The No. 10 Onalaska football team is not in unfamiliar territory, at least in recent memory, having clinched yet another state bid and playing into mid-November, at least.
Though, with a large group of freshmen and sophomores, and just one lone senior this season, the added stakes of the state playoffs this week will be new for a lot of players that have been getting their feet wet playing varsity ball this fall.
After defeating Morton-White Pass in the district crossover round, the Loggers will head up to Oak Harbor to play No. 7 Coupeville Saturday afternoon in the first round of state as the third-lowest seed of the final 12 teams to make the state cut.
You’ll find no qualms with where the Loggers were seeded by coach Mazen Saade, who was just happy with his team earning this chance to prove themselves.
“We’re happy to be in the tournament, anywhere they place us, we’ll take it,” he said. “We’ll take the 10. We’re glad to be in the tournament. “We like to be the underdog, and always are appreciative of where we’re at. Only 12 teams make it this far.”
The task in front of the Loggers will be a tall one, per Saade, who said that the Wolves playmakers across the board stood out on film, including tailback Dominic Coffman and quarterback Logan Downes.
“They are a good program, really well coached,” Saade said. “Their line is impressive and they’ve beaten some good teams this year.”
Saade said the Wolves employ a pretty versatile offense that features two-back, shotgun, and some QB-run sets.
But while the coaches game plan the best schemes to stop what has been a pretty potent Wolves offense so far this season, the focus, like every week, will be on the Loggers and improving before a do-or-die first round matchup with a higher seed.
“We approach every week as this week,” Saade said. “Coupeville is a great team, but we have to focus on Logger football, we have to get better every day. They're a really good opponent and we need to focus on being the best we can possibly be at 4 p.m. on Saturday in Oak Harbor.”
