Playoff football is upon us and with a handful of Twin Harbors teams still alive, the quest for state glory begins this week in the district crossover round.
SETON CATHOLIC AT MONTESANO
When and where: 7 p.m. Friday at Jack Rottle Field, Montesano
Players to watch: Montesano — Mateo Sanchez C/LB, Jayden McElravy QB/LB, Kaleb Ames WR/DB, Gabe Bodwell RB/DL. Seton Catholic — Kolten Gesser QB, Ryker Ruelas WR, Joe Callerame QB/RB/OLB.
Montesano’s journey to what it hopes will be its first state championship in 10 seasons begins Friday with a crossover matchup against Seton Catholic at Montesano High School.
The Bulldogs (7-2) enter the postseason relatively healthy, with starting quarterback Jayden McElravy and offensive weapons Gabe Bodwell, Kaleb Ames and Bode Poler all set to play on Friday as well as starting center and defensive captain Mateo Sanchez.
Aside from a bump in the road against Tenino two weeks ago, the Bulldogs rolled through league competition this season and have impressive wins over Eatonville, Castle Rock and Shelton on their resume.
In Seton Catholic, No. 9 Montesano will face a team that tied for third in the 1A Trico League with a big 55-34 win over King’s Way Christian last week.
The Cougars (5-4) like to take to the air led by freshman quarterback Kolten Gesser, who was 99-for-149 for 1,092 yards in six games this season.
Seton Catholic is young, with the majority of its skill-position players being sophomores.
Looking at common opponents, both teams defeated Columbia-White Salmon this season, Monte by a score of 56-0 and Seton Catholic earning a 45-21 victory.
But the two teams had differing outcomes against Castle Rock, with the Bulldogs picking up a 57-12 win and the Cougars suffering a 29-6 loss to the Rockets.
HOQUIAM AT LA CENTER
When and where: 7 p.m. Friday at Woodland High School
Players to watch: Hoquiam — Zander Jump QB/LB, Owen McNeill WR/DB, Jake Templer RB/LB. La Center — Tru Feldman QB, Jalen Ward RB, Levi Giles RB/KR.
Hoquiam’s 33-30 victory over Elma back on Sept. 30 turned out to be the difference between a spot in the postseason and an early off-season.
The Grizzlies (4-5) lone league win of the season was enough for the fourth and final playoff spot out of the 1A Evergreen League.
For their efforts, Hoquiam is rewarded with a crossover playoff game against Trico League champion La Center (8-1).
The No. 8 Wildcats are on an eight-game winning streak after suffering a season-opening 19-14 loss to Hockinson and are coming off a 31-0 win over Castle Rock last week.
La Center quarterback Tru Feldman passed for 227 yards against the Rockets on 6-of-17 passing, showing the Cats can throw the ball effectively when teams focus on stopping their run game.
Hoquiam enters the playoffs losing three of its past four games — all league losses against ranked opponents— while earning a 29-12 win over Centralia two weeks ago.
RYAN SPARKS / THE DAILY WORLD Raymond-South Bend quarterback Austin Snodgrass will lead the Ravens when they take on Kalama in a 2B district crossover playoff game Friday in Kalama.
RAYMOND-SOUTH BEND AT KALAMA
When and where: 7 p.m. Friday at Kalama High School
Players to watch: RSB — Austin Snodgrass QB/DB, Ty Reidinger RB/LB, Ferrill Johnson RB. Kalama — Aiden Brown QB, Jaxxon Tuesdell WR, Dylan Jones LB.
Raymond-South Bend best season in its short history as a combo team continues when the Ravens face Kalama on the road Friday.
RSB (7-2) — ranked No. 9 by scorebooklive.com and No. 6 in the WIAA RPI — is coming off a 48-34 win over Morton-White Pass that solidified its No. 3 spot in arguably the toughest 2B league in the state, the Central-North League.
The Ravens’ only losses this season were to No. 7 Pe Ell-Willapa Valley and No. 1 Napavine.
Kalama (4-5) created some chaos in the Central-South League with a 36-6 thrashing of No. 18 Adna last week, giving the Chinooks a three-way tie for second place in the league.
A coin flip gave Kalama the right to host the Ravens on Friday.
The Chinooks are led by quarterback Aiden Brown — who can both run and throw — and linebacker Dylan Jones, who had four solo tackles, 10 assists, a sack and a fumble recovery in the victory over the Pirates.
RYAN SPARKS / THE DAILY WORLD Pe Ell-Willapa Valley quarterback Kolten Fluke and the Titans will host Adna in a 2B district crossover playoff game on Friday in Menlo.
ADNA AT PE ELL-WILLAPA VALLEY
When and where: 7 p.m. Friday at Willapa Valley High School
Players to watch: PWV — Kolten Fluke QB/LB, Blake Howard RB/LB, Derek Fluke RB/LB, Wil Clements WR/LB. Adna — Lane Johnson QB; Jaxon Dunnagan RB/CB; Asher Guerrero RB/LB.
In the second week of the season, Pe Ell-Willapa Valley suffered a bitter 18-14 loss to Adna.
Little did PWV know then they’d have a shot to pay the Pirates back.
PWV (6-3) hosts Adna (5-5) in a 2B crossover game on Friday.
The biggest hurdle for the Titans may be rust, as PWV hasn’t played a game since a win over Raymond-South Bend on Oct. 15.
Since then, the Titans picked up wins over Forks and Rainier via forfeit.
Adna enters the playoffs losers of two of its past three league games and hasn’t shown much offense, scoring more than 12 points in a game just once since Sept. 30.
OTHER GAMES
Rainier at Ocosta (7 p.m. Thursday) — Ocosta (7-1) emerged from the 2B Central-Lower 8-man league to earn a crossover game against Rainier (1-7) in the 2B 11-man playoffs.
Lake Quinault at Quilcene (1 p.m. Saturday) — In winning the six-man championship last week, the Elks (8-0) earned a shot in the 1B 8-man playoffs with a matchup against Quilcene (5-4) on Saturday.
