As we enter the crossover round of the prep football season, Aberdeen and Montesano are still standing.
We take a look at the play-in game opponents they’ll have to defeat to earn a spot in their respective state tournaments.
Montesano at La Center
When and Where: 7 p.m. Friday at La Center High School
Players to Watch: Montesano — Jayden McElravy QB, Isaiah Pierce RB/LB, Caydon Lovell WR/DB, Mateo Sanchez OL/LB. La Center — Darren Cepeda QB, Jalen Ward RB, Levi Giles WR.
Having weathered through one of its toughest regular-season schedules in recent memory, the Montesano Bulldogs are arguably the best league No. 3 seed entering the regional play-in round of the 2021-22 prep football season.
Better yet, unlike just about every other team this time of the season, Montesano is relatively healthy.
The battle-tested Bulldogs (5-3 overall) will have all their main weapons available as Monte takes on La Center with a spot in the 1A State Tournament on the line.
In La Center (6-2), the Bulldogs will have to deal with the Trico League champs that feature several First Team all-league players, including talented quarterback Darren Cepeda, who was named the Trico MVP earlier this week.
The two teams are familiar with one another as they faced off last season in a highly-anticipated game of two top 10 1A teams, with the Bulldogs hammering the Wildcats 41-24 on March 6 in La Center.
That game is likely to be fresh in the minds of both teams, with the Bulldogs fully aware of what it’s like to play on the Wildcats home field and La Center likely wanting to exact some payback after last season’s thrashing.
Comparing the two common opponents reveals the teams might be more evenly matched than last season. Montesano and La Center both defeated Castle Rock this season by scores of 38-22 and 31-14, respectively, while both lost to No. 2 Eatonville, also by similar scores of 35-13 (La Center) and 35-18 (Montesano).
While they might be evenly-matched on paper, the same held true a season ago and the game turned into a Monte rout.
We’ll see if history repeats itself on Friday.
Aberdeen at Ridgefield
When and Where: 4 p.m. Saturday at Ridgefield High School
Players to Watch: Aberdeen — Jeremy Sawyer RB/LB, Trey Anderson RB/LB, Kale Goings QB/DB, Jakob Bowers RB/DB. Ridgefield — Isaiah Cowley WR/DB, Davis Pankow RB, Logan DeBeaumont QB.
With Aberdeen surviving Monday’s three-way Kansas tiebreaker for the second time in two seasons, the Bobcats earned a spot in a 2A regional play-in game.
Their rewards is a matchup against the No.2 team in the state — the Ridgefield Spudders.
Ridgefield (9-0 overall) didn’t miss a beat after losing its starting quarterback to an injury in Week 5 and has continued to dominate its opposition, averaging 40.8 points per game while allowing 7.3 point on defense this season.
Spudders quarterback Logan DeBeaumont has passed for 812 yards this season, most of those coming after starter Brayden Malella went down with an injury a month ago.
Ridgefield has been balanced on offense this season, passing on 203 plays while rushing 187 times.
As expected for a team ranked second in the state, Ridgefield also gets after it on defense, sacking opposing quarterbacks 15 times in nine games while tallying 15 interceptions as a team.
Aberdeen (6-3) has rushed for over 2,081 yards this season, with junior running back Jeremy Sawyer leading the way with 1,180 yards and 12 touchdowns on 194 carries.
If the Bobcats can sustain some long drives to eat up the clock and put some points on the board, they’ll have a shot, albeit an outside one.
Other games
1B Coastal (8-man) Playoffs
Lake Quinault at Mary M. Knight (1 p.m. Saturday)
