A select trio of Twin Harbors football teams will begin their state odyssey this weekend.
Having survived last weekend’s district crossover games, Montesano, Hoquiam and Pe Ell-Willapa Valley are set for first-round state contests.
The Bulldogs (10-0) will take on Charles Wright Academy of Tacoma (7-2) in a Class 1A opener scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Montesano’s Rottle Field.
Hoquiam (6-4) journeys to Bellingham at 7 p.m. Saturday to face unbeaten Meridian (10-0) in a 1A contest at Civic Stadium.
Pe Ell-Willapa Valley (8-2) hosts Friday Harbor (5-4) in a state 2B opener scheduled for noon Saturday at Crogstad Field in Menlo.
Montesano-Charles Wright
Having faced primarily running teams of late, the fourth-ranked Bulldogs will get a different look when Charles Wright’s Tarriers (the school mascot pertains to Irish railword workers rather than a dog) visits Rottle Field.
“They have thrown the ball 70 percent of the time and they have (four) receivers with over 20 catches,” Montesano coach Terry Jensen said of Charles Wright. “We have to get pressure on their quarterback and be sound in coverage.”
Sophomore quarterback Dane Jacobson has completed 59 percent of his passes and averages more than 200 yards per game. Alex Meadowcroft is Charles Wright’s top receiver and is also the leading tackler on a Tarrier defense that relies heavily on blitzes.
Charles Wright’s greatest asset is probably defense. The Tacoma club has allowed no more than one touchdown in each of its past six games. Even its early season 41-0 loss to Cascade Christian was deceptive, as the Cougars notched two defensive touchdowns.
The Tarriers’ other loss was to Rochester (21-7), a team Montesano beat 54-19.
With a diversified offense featuring the running of Carson Klinger and Teegan Zillyett and the passing of Trevor Ridgway, Montesano has scored at least 30 points in every game this season.
Jensen, however, believes there is room for improvement.
“We need to limit penalties. We’ve had too many of them the last few weeks, we need to clean that up,” the veteran Montesano coach said. “Taking care of the football is critical at playoff time. We’ve been pretty good at that, but (we’re) stressing the importance of that and explosive plays (plays of 12 yards or more) — getting them and preventing them.”
Hoquiam-Meridian
The Grizzlies have a chance of earning a return match with rival Montesano if they can register an upset on Saturday. The Meridian-Hoquiam winner will have choice of fields in next week’s state quarterfinal match-up with the Monte-Charles Wright victor.
Even Hoquiam coach Jeremy McMillan acknowledges his team will be an underdog Saturday. Third-ranked among state 1A teams, Meridian has averaged 38 points per game this season and is coming off a 63-3 shellacking of Cedar Park Christian in a state-qualifying contest.
“It will be a true test for us, but in playoffs anything can happen,” McMillan said. “One thing I like about our team is we’ve risen to the occasion when we’ve played a better team.”
Priority No. 1 for the Grizzlies is to contain multi-talented Meridian quarterback Simon Burkett, a senior who has verbally committed to Eastern Washington University.
Following last week’s district contest, Cedar Park coach Butch Goncharoff (the former long-time coach at Bellevue High School) compared Burkett to former University of Washington standout Jake Locker.
“We’re going to mix it up, we’re going to disguise our coverages,” McMillan said. “If we let (Burkett) stand back there, we’re going to be in trouble all night. We’ve got to get pressure on him.”
One area of hope for Hoquiam is that Meridian has allowed 224 points this season — nearly 140 points more than Montesano, for example. McMillan noted, however, that the Trojans play in the ultra-competitive Whatcom County League, which advanced three schools to state.
The Grizzlies have struggled to run the ball in the past few games. But senior quarterback Payton Quintanilla has enjoyed success throwing to a variety of receivers.
PWV-Friday Harbor
Through comparative scores against Raymond, Pe Ell-Willapa Valley enters Saturday’s game as a 72-point favorite over Friday Harbor. The Titans own a 45-7 win over Raymond. The Gulls, in contrast, beat Friday Harbor, 47-13.
Hardly anyone believes Saturday’s game will be that lopsided. Like PWV, Friday Harbor has improved greatly over the second half of the season and takes a three-game winning streak into state.
The Wolverines feature a run-oriented attack led by running backs Emron Geiser and Wade Swirtz.
“They run a power I — off-tackle, off-tackle (a lot),” PWV head coach Josh Fluke said. “That’s what we have to look out for.”
“They just try to beat your face off,” Titan assistant John Peterson added.
As Fluke had projected prior to the season, the sophomore-heavy Titans have made significant strides in midseason and are riding a six-game winning streak. Peter Hamilton has already rushed for more than 1,000 yards this season, with Max Smith and Tyson Nissell providing strong support.
“The sophomores are starting to come together and it’s looking pretty dang good,” Fluke concluded.
The PWV-Friday Harbor winner will face either Kalama or Adna on the road in next weekend’s state quarterfinals.
