The Mavericks were created in 2005 when a majority of players and staff broke ties with the Yakima Scorpions and the Inland Northwest Football League. Yakima joined the newly formed Evergreen Football League and was a top team in the EFL every year making the championship game in 2008 falling short to their top nemesis Blue Mountain.

The inaugural season had the Mavericks rolling to a 9-0 record only to have the Rams sneak a home victory 27-26, following by a season ending 45-18 runaway by the Tri City Knights.  Back-to-back .500 seasons ensued as late season losses to Okanogan and Wenatchee cost the 2006 team a playoff spot, and a three-game skid to end the 2007 was put to rest by Blue Mountain 47-3 in the playoffs.
 
Place kicker and punter Joe Smith made team history in 2008 when he signed a contract with the New York Jets of the NFL.  The former Central Washington All-American spent three weeks in camp before being released.  Smith was a record-setting punter and place kicker before his untimely passing in 2013.  He is tied for second all-time with a 91-yard punt and third all-time with a 46.1 average for a season.  He currently stands as the only kicker in Greater Northwest history to hit field goals from 60- and 62-yards during games in 2009 and 2010.  Smith was inducted into the GNFA Hall of Fame in 2013.
 
The Mavs put their best team to date on the field in 2009 and seemed poised to run away with the Washington Football League.  Place kicker Joe Smith set a new GNFA record by drilling a 60-yard field goal on Apr 25. But, incidents during the season started to distract the team while Wenatchee wobbled one of the wheels and Spokane knocked it off in back-to-back weeks ending Yakima's run in the WFL semi-finals after being 8-0 and ranked #1.
 
Following the season, Nathan Soptich announced the Mavericks organization would compete in the summer-league North American Football League northwest division.  The season opener was a victory over the East County Blackshirts followed by a canceled home game against the Renegades when the Mavs field fell through.  The season would not go the way Soptich had hoped and on Sep 1, he pulled the plug on the summer experiment shutting down the team with 1-3-1 record.
 
Returning to the WFL the Mavericks were expected to be the force to contend with after going 2-0 to start the season, but a stumble against the Shockers started problems for the Mavericks in close games.  Okanogan took Yakima to overtime only to end in allegations of threats and the Commandos organization vowing never to play Yakima again.  The GNFA eventually suspended the Mavericks from a chance at the GNFA regional title that year.  That move was met with much consternation, but became a non-factor down the stretch as the Mavericks lost to Spokane and were awarded a forfeit from Columbia Basin.  Faced with a season finale against Wenatchee that Yakima had to win to get into the playoffs, the Rams proved too much and eliminated them from a playoff spot finishing the season at 4-4.

A new league and new chances came in 2011 as the Pacific Football League formed taking the top teams from Washington and Oregon into one super-league and the Mavericks found themselves back in the mix.  An 0-3 start recovered as Yakima went 7-1 down the stretch to claim a playoff spot.  But it would be the South King County Colts taking an overtime victory 20-14 to keep the comeback from being completed.

Unphased, Yakima again jumped out to a 6-1 record during the season, then steamrolled the Snohomish County Vikings 76-0 in the opening round of the playoffs.  But the Bellingham Bulldogs would be the latest to deny Yakima a title knocking the Mavericks out 34-0 in the semi-final round.

2013 had the mission back on this time with a 9-1 start to the season, only the Seattle Stallions claiming victory over Yakima.  Once again, though Bellingham had the answers in a 28-20 first round playoff win.  As members of the PFL, the Mavericks were 23-9 and 3-straight playoff appearances.

Key losses of players to retirement and team shifts brought the 2014 Mavericks to a 3-6 season including a 27-0 playoff loss to the Portland Raiders to end the season.  Yakima would take a year off in 2015 to attempt to shuffle the deck and reorganize, but as is the case with the semi-pro world, doing so often means completely starting over as players and coaches move on.  Yakima was no exception as the 2016 season would finish 4-4 and out of playoff contention.

Yakima would not return, closing the books on one of the most succesful franchises in Yakima history.  The Eastern Washington Coyotes would make an attempt to catch lightning again when they formed in 2019 and after winning the Washington State League Championship, eyed the bigger Pacific Northwest League competition in 2020, but Covid-19 collapsed the momentum.

DO YOU HAVE INFORMATION TO CONTRIBUTE?  CONTACT US! (email)