League play is in full swing in the new year, and with most non-league games behind us, it’s getting slightly easier to put together a list ranking all the leagues in District 4 (well, maybe except in the Central 2B). It’s early in the season, but every game feels more important as teams in the Chronicle’s coverage area chase elusive state bids earned in March.
If you want to laugh at my power rankings last time out, you can read them here.
The T-Birds took a trip down to Arizona to compete in a tournament against some powerhouses from up and down the West Coast, and went 1-2, but came back and soundly defeated Black Hills to stay perfect in league.
The Bearcats have played just one game since my last rankings, a rivalry win over Centralia last week, to move to 3-1 in league play.
The Wolves have started the year with two losses, but one was to league-leading Tumwater, and the other to 3A Kelso, hardly embarrassing defeats.
The Highclimbers have not played since Dec. 22.
The Tigers are in a bit of a slump after a strong start, but a close loss to rival W.F. West is nothing to be ashamed of, their only game since my last rankings.
The Warriors haven’t played a league game since an upset win over Black Hills in December, but came out of the new year strong with a six-point win over Elma.
The Bobcats haven’t played since my last rankings.
The Thunderbirds suffered their first loss of the season to 4A Mount Si over a tournament in Lynden, but responded with a dominant win over rival Black Hills last week after a slew of cancellations.
The Bearcats picked up wins over rival Centralia, and a good 2A contender in Port Angeles this week to stay firm at No. 2 this week.
The Tigers dropped their first league game of the season to W.F. West in the Swamp Cup in their only game since the last rankings.
The Bobcats haven’t played since the last rankings.
The Wolves have only played one game, a loss at the hands of rival Tumwater, since the last rankings.
Rochester hasn’t played since the last rankings.
The Highclimbers haven’t played since the last rankings.
The Cruisers have played just once since the last rankings, a league-opening win over Elma.
The Beavers broke a four-game losing streak with a 43-30 win over Montesano in their first league game last week before flooding forced cancellations.
The Grizzlies have played just one game since the last rankings, a seven-point loss to the Trico’s La Center.
The Bulldogs still just have one win to their name, and lost their most recent outing to Tenino in their league opener.
The Eagles have played twice since the last rankings, with losses to 2A Rochester and league rival Eatonville.
The Bulldogs haven’t played since Dec. 21.
The Beavers picked up a dominant win at the SunDome in Yakima over Quincy, before falling to Zillah on Dec. 29. They haven’t played since then.
The Grizzlies haven’t played since Dec. 21.
The Eagles haven’t played since Dec. 14.
The Cruisers haven’t played since Dec. 20.
The Tigers picked up an impressive win over Rainier before dispatching 1A La Center in a good week for the reigning district runner-ups.
The Chinooks played just one game, but reminded everyone why they won a district title last year, easily dispatching Adna behind 28 points from reigning league MVP Jackson Esary.
The Pirates picked up a close win over Toutle Lake, before falling decisively to Kalama last week after a short time off in December.
The Mountaineers got past Northwest Christian in Lacey, but finally had their seven-game win streak snapped by a powerful Napavine squad their last time out.
The Ducks lost to a hot-shooting Adna squad, before defeating Toledo their next time out.
The Riverhawks were off for almost three weeks before suffering a three-point defeat at the hands of Toutle Lake last week.
The Timberwolves have not played since Dec. 20.
The Mules picked up a dominant win over Onalaska their last time out.
The Loggers played just once since the last rankings, a near-30 point loss to Wahkiakum.
The Bulldogs haven’t played since Dec. 16.
The Cardinals are still searching for their first win after a loss to Willapa Valley in December.
The Mules lost to 4A Union in late December, but dominated a very strong Onalaska squad from start to finish to hold down the top spot for the second consecutive rankings.
The Mountaineers picked up two huge wins in early January, over Napavine and Morton-White Pass, and perhaps have some of the best mix of senior leadership and young talent in the area.
The Loggers played just one game since the last rankings, a loss at the hands of top-ranked Wahkiakum.
The Pirates have won three games (Willapa Valley, Naselle, Kalama) since the last rankings, and seem to finally be rounding into form after a slow start to the year.
In their only game since the last rankings, the Riverhawks made a last-second three to defeat Winlock last week.
The Tigers have lost three straight since the last rankings, with two coming in a tournament in Chelan (including a loss to top-ranked Okanogan), and the most recent being a 10-point league defeat to Rainier.
The Cardinals fell in their only contest since the last rankings, a last-second buzzer-beating three-pointer from Toledo’s Rose Dillon that handed them their first league loss.
The Ducks defeated Willapa Valley in their only game since the last rankings.
The Timberwolves dropped their only game since the last rankings, a 42-30 defeat to Rainier at home.
The Bulldogs haven’t played in January.
The Chinooks dropped their only contest since the last rankings to Adna at home.
The Vikings have looked like the class of the Columbia Valley league thus far, with a perfect league record and fairly easy victories over league foes.
The Comets have losses to Willapa Valley and Oakville since the last rankings.
The Vikings have picked up two wins to start the new year after a long layoff, over Pe Ell and Muckleshoot Tribal.
Firm Foundation has not played since its win over Pe Ell almost a month ago.
Columbia Adventist hasn’t played since the last rankings.
The Trojans lost their only contest since the last rankings, a defeat at the hands of league rival Mossyrock.
The Eagles haven’t played since Dec. 21.
The Vikings played just one game after nearly a month off, and soundly defeated Muckleshoot Tribal at home before a gauntlet of league games.
The Comets soundly defeated Willapa Valley to move up to No. 2 in this week’s rankings.
The Vikings played in a tournament against higher-classified schools, and struggled in losses to Toutle Lake and Adna, and lost to Naselle.
Columbia Adventist beat Kalama in its only game since the last rankings.
The Eagles are still looking for their first league win.
*records may not be completely accurate, information was pulled from a variety of sources as some schools don't update schedules as often as others
