HS Grid Picks: A look at where Twin Harbors football stands before league play

One more tuneup. One more chance to get it right. One more play to see if it’ll work. One more game before the league season.

This week’s Twin Harbors football schedule is stocked full of home games and celebrations. It is also the final week of non-league and non-divisional play before the real work begins.

Here is a quick look at what the 10 Twin Harbors teams have looked like before they get one more chance to change it.

Aberdeen: Competitive, better suited for play, trying to find its winning formula. The Bobcats have been super competitive in every game this season. Last Friday’s win over Elma was an accumulation of work put in and frustration over previous results spilled over into a productive first-half outburst and a 48-20 win over Elma.

Hoquiam: A power running team disguised as a spread passing offense. Senior running back Artimus Johnson has been one of several key running backs (including Touch, Klinger, Hartford, Sanchez) on the Harbor this season and he’s benefited from the opposition’s focus on quarterback Gregory Dick and his potent wide receivers.

Montesano: Reloaded, ready for play. High school football isn’t plug-and-play football. However, the Bulldogs make it look easy, just moving guys up through the ranks — RB Carson Klinger and QB Trevor Ridgeway being the two most prominent additions and talents. Welcome back, dominant Montesano.

Elma: Young, improving, unlucky. When you face two Class 2A teams at home and go on the longest road trip of the season to rally in the second half, the schedule makers didn’t help the Eagles. However, they’ll survive and thrive once they get into league play.

Ocosta: A bye week this week before SWW 2B Coastal Division play will help the Wildcats, who started strong against Chief Leschi and used a blocked punt to set up the game-winning TD vs. Winlock. The Wildcats have found a solid atmosphere to thrive in this season and that is a great thing for the South Beach boys.

North Beach: Young, rebuilding, surprising. The Hyaks lost a lot of veteran players to graduation entering this season. It hasn’t stopped this season’s group, which has applied the lessons learned from two-straight Pacific 2B League titles — edging out a rebuilding Life Christian Academy and outlasting Toutle Lake.

Pe Ell-Willapa Valley: The Titans’ opening-week loss to Adna was more of a reflection on how good Adna is than how much PWV is rebuilding. Two straight dominant wins after that have shown the rest of the district that the combine is still the favorite to win the SWW 2B Coastal Division.

Raymond: Just like PWV, the Gulls’ opening-week loss to Napavine was more about Napavine than Raymond. With all of their players back and healthy, the Gulls pose a big obstacle in district play with a potent rushing attack — Jace Duckworth and Patrick Edwards — in charge.

South Bend: Putting up 72 points on Winlock behind veteran running back A.J. Sanchez gave everyone a wake-up call in the opening week. After a win at Chief Leschi, South Bend dropped a bit in a loss to Wahkiakum, but it has made a big step up offensively to put a bit of worry into the rest of the Coastal Division.

Taholah: We haven’t heard much from the Chitwhins this season and they are on a bye week now, so they’ll move right into Coastal 1B League play next week on a roller-coaster non-league ride: a big win over Evergreen Lutheran and two rough losses to Tacoma Baptist (an 11-man school last season) and Lummi (top-ranked in the state 1B media poll). The league title will go through Taholah on Oct. 15 when it hosts Naselle.

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Editor’s Note: Remember, these picks are for entertainment purposes only. They are not meant to be taken seriously, just as a conduit for one’s opinion on the games at hand. Have fun.

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Friday

Non-League

Castle Rock Rockets (1-2) at Aberdeen Bobcats (1-2), Stewart Field — Aberdeen found its offensive rhythm against Elma. Castle Rock saw what Montesano could do on offense. The Bobcats were super competitive with the Bulldogs until late. Thus, … Bobcats 35, Rockets 14.

La Center Wildcats (2-1) at (7) Hoquiam Grizzlies (2-1), Olympic Stadium — Hoquiam nearly fell off the Bridge of the Gods in Stevenson last week, but regaining its balance in the second half. La Center took on Class 2A competition to start and looked good doing it. … Grizzlies 28, Wildcats 27.

Rochester Warriors (0-3) at (4) Montesano Bulldogs (3-0), Rottle Field — Two former league rivals meet to finish the non-league season in different directions. Bulldogs are surging, while the Warriors are trying to find their way. … Bulldogs 42, Warriors 6.

Elma Eagles (0-3) at King’s Way Christian Knights (3-0) — Will Elma’s tough non-league road so far allow it to neutralize KWC, which has played a bit of a weaker non-league schedule? The Knights can throw and will test the Eagles’ linebackers and secondary. … Knights 31, Eagles 21.

(4) Toledo Indians (3-0) at (8) Pe Ell-Willapa Valley Titans (2-1), Crogstad Field, Menlo — PWV will be honoring the 1996 and 2001 Willapa Valley B-11 state football championship teams — two of the most dominant 2B teams I’ve seen — at halftime of this game. Toledo edged out Adna in their annual rivalry game and are on a roll. … Indians 34, Titans 28.

North Beach Hyaks (2-1) at Kalama Chinooks (1-2) — Facing Kalama, North Beach will have to find a bit more juice in its patented Wing-T offense this time around. Fourteen points scored in each of the last two games won’t help here. … Hyaks 14, Chinooks 13.

Wahkiakum Mules (3-0) at Raymond Seagulls (1-2) — Back to healthy and with some depth at key positions, the Gulls are rounding into shape at the right time. Wahkiakum has a short roster and one win over an eight-man Naselle team, as well as Ocosta and South Bend. … Gulls 28, Mules 6.

Mossyrock Vikings (0-3) at South Bend Indians (2-1) — It is very simple here: South Bend has a great chance to bring a ton of positive, influential momentum into division play with a 3-1 non-league record. Its defense is still a work-in-progress, but its offense isn’t. There’s a ton of motivation for the Indians to prevail here. … Indians 42, Vikings 6.

Bye Weeks: Ocosta (2-1) and Taholah (1-2).

Rob Burns: (360) 537-3926; rburns@thedailyworld.com; Twitter: @RobRVR

HS Grid Picks: A look at where Twin Harbors football stands before league play
HS Grid Picks: A look at where Twin Harbors football stands before league play
HS Grid Picks: A look at where Twin Harbors football stands before league play
HS Grid Picks: A look at where Twin Harbors football stands before league play
HS Grid Picks: A look at where Twin Harbors football stands before league play
HS Grid Picks: A look at where Twin Harbors football stands before league play
HS Grid Picks: A look at where Twin Harbors football stands before league play
HS Grid Picks: A look at where Twin Harbors football stands before league play