It’s a make-or-break weekend for several Twin Harbors teams as we preview Week 8 prep football games.
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Aberdeen vs. Black Hills
When and where: 7 p.m. Friday at Tumwater Stadium, Tumwater
Players to watch: Aberdeen – Micah Schroeder RB/LB, Mason Hill QB/S, Legend Vessey RB/LB, Riley Wixson RB/LB. Black Hills – Jaxsen Beck QB; Tristan Deville WR/DB; Jesse Keith RB/DB.
There will be much at stake for both teams when Aberdeen takes on Black Hills on Friday in Tumwater, most notably the third-playoff spot in the 2A Evergreen Conference.
“That’s a playoff game. It doesn’t say it on paper, but that’s 100% what it is,” Aberdeen head coach Todd Bridge said. “The road to the playoffs goes through Tumwater District Stadium on Friday night.”
Indeed it does as the Bobcats have the opportunity to host a playoff game for the first time since 1997, which would be quite an accomplishment for an Aberdeen team that lost more than 80% of its starting lineup from a season ago, with a victory over the Wolves.
The Bobcats need a win on Friday and a Black Hills loss to W.F. West a week later, which is probable considering the Bearcats are a top-10 team in the 2A rankings, to end up alone in third place and avoid a Kansas tie-breaker.
Some positives entering the game are Aberdeen (2-5 overall, 1-2 2A Evergreen) is relatively healthy coming off last week’s loss to No. 1 Tumwater, meaning standout junior running back Micah Schroeder and company should be ready to go against the Wolves (3-4, 1-1).
Looking at their previous opponents, the two teams appear to be closely matched. Black Hills is coming off a 23-14 win over Elma last week after falling to Tumwater 62-0 on Oct. 11.
Both teams have big wins over Centralia – Aberdeen by a score of 40-0 with the Wolves beating the Tigers 48-20 – and each has a non-league loss against Rochester this season.
Aberdeen has won four of its past five meetings against the Wolves, with all five matchups being determined by 10 points or less.
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DYLAN WILHELM | THE CHRONICLE Pe Ell-Willapa Valley’s Lucas Lusk carries the ball during a win over Forks on Oct. 18. The Titans host Napavine in a battle of first-place teams on Friday in Menlo.
Napavine at Pe Ell-Willapa Valley
When and where: 7 p.m. Friday at Crogstad Field, Menlo
Players to watch: Napavine – Grady Wilson QB, Caleb Von Pressentin RB, Cayle Kelly RB. PWV – Nathan Fluke QB/S, Cody Strozyk RB/MLB, Blaine King WR/CB; Lucas Lusk RB/LB.
Pe Ell-Willapa Valley needs two wins in its final two league games to secure a 2B Central-West League title.
But it won’t be easy as the Titans face the class’ premiere program in Napavine on Friday at Willapa Valley High School.
The time might be right for PWV (5-2, 3-0 2B Central-West) to pick up its first win over Napavine (5-2, 3-0) since 2015 as the two teams are more evenly-matched than in recent seasons, when Napavine had won two of the previous three state championships.
But a small step backward for Napavine by no means makes for an easy win as the Tigers’ only two losses on the season are to top-10 1A teams at the time Life Christian Academy and Montesano.
Adding further intrigue into this matchup is the head coaching matchup, with interim PWV head coach Josh Seymour facing Napavine head coach Josh Fay, Seymour’s former boss while he was an assistant at Napavine before coming over as the Titans offensive coordinator this season.
With the sudden departure of former PWV head coach Nate Smith earlier in the season, Seymour was named the interim and the Titans took off, winning their past four straight to set up Friday’s matchup.
In its past three victories, PWV has allowed no more than 14 points in a game while Napavine has won three straight since a 35-19 loss to Montesano on Sept. 27.
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DAILY WORLD FILE PHOTO Hoquiam quarterback Joey Bozich (1) hands the ball off to running back Winston Kaikaka during a game on Oct. 11. Hoquiam faces Elma on Friday at Olympic Stadium in Hoquiam.
Elma at Hoquiam
When and where: 7 p.m. Friday at Olympic Stadium, Hoquiam
Players to watch: Elma – Isaac McGaffey QB/S, Ethan Camus WR/DB, Colby Rademacher RB/LB; Blaize Salazar RB/DB. Hoquiam – Joey Bozich QB/LB, Winston Kaikaka RB/LB, Kingston Case RB/FS, Ethan Byron REC/LB.
Elma is smack dab in the middle of the race for a playoff spot in the 1A Evergreen League.
Hoquiam can play spoiler when the two teams square off on Friday in Hoquiam.
The Eagles (3-4, 1-1 1A Evergreen) are in a precarious position, one half-game behind Montesano for second place in the league, but just one half-game ahead of Tenino, which sits in fourth place.
With the Eagles set to play the Bulldogs next week, a victory over last-place Hoquiam would go a long way toward securing the third and final playoff spot in league.
“We’re all in for the last two games of the season,” Elma head coach Larry Raynes said. “Let’s see what we can do.”
Mistakes have been the name of the game for Elma this season, as when they are limited, the Eagles win. But in Elma’s losses, turnovers, bad snaps and penalties have been prevalent.
They’ll have to stay clean to avoid giving any hope to Hoquiam (2-5, 0-2), which needs to win its final two league games to have a shot at third place.
The Grizzlies are coming off a 36-7 loss to Tenino last week, but Hoquiam can wash the bad taste of that loss out of its mouth with upset wins over Elma and Rochester next week, which would turn the league on its proverbial head.
Hoquiam needs to win out and get a lot of help to end up in third place. A loss and the Grizzlies’ postseason hopes are over.
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DAILY WORLD FILE PHOTO Montesano quarterback Tyson Perry drops back to pass during a game on Oct. 11. Monte will host top-ranked Nooksack Valley on Friday.
Nooksack Valley at Montesano
When and where: 7 p.m. Friday at Jack Rottle Field, Montesano
Players to watch: Nooksack Valley – Colton Lentz RB/LB, Evan Brown QB, Cole Bauman WR/LB, Cole Coppinger WR/DB. Montesano – Tyson Perry QB/LB, Gabe Pyhala RB/LB, Terek Gunter RB/DB, Zach Timmons RB/DB.
Montesano can get a good idea about where it stands in terms of a state championship when the Bulldogs host Nooksack Valley on Friday at Montesano High School.
The Bulldogs (4-3) are coming off a gut-wrenching 16-12 loss to Rochester which may end up costing Monte a league title when its all said and done.
In that game, Monte’s defense did well at keeping the Warriors off the scoreboard, but not off the field as Rochester chewed up the clock, with Monte’s offense only running 29 plays in the game.
In Nooksack Valley, Monte faces a 2023 state-semifinalist team that currently sits at No. 1 in the WIAA 1A RPI rankings.
The Pioneers (6-1) have a list of impressive wins on the season playing in the strong 1A Northwest League and their only loss came against 2A powerhouse Tumwater in Week 4.
Nooksack Valley is coming off a 29-0 shutout over No. 8 Meridian a week ago and features an offense that has scored t 30 or more points five times this season against the toughest 1A schedule, according to the RPI, of any top 15 team, with Montesano having the second strongest strength of schedule.
Regardless of the outcome, Monte will come away from Friday’s contest with more knowledge about its state-title hopes this season.
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Raymond-South Bend at Forks
When and where: 7 p.m. Friday at Forks High School
Players to watch: RSB – Chris Quintana QB/DB, Chris Banker RB/LB, Isaac Schlueter RB/LB. Forks – Bubba Hernandez-Stansbury QB, Kaden Ward RB, Landen Olson WR.
Raymond-South Bend can do something it has yet to do this season with a win on Friday over Forks: Win two games in a row.
RSB (2-5, 0-3 2B Central-West) got a much-needed victory over East Jefferson to snap a five-game losing streak last week and can pick up its first league win of the 2024 campaign with a victory over Forks (2-5, 1-2).
The Spartans are coming off a 34-6 thrashing at the hands of Pe Ell-Willapa Valley and have lost four of its past five games.
When Raymond-South Bend has been good this season, quarterback Chris Quintana and running backs Isaac Schlueter and Chris Banker have run for big yardage.
Both Quintana and Schlueter are expected to be in the lineup, with Banker listed as day to day after being taken out of Friday’s game against the Rivals with an injury.
A win over Forks followed by a victory over Ilwaco in the final week of the season could go a long way in building confidence for a young RSB squad heading into next season.
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Other games
Naselle at Ocosta – The Wildcats (4-2, 4-2) are coming off a bye week and will host the league-leading Comets (7-0, 6-0 SWW 8-man) at 7 p.m. Friday.
Taholah at Sound Christian – The Chitwhins (2-4, 2-4 SWW 8-man) can leapfrog the Lions (3-4, 2-4) and into fifth place in the league with a win at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Lake Quinault at Northwest Christian – The Elks (0-5, 0-4 1B Coastal 6-man) are still in search of a win after a pair of Tuesday losses to Wishkah and Mary M. Knight the past two weeks. Lake Quinault will have a short turnaround as they face the Wolverines (4-0, 4-0) at 7 p.m. Friday in Lacey.
Clallam Bay at Wishkah Valley – The Loggers (3-1, 2-1 1B Coastal 6-man) beat Lake Quinault 39-32 last Tuesday before suffering its first loss of the season against Northwest Christian on Saturday. Wishkah hosts the first-place Bruins (5-0, 4-0) at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
North Beach at Chief Leschi – The Hyaks (2-5, 2-5 SWW 8-man) snapped a five-game losing streak with a win last week and look to keep the momemtum going when they face Chief Leschi (2-4, 2-4) at 5 p.m. Saturday in Puyallup.
