If there was a monument – similar to Mount Rushmore – of the most influential figures in the history of the Spokane Shock football organization, wide receiver Raul Vijil would certainly be on it.

After all, for a career that spanned six years and nearly 500 receptions, he was certainly the face of the franchise. That included the nickname “Raul The Thrill Vijil,” the signature back flips he performed after most of his more than 150 career touchdowns, plus a well-deserved jersey retirement following the last of his seasons with the franchise.

And don’t forget the three titles – two in the Shock’s original foray into arena football with Af2, and another in the top indoor league, the Arena Football League (AFL).

“It’s unbelievable,” says the newly minted 40-year-old, who honed his receiver skills in one season at Pasco High School and five years at Eastern Washington University. “Being a part of all those teams was incredible. And having my Shock jersey retired was a huge honor. The journey means a lot to me.”

But certainly the ultimate clincher of his legacy was the bobblehead the club produced and handed out in his honor. Now, that same bobblehead brings him down to earth.

“Every now and then I’ll get a picture sent to me of one of the bobbleheads for sale at the Goodwill,” a humbled Vijil laughs. “They aren’t worth much, but my mom has a box full of them somewhere, too. I have a huge family, so we keep giving them away.”

Now back living in his hometown of Pasco with his wife and two children, Vijil’s football career ended just over a decade ago. But for a roughly 11-year stretch from the fall of 2000 to 2011, he turned heads (not of the bobble variety) at every turn.

A talented soccer player at Pasco HS, as a senior in the fall of 2000 he was unstoppable as a wide receiver in his lone season of football in leading the Bulldogs to the State 4A title. He then spent the next five seasons learning the trade at Eastern in Cheney, where he became an All-Big Sky Conference receiver in helping lead the Eagles to league titles in 2004 and 2005.

But it was in Spokane for the Shock where he really made his mark, helping the team win indoor football league titles in three of his six seasons with the club. He had 489 catches for 5,701 and 151 touchdowns receiving in 74 regular -season games in his six seasons.

“It was a great avenue for guys to continue their careers,” he says. “It was a ton of fun, and winning was the most fun of course. And we had a lot of that.”

Going back to the State 4A soccer title he won in spring of 1998 while a sophomore at Pasco HS, teams he played on won seven championships in just an 11-year span.

He didn’t have many disappointments as a player, but he certainly has had some since then as he’s watched the demise of the Shock. In fact, he was the strength and conditioning coach in 2015 when the club first folded.

The club came back as the Spokane Empire in 2016 and 2017, just before the COVID-19 pandemic silenced football far and wide. The Shock made a noble attempt at a comeback, but in the spring of 2022 Vijil saw the setbacks unfold again.

“It’s disappointing and tough,” he said while tapping his heart with his hand. “They’ve come back a couple of times, but it never seemed like the same. To see it go away was tough.”

In Vijil’s six seasons, the club had regular-season records of 14-2 in 2006 (Af2 champions), 12-4 in 2007, 15-1 in 2008 (Af2 runner-up) and 15-1 in 2009 (Af2 champions). In their first year in the AFL, the Shock was 13-3 and won ArenaBowl XXIII before falling to 9-9 in the 2011 regular season in Vijil’s final season.

“To have the success we had put it on another level,” says Vijil of his experience. “The way Spokane followed us was unbelievable. It was a whole different feel than when we went on the road to play other teams.”

Vijil still laughs and smiles broadly when telling the story on how his football career began. It helps when your best friend turns out to be the star quarterback, and the football coach and program exuded success.

Steve Graff is an Eastern graduate and former Eagle player in 1981 and 1982, and he built a dynasty at Pasco High School. Graff was constantly in Vijil’s ear trying to get him to play football because of the athleticism he showed on the soccer pitch, but club soccer was also in the fall.

“I was just focused on soccer,” Vijil explained. “I had friends who tried to convince me to play, and then some senior classmates who felt like they were going to be pretty good. My best friend said, ‘Dude, it’s going to be a lot of fun.’ ”

That best friend was a fellow soccer player Skyler Allen, who became Pasco’s starting quarterback and would eventually join Vijil at EWU. Together, Vijil and Allen helped Pasco win a state soccer title, and Vijil’s original plan was to play college soccer.

But plans change, as an unbeaten regular season for the Bulldogs in football turned to perfection in the postseason as well. Vijil became the star receiver, Pasco went 14-0 and his first foray into football ended in December with the 4A title. He and Pasco teammate Doug Vincent then headed off to become Eagles.

Vijil says Jimmy Lake – a former Eagle player and coach who would end up as the University of Washington head coach for a brief time – recruited him to EWU. That came even before the championship game when he had seven catches for a state record 204 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown grab from Allen, in leading Pasco to a 20-3 win over Bethel.

Vijil’s legacy at EWU is also secure, but that didn’t come as easily. Football at the collegiate level was a different game, and he had lots to learn.

After freshman and sophomore seasons in which he had lots of apprehension and limited playing time, eventually he earned his place in a wide receivers lineup that included classmates Eric Kimble, Craig McIntyre and Richmond Sanders. The quartet would finish their Eastern careers with a combined 156 games of experience with totals of 503 catches for 7,858 yards and 74 touchdowns.

“My confidence still wasn’t there, but I kept gaining a ton – especially in practices,” he said. “Something clicked. All the players I came in with were now on the field with me.”

Kimble was a two-time All-American, and in their senior season Vijil had 72 catches (third-most in school history at the time) for 1,080 yards (fourth) and eight touchdowns in 2005 to earn second team All-Big Sky accolades. He finished his 44-game EWU career with 129 grabs for 1,966 yards and 10 scores.

“Eastern has come a long way, and we feel like our talented receiver corps was a big part of that,” Vijil said. “But if we showed up now, after all the great receivers they’ve had in the program, I don’t know if we’re seeing the field much.”

Vijil felt that very same thing when he arrived at Shock training camp that following spring and eventually made the team along with fellow receivers Charles Frederick from Washington, Antwone Savage out of Oklahoma and Kevin Beard at Miami.

Vijil laughs about that now. “My dad even asked, ‘Are you kidding? You made this team?’ ”

The AFL championship in 2010 was a highlight, but a knee injury kept Vijil from being a huge part of that team’s success in the playoffs. The following season was his last, and at that point he focused on a new life of work, family and children.

While he was playing for the Shock, he also worked for the YMCA as a sports performance coach.

After retiring in 2011 he went into it full time. In 2015 he became the head strength and conditioning coach for the Shock, then joined Complete Athlete for four years. In addition, he served as an analyst on radio and television for EWU football and for SWX in Spokane.

“There were a lot of cool connections,” says Vijil, who received his degree from EWU in interdisciplinary studies after beginning in the school’s graphic arts program.

He moved back to Pasco, and received his EMT certification with the intent of becoming a firefighter. But he ended up getting a referral from former Shock teammate and Washington State University offensive lineman Patrick Afif for a medical technology company called Stryker, and he’s worked for them for a little more than a year now.

He met his wife, Dani, while he was with the Shock when she performed on the team’s dance squad. They are both Eastern graduates, and built a house three blocks from his retired parents. Together, they all keep watch on Raul and Dani’s 5-year-old son, Ezra, and a younger daughter named Aria.

Raul says he has the itch to get back into athletics, but most likely part time for at least the immediate future.

“I want to be there for them, and I was actually trying to stay out of coaching as much as we could,” he said of his family. “I want to be dad and help them at home.”

“But I’m missing that energy,” he says.

“Sports and competing are addictive.”