Montesano faces a battle for first place while Aberdeen takes on the No. 10 team in the state as we preview prep football games for Week 7 of the 2024 season.

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Montesano at Rochester

When and where: 7 p.m. Friday at Rochester High School

Players to watch: Montesano – Tyson Perry QB/LB, Gabe Pyhala RB/LB, Terek Gunter RB/DB, Zach Timmons RB/DB. Rochester – Xander Peterman RB, Ethan Rodriguez RB, Carter Rotter QB.

If Montesano is to repeat as 1A Evergreen League champion, Friday’s game against the Rochester Warriors is a must-win.

The Bulldogs (4-2 overall, 2-0 1A Evergreen League) and Warriors (3-3, 1-0) are the only two teams entering the week with unblemished league records, setting up what could ultimately play out to be a battle for the league title.

Despite dealing with uncharacteristic slow starts over the past few weeks, Montesano has rolled off four-straight wins that include a 35-19 victory over 2B power Napavine followed by two consecutive league victories over Tenino and Hoquiam.

The Bulldogs defense has allowed just 13 points in league thus far and cashed in two turnovers for touchdowns – a pick-6 interception return by Zach Timmons and a fumble return by Mason Fry – in a 42-0 drubbing of Hoquiam last week.

That defense will need to be on its A-game against Rochester, a run-focused team that has amassed 1,962 yards on the ground this season, led by junior running backs Ethan Rodriguez (796 yards) and Xander Peterman (450 yards).

But the Warriors have shown to be mistake-prone at inopportune times over the past few weeks.

Rochester’s offense offered up a pick-6 score just before halftime in a win over Black Hills three weeks ago and gave up a fumble recovery for a touchdown in the waning moments of the first half in a loss to King’s last week, snapping a three-game win streak in the process.

That could be a winning formula for Monte, which has seemed to reassert its run-stopping defensive identity after a 1-2 start to the season.

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RIDLEY HUDSON | THE CHRONICLE Aberdeen’s Micah Schroeder sprints away from the Centralia defense during a game on Oct. 12. Aberdeen hosts No. 1 Tumwater on Friday at Stewart Field.

Tumwater at Aberdeen

When and where: 7 p.m. Friday at Stewart Field, Aberdeen

Players to watch: Tumwater – Jaxon Budd QB, Jaylin Nixon RB/DB, Peyton Davis RB/DB, Malijah Tucker OL/DL. Aberdeen – Micah Schroeder RB/LB, Mason Hill QB/S, Legend Vessey RB/LB, Riley Wixson RB/LB.

Aberdeen is healthy and charged up after coming off their most complete game of the season with a 40-0 win over Centralia last week.

The Bobcats will need to carry all that momentum and then some if they hope to be competitive against their opponent this week, the mighty Tumwater Thunderbirds.

Tumwater (6-0, 1-0 2A Evergreen) has looked every bit of the top team in the 2A class according to all the major polls and the 10th-ranked team in the state, among any class, by SBLive.com, sitting above higher-classification state powers Eastside Catholic (3A) and Graham-Kapowsin (4A).

And for good reason as Tumwater has demolished its opponents this season, which included wins over three 4A class teams, including a 56-10 throttling over Union two weeks ago.

In its league opener last Friday, seven different Thunderbirds scored a rushing touchdown and Tumwater scored 35 points in the first quarter en route to a 62-0 win over Black Hills.

Aberdeen running back Micah Schroeder and the Cats offense made a statement against winless Centralia last week, totalling 455 yards of offense in the win.

But Tumwater is an entirely different animal, and the better barometer for Aberdeen might not be if it can win, but how long it can keep the game close.

To this point of the season, none have against the T-Birds.

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PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Elma quarterback Isaac McGaffey (3) drops back to pass during a win over Tenino on Oct. 11. The Eagles take on Black Hills in a non-league game on Friday in Tumwater.

Elma at Black Hills

When and where: 7 p.m. Friday at Tumwater Stadium, Tumwater

Players to watch: Elma – Isaac McGaffey QB/S, Ethan Camus WR/DB, Traden Carter RB/LB; Kolby Radamacher RB/LB. Black Hills – Jacob Weller QB/LB, Jaxsen Beck RB/LB, Tristan Deville WR/DB.

Elma hopes to keep moving in a positive direction when it takes on Black Hills in a non-league game in Tumwater.

The Eagles (3-3) snapped a three-game losing streak with a big 27-16 win over Tenino last week, putting Elma alone in third place in the 1A Evergreen League.

The Wolves (2-4) are coming of a 62-0 thrashing at the hand of Tumwater after picking up a win over Centralia the previous week.

The two teams are similar in that they lean toward the pass, putting the weight of the offense on their quarterbacks.

Elma junior Isaac McGaffey has passed for 771 yards this season with 10 touchdowns and just two interceptions in 120 attempts. When McGaffey passes for over 130 yards in a game this season, Elma is 3-1.

The Eagles have run the ball 163 times in 2024 for 569 yards, with running backs Kolby Radamacher and Bo Muller leading the Eagles with 148 rushing yards apiece.

Black Hills is led by senior quarterback Jaxsen Beck, who has passed for 984 yards with 13 touchdowns and six picks this season, completing 69% of his passes. By contrast, the Wolves have rushed just 64 times for 355 yards this season.

Elma’s speed and athleticism at the skill positions can be difficult for any opponent to deal with, and if the Eagles can play relatively mistake-free football, the Eagles could win their second in a row.

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Tenino at Hoquiam

When and where: 7 p.m. Friday at Olympic Stadium, Hoquiam

Players to watch: Tenino – Mason Metcalf QB, Michael Vassar RB, Austin Gonia WR. Hoquiam – Joey Bozich QB/LB, Ryan Pullar OL/DL, Winston Kaikaka RB/LB, Lincoln Niemi TE/DL.

For a young Hoquiam Grizzlies team, Friday’s game against Tenino could prove to be pivotal.

A win and Hoquiam (2-4, 0-1 1A Evergreen) leapfrogs the Beavers (3-3, 0-2) and into fourth place in the league standings, keeping its playoff hopes alive.

A loss and the Grizzlies will fall to 0-2 and remain on the outside looking in at the postseason.

Hoquiam kept the game close through much of the first half against 9th-ranked Montesano last week, holding the Bulldogs off the scoreboard until under a minute in the first quarter and finding first downs to keep the clock moving against high-octane Montesano.

But the third quarter woes for Hoquiam continued as Monte – paced by back-to-back defensive touchdowns – scored 21 points to pull away.

Tenino is coming off a bitter league loss of its own, losing a second-half lead in a 27-16 loss to Elma.

Hoquiam quarterback Joey Bozich completed passes to four different receivers against Montesano, but was without one of his key weapons in starting running back Kingston Case, who went out due to an injury in the first half and didn’t return.

Tenino’s wins have come against 2B teams Rainier and Adna and winless 2A Centralia. Two of the Beavers’ losses have come the last two weeks against Montesano and Elma.

Hoquiam will have its work cut out for them against a tough, but beatable Beavers squad.

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Forks at Pe Ell-Willapa Valley

When and where: 7 p.m. Friday in Pe Ell

Players to watch: Forks – Bubba Hernandez-Stansbury QB, Kaden Ward RB, Landen Olson WR. PWV – Nathan Fluke QB/S, Cody Strozyk RB/MLB, Blaine King WR/DB, Lucas Lusk RB/LB.

Coming off three consecutive victories under interim head coach Josh Seymour, the Pe Ell-Willapa Valley Titans will have to avoid the proverbial “trap game” when they host Forks on Friday.

The Titans (4-2, 2-0) won its past two league games against Raymond-South Bend and Ilwaco by a combined score of 89-20, exhibiting big-play abilities by the likes of quarterback Nathan Fluke and running backs Cody Strozyk and Blaine King.

The Spartans (2-4, 1-1) are reeling after a 43-14 loss to Adna last week, a game in which they were outscored 30-0 in the second half and allowed 315 rushing yards to the Pirates.

The “trap” for PWV comes if it overlooks the Spartans and has its eye on a potential first-place matchup against Napavine the following week.

If the Titans can avoid that, they should go into next week’s matchup unbeaten in league play.

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East Jefferson at Raymond-South Bend

When and where: 7 p.m. Friday at Millam Field, South Bend

Players to watch: EJ – Silas Morford QB/DB, Jameson Henery TE/LB, Alex Garcia RB/LB. RSB – Chris Quintana QB/DB, Chris Banker RB/LB, Isaac Schlueter RB/LB.

Raymond-South Bend has a golden opportunity to snap a five-game losing streak when it hosts East Jefferson in a non-league game on Friday in South Bend.

The Ravens (1-5) are coming off three blowout losses to 2B Central-West League foes over the past three weeks and sit in last place in the league standings.

But the Rivals (0-6) have fared worse, going winless so far this season with its closest margin of defeat coming in last week’s 35-7 loss to Annie Wright.

East Jefferson has been shut out three times this season – 68-0 to Granite Falls, 53-0 to Friday Harbor and 78-0 to Life Christian Academy – and also have a 72-6 loss to Cascade Christian on its resume.

Despite being on the younger side and suffering through a rebuild this season, the Ravens have speed and talent in the form of quarterback Chris Quintana and running backs Isaac Schlueter and Chris Banker to win on Friday.

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Other games

Sound Christian at North Beach – The Hyaks (1-5, 0-5 SWW 8-man) look to end a five-game losing streak against Sound Christian (3-3, 2-3) at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Taholah at Naselle – The Chitwhins (2-3, 2-3 SWW 8-man) have a tough test against the first place Comets (6-0, 5-0 SWW 8-man) at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Lake Quinault at Mary M. Knight – The Elks (0-4, 0-3 1B Coastal 6-man) look to win for the first time this season when they face the Owls (2-3, 1-3) at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Northwest Christian at Wishkah Valley – The Loggers (3-0, 2-0 1B Coastal 6-man) can make a big statement with a win against Northwest Christian (3-0, 3-0) at 1 p.m. on Saturday.