Eastern Washington University Athletics

Friese was a small-town football player from Lebam, Wash., who became a record-breaking Eastern football player from 1982-85. He has since become a highly-successful football coach, teacher and administrator, and is now the superintendent of schools for the Willapa Valley School District. He graduated in 1981 from Willapa Valley High School, where he helped his school win three state championships in sports. He was a four-year football letter winner at EWU from 1982-85, helping Eastern to a 9-3 record as a senior and the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs (then known as I-AA). He had 169 tackles, nine interceptions, 16 passes broken up and a 12.1 average per punt return in his career.  His 84-yard punt return for a touchdown in the FCS playoffs in 1985 versus Northern Iowa still stands as the longest in school history, and he had a 72-yarder for a TD earlier that season versus Idaho. His 352 punt return yards in 1985 was a school record for 19 years, and he still ranks in the top 10 in all season and career punt return categories. His nine career interceptions ranked third in school history at the time, and his 16 passes broken up were a school record that was broken the following season. He was selected by the Eastern Athletic Department to the “100 for 100” All-Time Football Team, which was honored on Sept. 27, 2008, to commemorate Eastern’s 100th year of football. In 1999, Dick Zornes selected Friese to the "Z" Team consisting of 36 players that he felt were the best players and made the largest contributions toward the 158 games Eastern won in Zornes' 26-year association with Eagle Football. As an educator, Friese received his bachelor’s degree from Eastern in 1986 and his master’s in 1990. He was a coach and teacher at Ocosta High School before returning to his alma mater, Willapa Valley, to coach and teach. As head football coach at Willapa Valley High School, he coached the team to State B football titles in 1996 and 2001. He won 10 league titles and had a 144-47 record in 17 seasons with 15 playoff appearances (through 2010). In 2008, Willapa Valley was 11-0 before losing in the quarterfinals of the WIAA State 2B Playoffs. Including a stint at Ocosta High School, he was 150-76 in 21 seasons as a high school head football coach (through 2010). He was honored as Washington State Coaches Association District IV Football Coach of the Year twice and earned league coach of the year honors multiple times. For several years he served as the WSCA west-side coordinator for the East-West All-State football game, and once he was the winning head coach in the B/A/AA game. He was honored as the Seattle Seahawks Coach of the Week and has served on that NFL team’s High School Coaches Council. He has also served on the WIAA B Football Study Committee.  As head coach of the girls’ track team, his squads won 12 league titles. Three times his teams placed third in the state, and once they finished fourth. He also served as an assistant for the boys, which won the 2002 State B title and was the runner-up the following season. Friese was named in spring 2011 as the Superintendent of the Willapa Valley School District after serving as the Willapa Valley High School principal (from 1997-2011). He won the Robert J. Handy Administrator of the Year award in 2005 and has served as the Washington Association of Secondary School Principals Small School Representative. He has also served on the AWSP Certificate of Academic Achievement Committee.