“It’s a miracle” is not a lightly used phrase in and around the Kent-Meridian High School football program.

Head Coach Randy Robbins turned the program around in just his first year at the helm of the Royals. Robbins took over the Royals, who had won just three games since 2020, and took Kent-Meridian to the playoffs while winning four games in his first season.

“For us to come out of nowhere as a team that never really achieved much in the past two years, to just burst out and make the playoff, was wild,” senior Jessie Neff said.

Robbins instilled a program on respecting your teammates, and it has made a difference. The Royals have had close to 70 students come out and practice, which is huge for Robbins.

“It has been a blessing to have all of them out here. Everyone is learning and playing hard and we are just trying to be the best group that we can,” said Eduardo Medina.

On a recent Saturday, Kent-Meridian had 64 players at a two-a-day practice. Three years ago, Robbins said it would have been just 18.

“The key is building relationships, staying on them and giving them a place that they want to be a part of,” he said. “That is the golden recipe.”

The players also know and understand what Robbins is trying to accomplish — and they are buying in.

“Not only did he say he believed in us. He showed it to us. Every day in practice he made us work for it and after practice he has us together to build a relationship with one another,” Neff said.

To say that Kent-Meridian’s program changing culture stopped there would be a lie. The play on the field was greatly impacted by an overall mindset change by Robbins and his staff in the players and coaches involved.

“He just shows that he really cares for the players. He always has been supporting us and has been a mentor to me personally. He’s always wanted me to be out here and be a leader for these guys,” Medina said.

A good way to get kids invested is to win. This class of seniors before last season had won just one game before Robbins came and took over. Since then, the Royals won four games last year and really feel like they can win games moving forward.

“To win games was wild… It made the game much more fun and made us players want to play better more and have more effort,” senior Tae Redding said.

That feeling of winning is still fresh, and for Robbins, he thinks that it hasn’t even really set in with the players.

Even though the Royals fell to Yelm 60-0 in the postseason a year ago, there was a lesson to be learned from a game and experience like that.

“It comes down to who is willing to work the hardest and constantly do what you gotta do,” Neff said.

For their first game of the season, Kent-Meridian will host Auburn for the 116th Taylor Trophy. As the second oldest rivalry in the state, in recent memory the Royals have lost 22 out of the last 24 matchups, dating back to 1999. But the Royals have a good feeling about this year: “It would be really cool to bring it (Taylor Trophy) back to KM,” Redding said.

The Royals are going to have a new man under center this year. Last year, Jayden Saelee provided a lot of spark and quality at the quarterback position. This year, that role will be junior Sam Doma.

“He’s been here, he does everything the right way and being a leader. We’ve got a lot more work to do, but I am proud of the way he has shown up,” Robbins said.

The Royals are looking to back up that season in a difficult 3A NPSL. A new schedule brings Decatur and Federal Way down from 4A. White River and Enumclaw are also added to the schedule, and Enumclaw on the road awaits the Royals in week 6. That is a game the Royals are looking forward to: “I love it,” Redding said.

“I like the contact. I like knowing that we are going to play someone big,” Medina said.

The battle for the Taylor Trophy will go down at 4 p.m. Sept. 6, which Robbins was not happy about, but it proves to be a test for how tough this new league will be.

“There are no gimmes,” he said. “We start with Auburn at four o’clock on a Friday night. For the 116th time.”

Senior Tae Redding in a full sprint during kickoff drills at French Field. Ben Ray / The Reporter