The 2026 Washington 3A football season begins with an obvious question: who can knock O’Dea off the top of the mountain? The Fighting Irish enter the season as the defending 3A state champions after beating Mount Tahoma 21–14 in the 2025 championship game, and there is little reason to move them from the top spot in the preseason outlook. O’Dea finished 13–1 last season and has established itself as the program to beat in 3A. The biggest headline this offseason may be defensive tackle Tevita Nonu, the state’s top-rated player in the 2027 class, who committed to Washington in May.
Behind O’Dea, Mount Tahoma, Bellevue and Eastside Catholic appear to be the most serious challengers. Mount Tahoma went 13–1 last season and reached the state championship game, while Bellevue finished 10–3 and advanced to the semifinals. Eastside Catholic was 10–2 and also reached the state semifinals, and the Crusaders enter 2026 with an intriguing storyline of their own: former head coach Jeremy Thielbahr has returned to lead the program. Bellevue will face a particularly demanding schedule, including games against Puyallup, Skyline and Mount Si, which should provide an early measuring stick for whether the Wolverines have enough firepower to make another deep postseason run.
Our preseason prediction: O’Dea wins the 3A championship again, but a lot could change after the first few weeks of games. As of now: O’Dea at No. 1, Mount Tahoma at No. 2, Bellevue at No. 3 and Eastside Catholic at No. 4, with Lincoln and Seattle Prep among the teams capable of disrupting the bracket. The most intriguing potential championship matchup would be an O’Dea-Bellevue rematch—the two met in the 2025 semifinals, with O’Dea winning 20–14 before going on to claim the title. If Bellevue can survive its brutal regular-season schedule and Eastside Catholic’s coaching change produces an immediate spark, the 2026 3A playoffs could be one of the deepest and most competitive fields in Washington.