Nine Chronicle area football teams made the cut for their state tournaments, with the top 16 teams advancing in the 2A and 1A ranks, and the top 12 moving on in 2B and 1B.
Find out where the state seeding committees placed the nine teams and their immediate outlook below.
2A: No. 2 W.F. West
The best season in a long time in Chehalis sees the Bearcats take a No. 2 seed into the state tournament, with only perfect Lynden — which beat W.F. West in Week 1 — in front of them. They’ll face Ephrata, which started the season 1-4 but have gone 5-0 since to make it here. And if W.F. West can get past the Tigers in the first round, they could well have a familiar face lined up in the second, in…
2A: No. 7 Tumwater
The lone blemish on the T-Birds’ season thus far is their Week 5 loss to W.F. West, a result that both looks real good considering the Bearcats’ seeding and is also well in the rearview mirror, with five decisive wins coming since. Tumwater’s resume was enough to get it hosting privileges in the first round, where it’ll face No. 10 Sedro-Woolley, with a win possibly giving the T-Birds another crack at W.F. West.
2A: No. 16 Black Hills
The Wolves capped off the turnaround they’d aimed for all season with an improbably 21-20 win over Mark Morris in the crossover on Saturday. After earning the No. 16 seed in the 2A tournament, they’ll get the unenviable matchup with No. 1 Lynden; the defending state champs are undefeated on the season and haven’t lost a game in 14 months.
1A: No. 7 Tenino
Winners of five straight, and coming off a 54-0 beatdown of King’s Way Christian in the crossover, Tenino earned the No. 7 seed in the 1A tournament, and will face No. 10 Mount Baker in the first round. The Mountaineers come in at 6-4, but of those four losses, one came to a 2A side, and three were against 1A teams that made the state tournament.
2B: No. 1 Napavine
With 10 running clock victories this season, perhaps the state title favorite Tigers earned a bye in the 12-team playoff and will host the winner of River View and Liberty (Spangle) in the quarterfinals as the 2B top overall seed.
2B: No. 3 Pe Ell-Willapa Valley
The red-hot Titans are rolling into the state playoffs on yet another bye, with just one game played in their last three contests after Forks and Rainier forfeits. PWV will take on the winner of No. 6 Raymond-South Bend and No. 11 Goldendale in the state quarterfinals.
2B: No. 5 Toledo
After a season-opening defeat to Raymond-South Bend, the Riverhawks are on a roll, and just missed out on a bye week in the first round as the No. 5 seed. Toledo will play No. 12 Kittitas-Thorp, who upset Columbia (Burbank) during crossover week to advance to state. The winner of that game takes on Jenkins (Chewelah) in the state quarterfinals.
2B: No. 10 Onalaska
Scratching and clawing their way into yet another state bid, the Loggers will travel up north to Coupeville in the first round of the state tournament as the 10-seed. The No. 7 Wolves won their league, and the winner of this weekend’s game will take on No. 2 Okanogan across the mountains in the state quarterfinals.
1B: No. 4 Mossyrock
With an unblemished and perfect record, the Vikings earned a first round bye and will play host to the winner of Muckleshoot Tribal and Liberty Bell in the state quarterfinals the weekend of November 18-19.
The Vikings’ closest game this season was a 62-42 win over No. 8 Naselle, who is on the same side of the bracket and taking on No. 9 Almira Coulee Hartline in the first round next week.
