Hometown hero returns to rescue Kettle Falls football from historic losing streak

Greg Mace left Colville to take over his alma mater, which has tied Tyee for longest skid ever in Washington at 45 games

Heading into 2024, Kettle Falls football has tied the state's longest streak at 45 games. / Photo by Todd Milles

Greg Mace heard the number, and still ran at the opportunity to come home.

Mace had a good job at Colville High School: He was the coach of one of the most physical small-school football programs in Washington - one hat netted a WIAA Class 1A championship in 2018 (when he was an assistant under Randy Cornwall).

But when presented a higher-paying opportunity to return to his alma mater eight miles down the road - Kettle Falls High School - as a vice principal, athletic director and ultimately as the football coach, Mace could not resist.

Even if, in many ways, that meant starting over.

Even if it meant dealing with the school's ravaging dry spell on the gridiron

It is late July, and Mace hasn't even coached a game yet. But he is keenly aware that the Bulldogs are on a 45-game losing streak, matching Tyee's state-record run of futility (1988-93).

Kettle Falls, which hasn't won a game since the 2016 season, could have the state's longest skid ever by itself if it loses its season opener Sept. 6 at Tonasket.

"We've talked about it being a process, and it will be hard," Mace said. "You lose big, then you lose small, then we win small and then we win big - little steps at a time."

Back when Mace came up to Kettle Falls as a three-sport athlete in the late-1990s, football in town was a winning product. As a starting cornerback as a ninth grader in 1999, the Bulldogs went to the WIAA playoffs - then repeated that effort a year later when he took over at quarterback.

Mace was also a basketball standout, and set program records in both sports before he graduated in 2003. He went on to play basketball at Walla Walla College.

He returned to town in 2008 to student-teach, and serve as an assistant coach for football and basketball. But when neighboring Colville called two years later offering him a full-time teaching job, he departed.

And in Colville, he won - much to the dismay of the Kettle Falls community, which conintued to agonize over his departure.

Greg Mace left Colville to accept a job last winter to coach football at his alma mater at Kettle Falls, home of a 45-game losing streak. / Photo courtesy of Colville athletics

Perhaps that is why Mace received so many phone calls and text messages when a job in Kettle Falls opened last winter. Townsfolk wanted one of their hometown heroes to return.

Even Mace wasn't completely sure what he was getting involved in with the football program.

In 2023, the Bulldogs - with 16 players in the Class 2B ranks - lost all five games. The fewest points they allowed was 48, to Liberty of Spangle.

After Mace was hired, he held a spring camp in June, Parents encouraged their teenagers, especially ones who had previously quit, to give football another chance. Twenty-six players participated in the event.

When he asked his players what defense they ran, players gave him an ominous response.

"They said, 'We did not practice defense,'" Mace said. "When I asked what they did at practice, they said, 'Listen to music and play catch!'"

Finally, at a team meeting, Mace addressed the elephant in the room. On a grease board, he wrote the date, "Oct. 21, 2016," and asked the players if they knew the significance of it.

One player knew: It was the last time Kettle Falls won a game.

"They know about (the losing streak), but I want them to ignore it," Mace said. "Like I said, this will be a process. And I am going to be here for a while."

Stability and structure is what Kettle Falls football has been starving for, Mace said. Players are already showing their appreciation for both elements.

"During our summer camp, I had kids running up to me and hugging me," Mace said. "I had just been there (coaching) for five days, and they were saying, 'I have never been coached like that in my life.' It's seriously crazy.

"I am excited to be here. I do not feel a lot of pressure. Coming into this, I am about having fun, making a difference and giving them organization and structure."