Four months after District 4 gave the go-ahead on a 12-team football merger, and a little over two weeks until opening night kick off, the 2A Greater St. Helens League and 2A Evergreen Conference combination is no longer.
On Wednesday, Aug. 19 — the first day of high school practice statewide — the two leagues announced their offseason work of combining into one 12-team league had been undone.
However, the schedules featuring GSHL and EvCo schools facing off against each other will remain in place.
Teams will play the crossover games that were scheduled, but they will now count as nonleague matchups. In previous seasons, 2A GSHL football typically would have just two nonleague games in week one and week two.
The Ridgefield Spudders will now play at Tumwater High School in week six for their third nonleague game. For Woodland High School, the Beavers will now host Tumwater and Aberdeen high schools for back-to-back weeks in week four and five with no league implications.
As for the Hockinson Hawks, week five at Black Hills High School (Tumwater) and week six versus W.F. West High School (Chehalis) on their home field will now be additional non-league matchups.
In January, W.F. West Athletic Director Tommy Elder confirmed that the merger was finalized. At the time, what remained on the table was a path to the postseason and how the league was shaped for the next two years. And how it looks for the potential future, with the new re-classification cycle due up for the 2028-29 year, The Chronicle reported.
In January, Tumwater Athletic Director Jordan McGrath felt that it was the best decision moving forward for the EvCo.
“Trying to find a solution that works for everybody,” McGrath stated.
In December 2025, the EvCo petitioned to join the GSHL for football only and was rejected. McGrath and Elder confirmed that it was reversed by the District 4 Executive Board in January.
The Chronicle reported in January that there remained no clear path to the postseason. In 2025, the EvCo had two teams automatically get into the Round of 32 and the GSHL had three. Aberdeen and Mark Morris faced off in a play-in game the Tuesday prior to reach the Round of 32.
The path to the postseason was ultimately why the merger came to a close.
For the 2A GSHL returning back to the usual eight teams, however, now there will be a north and south division with its own champions.
The North Division will include Ridgefield, Woodland, Mark Morris and R.A. Long high schools while the South Division includes Hockinson, Hudson’s Bay, Washougal and Columbia River high schools.
The 2A Evergreen Conference will now receive two week 10 playoff berths; same for the 2A GSHL North and South divisions. A seventh berth from District 4 would go to the best third-place team if they all play in the regular season. If not, a Kansas tiebreaker game will occur to determine the final Week 10 spot from District 4.
