With just two weeks left in the high school football regualr season, Friday’s slate of clashes on the gridiron will have plenty of impact on the playoff opportunities for teams around the Twin Harbors.

A strong finish could mean a spot in a district crossover game for teams like Elma, while others like Hoquiam, Pe Ell-Willapa Valley and Raymond continue to battle for the highest seed possible heading into the crossover.

Montesano came out as the victor in the battle for the top spot in the Evergreen 1A League with a 20-14 win over Hoquiam last week.

The Bulldogs weathered a downpour and the Grizzlies’ defense and now hold the inside track to the top seed out of the Evergreen League heading into the district crossover. However, Hoquiam will take the second seed with a win in the final game of the season.

“It is not the end of the world and we still control our destiny,” Hoquiam coach Rick Moore said. “We still have the end in sight and will keep working to get better.”

The Grizzlies will be faced with a non-league opponent this week as Hoquiam hosts Class 2A Hockinson.

Montesano looks to stay on top in league play when the Bulldogs travel to Tenino to take on the Beavers, who are looking for their first league win.

Elma may be the Twin Harbors team with the most on the line as the Eagles host Forks. The winner will take control of the the third and final playoff spot out of the Evergreen League and guarantee at least a 10th game this season.

While Aberdeen is on the outside of the playoff hunt with the Evergreen 2A Conference only having three playoff spots, wins for the Bobcats in the final two weeks against the two teams directly ahead of them wouldn’t lock up a spot in the playoffs, but would give Aberdeen a fourth-place finish in its league. The Bobcats will travel to Rochester on Friday before hosting Centralia for the final game of their season.

“We want to be in that four spot and in order to do that, the first step is Friday night,” Aberdeen coach Kevin Ridout said. “This is a huge, must-win game.”

ABERDEEN-ROCHESTER

A quick glance at the results of the Rochester games this season would make any Bobcat booster confident. The Warriors (0-2, 0-7) have scored just six points in their two league games, while giving up 97 points to Chehalis and Centralia. The odds may look good for a Bobcat victory, but Ridout said not to count Rochester out before the opening kickoff.

“Rochester has some solid athletes and we are preparing for them,” Ridout said. “It is going to be a battle for us. It is not going to be an easy win. We are going to game plan and see where we can nick them and go from there.”

Aberdeen came out of matchups with sizable foes in Black Hills and Tumwater with relatively few injuries, but the biggest injury affecting the Bobcats happened outside of competition with quarterback Ben Dublanko suffering a concussion last week before the Tumwater game. The Bobcats moved Kylan Touch from running back to quarterback and Ridout said, if Dublanko is unable to pass concussion protocol to return, Touch will most likely be back under center on Friday.

“We are going to fit Kylan in there and he did a nice job,” Ridout said. “If Tumwater has a hard time tackling him, just about everybody will.”

Rochester switches its defensive front from a 4-3 when teams use a single tight end to a 5-2 and some 3-4 sets when teams line up without a tight end or two tight ends. Ridout said the key for the Bobcats will be to adjust to what the Warriors are giving defensively and vary their attack to match the front.

Offensively, the Warriors are led by a pair of sophomores in quarterback Bryce Lollar and running back Ben Slaymaker. Lollar passed for 73 yards and rushed for 42 in a 42-6 loss to Centralia last week, while Slaymaker toted the ball for 59 yards on the ground.

“We are just going to have to play our gaps up front and be smart and not take gambles and I think we will be okay,” Ridout said. “We need to continue to get better. We need to recognize that we have an adversary that is going to come and try to beat us and we have to put everything together to try and win the day.”

HOQUIAM-HOCKINSON

Hoquiam and Hockinson had mirror opposite endings to last Friday night.

While Hoquiam watched Montesano score with 12 seconds left in the game, Hockinson ran a hook and ladder play with under a minute to play and executed a successful 2-point conversion to beat Columbia River.

No matter whether the teams hoped the heavy rains washed away any memories or the mud made the moment stick longer, this week brings a new challenge for both.

“When you are not feeling good about what transpired, you can correct that the next Friday,” Moore said. “We will come out and demand focus and you just have to push forward.

The Grizzlies will take to the Olympic Stadium field and hope for a different result against a Hockinson team that has only one loss, a 34-25 loss to Woodland. Moore said the Hawks differ a bit from some of the teams with big offensive lines that Hoquiam has struggled to defend this season.

“They won’t be big and heavy and leaning on us, but they be agile so we have to match their quickness up front,” Moore said.

Moore said he expects Hockinson to run a lot of spread formations, but with an even run and pass attack. Against Washougal, two weeks ago, the Hawks ran four more pass plays than running plays.

Quarterback Canon Racanelli has attempted 52 passes in the last two games and racked up 325 yards through the air. The ground attack for Hockinson is led by running back Gannon Kytolo, who rushed for 60 yards against Columbia River.

The Hawks’ defense shows a 3-5 or 5-2 front for the most part, with plenty of stunts and blitzing, while the defensive backfield looks to be in cover 3 or man, Moore said.

“We need to control the ball and sustain drives,” Moore said. “Execute and finish the drives. A good defense is an offense that is controlling the ball and using the clock. Make sure we are sound defensively on our game plan and put some pressure on them.”

Moore cited the play of Matt Brown, Chewy Muro and longsnapper Jarrett Skorzewski for their play against Montesano.

OTHER GAMES

Old rivals will renew their battle with a Southwest Washington 2B Coastal Division tussle between Pe Ell-Willapa Valley and North Beach in Oyehut. The Titans are 3-0 in league, but the Hyaks, who are 2-1 in league, can help control their destiny with victory on their home turf.

Raymond looks to keep up pace with the league leaders when the Seagulls host South Bend, while Ocosta hosts Ilwaco.

Taholah travels to Vancouver today to take on the Washington State School for the Deaf.