By Jayme Taylor, Communication Manager
Tana Pritchard, a senior from Clover Park High School, will sign a letter of intent to play football at Washington State University (WSU) on Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 2 p.m. in the school’s library, 11023 Gravelly Lake Drive SW in Lakewood.
Pritchard, son of David and Kelli Pritchard, has been the starting varsity quarterback for the Warriors since his freshman year of high school in 2007. He also played defensive back and was the team’s punter. Pritchard ended the season with an average of 6.71 yards per carry with 107 carries for 718 yards and 12 touchdowns. He threw for 1,620 yards with 123 completions on 233 passing attempts, 18 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.
Football runs deep in the Pritchard family. Tavita Pritchard, Tana’s older brother, was the starting quarterback at Stanford and helped lead the Cardinals to a 24-23 upset victory over a No. 2 ranked USC team in 2007. Their dad was the starting center for WSU and played in the 1981 Holiday Bowl.
Pritchard was named the South Puget Sound League (SPSL) 2A Offensive MVP, SPSL 2A 1st Team Quarterback and the SPSL 2A 1st Team Punter. He was also named to The News Tribune’s All-State Team as a punter and their All-Area Team as a quarterback. Pritchard was the Tacoma Athletic Commission’s Football Athlete of the Year—an honor he shared with Cornelius Edison from Curtis High School. Pritchard has also been selected to play in the 2A East/West All Star Game this June in Yakima.
Thanks in large part to Pritchard’s skills and leadership, the Warriors shared the League Champion title in a three-way tie with Eatonville and Sumner High Schools. They finished their season 5-5 overall and 5-2 in the SPSL 2A. They lost to Interlake High School, 54-35, in a preliminary-round playoff game. Clover Park had not won a league title since 1986 and had not been to the playoffs since 2004.
The 6-foot-4, 205 pound Pritchard, who is projected to play linebacker at WSU, was also being recruited as a basketball player. The Warriors basketball team is currently ranked number two in the state in 2A with a 13-1 record.
Tom Lawrence says
As a CP classmate of his dad, it is fun to watch from afar as Tana excels and the next generation of Pritchards continues a family tradition of athletic, academic and community excellence. Thanks for sharing his successes thus far, I’m sure he will be an outstanding addition to the WSU team.