Decatur High School, open since 1971, has experienced something that has never happened.
When it comes to history, Decatur’s fall success in sports is not great. A football banner that is empty hangs lonely in the rafters of the Gatordome and a girls soccer banner hasn’t had any updates since 2003.
But that has all changed in the fall of 2024. Both Decatur girls soccer and football teams are league champions for the first time ever in the same season.
“It’s pretty crazy,” said junior Amani Hussen said of her team’s soccer season. “To win league 21 years later it is insane. During freshman year it wasn’t pretty, and now that we have gotten this far is pretty crazy.”
Both teams are now etched into school history.
“Nobody thought we would become anything. It is a surreal and crazy feeling to prove everybody wrong. Our goal was to win a league championship. Point blank, that simple,” said Spencer Holloway, the football team’s quarterback.
Coincidentally, both teams made it a goal to win their respective leagues.
“Our first goal was to win league,” Manager Sean Davis said of his girls soccer team.
“It means everything. That was one of our goals we set out early in the year… It has always been the goal and over the last couple years we have felt that we have had a better and better chance,” Coach Matt Vaeena said of the football team.
Juliana Delucio control the ball at practice during a drill. Ben Ray / The Mirror
Winning ways
Coach Vaeena took over the football program back in 2019 has built something special off 320th Street. Creating and setting the standard of a winning football program is something Decatur has never done.
“Whoever is going to put that number and league championship up first is going to be a part of the school forever. You will be immortal at Decatur. It is really cool to see them embrace that early, really since January,” Vaeena said.
At a Tuesday practice in late October with a slight breeze, a plethora of Decatur football players wore no shirt, or had on tank tops or just short-sleeve shirts, braving the weather. But Vaeena also had a T-shirt on, braving the weather just like his players.
“Teams are a reflection of their coaches. I’m walking around in shorts and T-shirts all the time, and now I look around and see all these guys doing it. It is probably a self-motivation and mental thing rather than any functionality. They definitely reflect myself in that way. I see it in them and all I can do is shake my head,” said Vaeena with a laugh. “They don’t let obstacles or adversity slow them down, that’s what I love the most about them.”
But back in January, when it’s 5:30 a.m., the Gators set their minds to a league title. Some might say that’s too early to have those goals, but for the Gators, it’s never too early.
“In the dark of winter, it is okay to be irrationally confident … It has been super dope to see them little by little and see in their face the recognition that league champs could be us,” Vaeena said.
Samuel Corbett makes a catch and a move at practice. Ben Ray / The Mirror
Connections
There is also a connection between the football and girls soccer team. Davis, the current manager of the girls soccer team, was the kicking coach for the football team and possibly singlehandedly won Decatur a game last season with a last second field goal over Tahoma.
“It’s great to see any program at your own school doing well… Matt is a great guy and great coach. He welcomed me in right away. It was something I’ll never forget,” Davis said.
In a conversation between the two right after Davis was hired as the girls soccer coach two years ago, Vaeena and Davis discussed their programs’ success this exact season.
“It’s been very cool to watch them kill it, parallel to where we are…This is exactly what he and I talked about. It’s really cool to see it come to fruition … I know the kids are competitive with each other and there was a thing about who was going to lose a game first,” Vaeena said.
Decatur girls soccer has had previous success with 13 state appearances and two state top three finishes. But a league title has escaped the Gators for 21 years until this year. Putting a new year on that banner is a special achievement.
The chemistry for Decatur girls soccer has been a huge focal point. Davis had been trying to create a culture for his girls, and he accomplished that this offseason. From there he was able to focus on the X’s and O’s to put his team in a position to win.
Decatur girls soccer has their own young budding star, Kaihea Tuifua, a sophomore phenom. Tuifua has scored 30 goals in her sophomore season, breaking Davis’ personal record of 28 goals in a season. Take out last season and Decatur had scored seven goals or less in the previous four seasons.
“She plays very good on the field. I can put her anywhere. She just floats around the field and does what she wants to do. I trust her a lot and she’s grown a lot since last year… Tuifua is a great player, great all around player,” Davis said.
Along with Tuifua breaking on to the scene, the seniors have produced ten-fold as well. Vanessa Garcia, Alexa Galmichi, Samantha Hackney and Sophie Walker, just to name a few, have impacted Decatur immensely.
A season ago Decatur didn’t have many seniors, four to be exact. This year, the Gators graduated double that.
“I could see juniors last year who are seniors now, leading in that role of off the field in a communication factor… We have some great leaders as young players too, but our seniors do a great job of showing how its done off the field,” Davis said.
On the football side, Spencer Holloway, Maddox Heyliger, Teron Clay and then some have been the heart and soul of a resilient football team. From practice in week one when Nehemiah Washington, one of the stars on offense and defense, went down followed by his replacement Sefa Leapai going down in week two, Decatur has fought week in and week out.
“It is a really important senior class. All of them are important. These are the guys that have pushed the rock down the hill,” Vaeena said.
Fighting is something that the girls soccer team has also shown this season. After losing just one game this season, Decatur buckled down and went on a five-game winning streak and outscored their opponents 33-1 over that stretch.
“Before that loss the RPI rankings were a thing to them because they weren’t used to it… When that loss happened they got the reality of ‘It can happen to anybody’… They are taking it one game at a time, that is what I’ve been preaching to them and they have bought in,” Davis said.
Sean Davis addresses his team before practice gets started. Ben Ray / The Mirror
Doubters and believers
Despite the records and the rankings, there are still doubters.
On the soccer side, Decatur has played three tough teams — White River, Enumclaw and Kentlake — then their opponents fall off a cliff.
On the football side, the Gators face the same thing: Enumclaw, Federal Way and Skyview are the marquee matchups.
“We keep our heads down, keep working through whatever it is. We were never expected to be like this,” Holloway said.
These two programs also feel the buzz in school, and it’s hard to ignore the buzz that these programs have created in and around not just Decatur, but the Federal Way community in general.
“I know they are trying to build things back to where the student sections were pre-pandemic… Even when things were really bad, kids were always there,” Vaeena said.
Vaeena remembers when he started at Decatur. Before his mom passed away, she would come and watch football games when he was coaching. She wouldn’t talk about the play on the field, but the students in attendance and the band that created an atmosphere unlike any other.
“My mom would always have something to say about the band and the students. It didn’t matter what happened on the field and she would say ‘the band is so good and the kids were so energetic,’” Vaeena said.
State championships start as a distant dream for every team in the state. It’s a long road to get there, but Decatur’s soccer and football squads look to make an impact in the state tournament.
“The sky is the limit. If we stay healthy I have no doubts that we can go far,” Davis said.
“The goal is for us to play in Husky Stadium, that’s our number one goal,” Holloway said. “I think this group can do that by playing our brand of football.”
