Abe said of what the namesake means to him. “A space where people can improve themselves.”

To that effect, A-M Director of Sports Performance and Wellness Jordan James said each day 200-300 students benefit from the 3,400-square-foot facility, open since 2025. The project has been in the works since 2017 with a budget of around $1.5 million, as Abe Lucas’ contribution in exchange for naming rights put a solid dent in that figure.

Abe Lucas, who is scheduled to be inducted into the school’s hall of fame in the winter, told The Herald he had wanted to do something like this for years, and that it was a matter of pulling together the funds to make a splash.

A three-year, $46 million extension in 2025 to continue playing right tackle for the Seahawks certainly helped.

“I knew I wanted to give back in some way; it was just a matter of when would be the right time for me financially,” he said. “I’m happy I’m able to do that now for these guys.”

On the field, transfer quarterback Drew Sorensen let loose in his second game starting for Archbishop Murphy. The sophomore from Woodinville put up 230 total yards with three touchdowns as junior running back and defensive back Cole Sievers, who had an interception, put up 100 total yards and two scores. 

Cronin appreciated how the team carried itself, as he rued penalty issues in last week’s 55-15 win over Bellingham. Cronin told The Herald he believes great teams improve drastically between weeks one and two, and he saw a cleaner game on Friday night. He saw his team fix some of its penalty issues, but when Mariners junior quarterback Jadden Geiger found sophomore receiver Oliver Johnson from six yards out to cut the lead to 14 late in the first quarter, he sensed his sideline go a tad quiet.

“They drove the ball down the field, made some plays. We had to come back,” Cronin, a coach who is seldom caught without a smile, said. “Biggest thing is just keeping our energy going. You know, if somebody scores, it’s not the end of the world.”

For Archbishop Murphy, it was the type of day where it seemed the Wildcats offense couldn’t do wrong. It only took the five offensive plays for them go up 14-0, as Sorensen opened the game by finding senior Javen Latta on a 28-yard jump ball before hitting senior running back Andrew Lucas for a 27-yard score one play later.

Two starts into his Wildcats career, Sorensen is starting to find his groove.

“I firmly believe we are the best offense in the state,” Sorensen said with a smile postgame.

Andrew Lucas, meanwhile, compiled three scores and 120 total yards with an interception as he bounces back from a tough 2025 campaign.

Last season, junior running back Isaiah Smith seized the starting spot after Andrew Lucas missed action with a shoulder injury. With the duo healthy and accounting for half of the team’s four captains, they seemed poised for a signature final season in Cronin’s Wing-T offense.

But Smith, now a senior, suffered what Cronin described as a knee injury on a tackle behind the line of scrimmage in the first quarter that required him to be carted off. Smith was able to return to the sideline in sweatpants and sporting a limp later in the night. Cronin didn’t have an update on Smith’s condition postgame.

Andrew Lucas won’t be alone if Smith, a second-team All-Northwest 2A linebacker a season ago, is forced to miss extended time.

Freshman Leivale Charlie Tevaga got plenty of run as early as the first quarter, and didn’t look back. He took a sweep right in the second quarter, before cutting all the way back across the formation to find the left end-zone pylon from 47 yards out. Two drives later, he punched in a goal-line run, with physical chunk runs scattered throughout the game for the 5-foot-11, 190-pound back.

With Sievers well-suited to get carries as well, Cronin has options.

“There’s four or five backs that can go,” Cronin said. “(Smith) is such a great kid, I hope that it’s all good, so all we can do is pray for him.”

Lucas is cherishing his time on the field after missing time himself last season.

“I just missed this for real,” Lucas said. “Being hurt sucks, coming back is just a great feeling.”

Sievers, meanwhile, is wearing enough hats as is.

He scored from 39 yards out on a hitch-and-go in the second quarter, got some water on the sideline, and went back onto the field as a defender to snatch an interception the very next snap from scrimmage.

He agreed with his coach’s assessment that the team could use a shot of energy in the first half.

“Both sides of the ball, we had a lot of low energy, and I felt like we needed to pick it up,” Sievers said. I just decided to make some plays and get our energy back up.”

Sievers, brother of current Wisconsin tight end Jack Sievers who was an all-league tight end and defensive lineman just last season, is part of a new wave of Wildcats with championship DNA. Senior all-league linebacker William Wilson was the enforcer all night, doling out big hits through his 6-foot-4, 240-pound frame while ballhawks like Lucas and Sievers pounced on underthrown balls. Other senior defensive pieces like linemen Gus Morrow and Keagan Joseph also dominated up front to set the tone.

Other key pieces to A-M’s title defense include senior offensive linemen Eli Leyba and Robbie Burnett. Leyba is starting at guard while Burnett is at center after both played backup roles a season ago. The Wildcats running backs often got through the line of scrimmage untouched with space to work with as the new interior linemen looked sharp all night.

“They’ve worked so hard in the summer… there have been some guys that have stepped up,” Cronin said.

There’s plenty of football to be played and the defending champs will get tested next week on the road against a solid Anacortes program. But the Wildcats’ discipline will be the key to returning to Husky Stadium this December.

“We know what it takes as this group, ‘cause we were very involved and we contributed,” Andrew Lucas said. “Getting to that end goal, that’s what we’re focused on.”