Ah, Week 7, when the calendar splits and we get to watch an extra day of high school football. Fun stuff for the fans of the area, less fun for the writers who get to cover it on top of a hefty slate of volleyball and soccer. Here’s what we’ve got to wrap up the regular season:
THURSDAY
Adna at Kalama
This game would have been a whole lot more intriguing if either of last week’s games in the SWW 2B South Division had broken differently. As it is, Kalama already has the South’s No. 1 seed locked up going into the crossovers, and Adna knows it’s No. 4. For the Pirates, the name of the game is building any sort of forward momentum, after a punishing loss to Onalaska last weekend. There might not be a ton on the line this week, but with a Tuesday crossover play-in looming in just a few days, Adna needs to get moving in the right direction, and fast.
Forks at Napavine
Moving to the North, there’s actually something to play for. Napavine comes into the final week of the regular season at 3-0 in division action, with Forks in second at 2-1, making this game a de facto division title. The Tigers haven’t lost to Forks since the Spartans moved down from 1A, and look like they might be hitting their stride at the right time after back-to-back blowout wins over 2B contenders. Forks did give up 40 points to the Raymond-South Bend team Napavine just beat 56-12 last week, so points could be on the board for the explosive Tiger offense.
Raymond-South Bend at Morton-White Pass
Pe Ell-Willapa Valley sealed up the Clash of the Hyphens trophy last week (please direct congratulations to Pe Ell and Menlo equally) but there’s one more matchup in the series left. MWP is 0-3 in league play, but with RSB at 1-2, a win can vault the T-Wolves out of the SWW 2B North cellar and into a crossover play-in. For extra home field advantage, they’re making the Ravens go the extra 20 miles into the mountains to Randle.
Rainier at North Beach
Andy Bartell called his Rainier team’s loss to Wahkiakum last week one of their worst performances of the season, but the Mountaineers still have everything to play for this week. A win against winless North Beach would see them into the crossover play-in round, where as the No. 2 seed in the SWW 2B West, they’d face the No. 4 team from the North — either RSB or MWP — next Tuesday with a shot at Kalama on the line.
FRIDAY
Centralia at W.F. West
The Swamp Man has gotten comfortable in the halls of William F. West High School, where he’s resided for the past 14 years. Can the Bearcats make it 15 straight wins over Centralia on Friday? They’ll be heavy favorites at home, especially after a dominant win at Aberdeen last week. That win saw W.F. West get off to its fastest start of the fall, and if the Bearcats can do that again — like they did last year against the Tigers — it will fall their way quickly. The Tigers’ hopes lie with keeping things interesting as long as possible to try to spark some rivalry magic.
Rochester at Tenino
For a matchup with absolutely no postseason implications, this is sneakily one of the games of the weekend. For the first time in the past decade, both Rochester and Tenino go into the Scatter Creek Showdown with postseason spots already locked up, with the Beavers set to be either the No. 3 or No. 4 team in the 1A Evergreen and the Warriors locked into the No. 4 spot in the 2A EvCo. The main focus point will be the clash of offensive styles. Rochester has found a weapon in its misdirection ground attack, while Tenino has opened up the passing game more — though the Beavers did prove they could go back to power ball last week in their win over Elma.
Tahoma at Tumwater
Tumwater was set for the Pioneer Bowl this week, but that matchup was canned Tuesday due to low numbers on the Black Hills sideline. Instead, the T-Birds made a quick pivot and invited 4A Tahoma to Sid Otton Field, wrapping up the regular season with one more non-league matchup. The Bears come in at 4-4 overall with wins over Mt. Rainier, Kentwood, Federal Way and Kentridge.
Onalaska at Pe Ell-Willapa Valley
Onalaska and PWV may as well get to know each other Friday; they’ll be seeing each other again next week. With the Loggers set at No. 2 in the C2BL South and the Titans set at No. 3 in the North, they’ll go into this matchup in Pe Ell with a rematch in Onalaska set for the crossover round. It’ll be as interesting to see what Nate Smith and Mazen Saade hide from each other this first time around as what they choose to show.
Toledo at Stevenson
Toledo may not be have to worry about a game that’s going to be replayed in a week’s time, but a Week 9 road trip out to Stevenson for a non-leaguer might be the roughest assignment any team has this week. The Bulldogs are no longer in the C2BL South but have all for teams on their schedule — and so far are 0-3 against them, losing by an average of 37 points.
Taholah at Winlock
The 1B slate this week doesn’t offer a whole lot in the way of excitement. With the Southwest 1B League sending six teams — no, seriously — to the crossover, both of these teams are already locked into the postseason. That being said, Winlock should be able to use this game as a week to build momentum after getting punched in the mouth 56-0 by Mossyrock last week, and it should be the Cardinals exerting their will this time around against the Chitwhins.
Mossyrock at Oakville
Oakville is also locked into a crossover spot, and the Acorns have won two straight games with back-to-back good performances. That being said, those wins came against winless Sound Christian and winless Muckleshoot — undefeated Mossyrock is going to be a whole other animal. The Vikings haven’t been tested in an 8-man contest all season, and it could be a bit until that changes.
