Tenino’s Takari Hickle is Olympian’s All-Area player of the year

Takari Hickle was born into a basketball family.

His mom played at Elma High School. His dad played for Lewis-Clark State. His late brother Tiki played at Grays Harbor College after starring in both football and basketball at Elma and Rochester.

So, it’s no surprise Tenino has looked to the 6-foot-4, 255-pound Hickle, coming off two seasons on the Class 1A Evergreen Conference team, as the centerpiece of a 4-3 start on the court this season. He scored 27 points against Winlock and notched double-doubles in three other games.

“I don’t know if I’ve seen a big man of his stature with the mobile feet and the soft hands that Takari has,” said Joe Chirhart, the Beavers’ basketball coach and athletic director. “He’s got a good touch and a motor you can’t teach. The kid loves basketball. He’s a gym rat.”

One big thing stood in the way of Hickle dedicating himself to a career on the hardwood after high school — those Friday night lights and full Saturday stadiums.

He rushed for 2,091 yards and 24 touchdowns and, playing defensive end, totaled 54 tackles and 12 sacks for the Beavers’ football team that finished 10-2 this fall and ended a long postseason drought by reaching the 1A state quarterfinals.

Hickle is The Olympian’s All-Area football player of the year, the first from a school smaller than 2A to earn the honor in the 32 years it has been awarded.

“If football didn’t exist, I’d definitely focus on basketball,” Hickle said. “I like the back and forth of the game. It’s really exciting having those close nail-biter games. I kind of live for those moments.”

The epitome of a well-rounded athlete with time spent on Tenino’s soccer team and riding in rodeos, Hickle signed his National Letter of Intent to play football at Oregon State last week. He’s expected to play defensive end for Pac-12 version of Beavers. He plans to major in zoology.

A three-star recruit according to various recruiting services, Hickle impressed with his play and a 7-foot wingspan coupled with big hands that match those of Arizona Cardinals’ star J.J. Watt.

“We feel like he can be an impact player at the line of scrimmage on defense for us,” Beavers coach Jonathan Smith said. “If he can grow into his body and keep his athleticism, he’s going to be a real steal out of a small town.”

Hickle never worried about FBS-level schools finding him in Tenino, which has a population of 1,907. He had an offer in hand from Nevada before going to camp at OSU in June and finding the coaches and campus to his liking.

“I never believed you have to go to a big high school to play in college,” Hickle said just before the season started. “If you’re talented you’ll get noticed. If you have it, you have it.”

Though he had committed to OSU prior to Tenino’s football opener, he had some positive takeaways, both tangible and intangible, from the 2021 fall season.

“Takari has always been the ultimate competitor,” Tenino coach Cary Nagel said. “His drive to win this year was big for us.”

Along with his want-to, Hickle ramped up his how-to, taking what he learned from being the Beavers’ featured back to the defensive side of the ball.

“I grew as a player in a lot of ways this year,” said Hickle, who was also named the 1A Evergreen MVP. “Playing the running back position helped me with defense. Now I know where the cuts are, where the holes are going to be. I know the mind of a running back.”

Hickle’s run of success has been a spark that helped not only the football team, but the overall Tenino sports program, Chirhart believes.

“Anytime you’ve got a football team that’s successful, it sets high expectations for the rest of the athletic program,” he said. “All of our fall sports made the postseason this year, which was the first time in Tenino history we did that.”

Nagel knows Hickle’s departure will mean building new roads to that success.

“It’s going to be very difficult to replace a Takari Hickle, but I think the kids are going to put in the work and we’re going to be OK,” he said.

Meanwhile, Hickle hopes his efforts at OSU continue to build on the family gridiron tradition established by Tiki, who passed away from heart disease.

“Tiki was a fantastic football player. I definitely looked up to him,” Hickle said. “I’d go to his games and be amazed at what he could do. I’d like to think that I’m carrying on what he did.”

PAST OLYMPIAN ALL-AREA FOOTBALL PLAYERS OF THE YEAR

1990: Mark Bruener, TE-LB, Aberdeen

1991: Kevin Clark, RB, Tumwater

1992: Mike Sellers, RB-LB, North Thurston

1993: Jeff Allen, DB-RB, Capital; Derek Lowe, RB, Tumwater

1994: Jimmy Smith, QB-P, Capital

1995: Anthony Hicks, RB-LB, Tumwater

1996: Jon Burbidge, RB-K, Tumwater; Lance Gustafson, RB-LB, Tumwater

1997: Ben Dougherty, QB-DB, Elma

1998: Dale Chase, QB, River Ridge

1999: Jake Kirkwood, WR-DB, North Thurston

2000: Alex Pittelkau, RB, North Thurston

2001: Jordan Carey, RB-DB, Capital

2002: Todd Basler, RB-P, Elma

2003: Jonathan Stewart, RB, Timberline; Luke Kravitz, RB, Capital

2004: Jonathan Stewart, RB, Timberline

2005: Ben Huntley, DL-OL, Olympia

2006: Zach Johnson, RB, Tumwater

2007: Hank Bryant, RB-DE, Tumwater

2008: Ronnie Hamlin, WR-DB, Timberline

2009: Ben Ternan, QB, Chehalis; Cody Peterson, RB-LB, Black Hills

2010: Tyler Sandberg, RB, Capital

2011: Ben Broeker, QB, North Thurston

2012: Andrew Brown, RB-DB, Tumwater

2013: Christian Cummings, RB, Tumwater

2014: Trevor Davis, LB-RB, Tumwater

2015: David Woodward, RB-DB, Olympia

2016: Cade Otton, TE-LB, Tumwater

2017: Michael Barnes, RB-DB, Timberline

2018: Hunter Campau, QB, Timberline

2019: Jacob Schuster, DL-OL, Tumwater

Spring 2021: Jacob Schuster, DL-OL, Tumwater

Fall 2021: Takari Hickle, RB-DL, Tenino