With just two weeks left in the regular season, several Twin Harbors prep football teams are jockeying for postseason positions as we preview this week’s games.
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Black Hills at Aberdeen
When and where: 7 p.m. Friday at Stewart Field, Aberdeen
Players to watch: Black Hills – Jake Tinsley RB/OLB, Jesse Keith QB/CB, Marshall Orona RB/LB. Aberdeen – Micah Schroeder RB/LB, Riley Wixson RB/LB, Mason Hill QB, Adonis Hammonds WR/DB.
Aberdeen is in an all too familiar situation when it hosts Black Hills on Friday.
When the Bobcats (4-3 overall, 1-2 2A Evergreen) host the Wolves (2-5, 1-1), it will be the seventh season in a row Aberdeen sits in third place in the 2A Evergreen Conference at this point of the season.
A win over Black Hills in the Bobcats’ final league game of the season means once again Aberdeen will likely finish as the league’s No. 3 playoff seed and will face the No. 4 team out of the 2A Greater St. Helen’s League in an odd, mid-week play-in contest which amounts to one half of football.
“(This) will be our second consecutive season to play in (this type of play-in contest),” Aberdeen head coach Todd Bridge said after last Friday’s loss to Tumwater.
When healthy, Aberdeen has looked the part of a top 10 team in the 2A classification, but unfortunately for the Cats, they were without two of their top starters in senior running back Micah Schroeder and senior receiver Adonis Hammonds for several weeks this season, including a key loss to W.F. West three weeks ago.
They returned to the lineup as did senior running back Riley Wixson, who has played but was limited in minutes due to a nagging injury, in a loss to highly-ranked Tumwater last week.
With Aberdeen’s prodigious trio joining junior quarter back Mason Hill in the backfield, the Bobcats are as healthy as they have been over the past two weeks, which bodes well for their postseason hopes.
The Bobcats are facing a Black Hills team coming off an upset loss in overtime to Elma and is in a must-win situation as the Wolves face W.F. West next week.
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PHOTO BY MIKE ROBERTS Elma receiver Colt Landstrom hauls in one of his 12 catches in an overtime win over Black Hills on Oct. 17. The Eagles face Hoquiam on Friday.
Hoquiam at Elma
When and where: 7 p.m. Friday at Davis Field, Elma
Players to watch: Elma – Isaac McGaffey QB/S, Colt Landstrom RB/DB, Dayton Brookins WR/CB, Kolby Rademacher RB/LB. Hoquiam – K.J. McCoy QB, Ryan Pullar OL/DL, Joey Bozich WR/LB, Ethan Byron WR/K.
Two young Twin Harbors teams searching for their first league victory of the season is what’s on the line when Elma hosts Hoquiam on Friday.
The Eagles (2-5, 0-2 1A Evergreen) are coming off their best performance of the season in a 34-28 overtime victory over Black Hills, snapping a five-game winning streak for a team filled with underclassmen.
Elma was led by senior quarterback Isaac McGaffey who passed for 238 yards and five touchdowns in the win, most of that to sophomore receiver Colt Landstrom, who caught 12 passes for 179 yards and four scores, including the game-winner in overtime.
The Eagles will look to carry that momentum on Friday against the Grizzlies (3-4, 0-2), a team that is coming off back-to-back losses for the first time this season.
Mistakes hurt Hoquiam turn what was a 7-0 lead after one quarter into a 43-21 loss to Tenino last week.
Under freshman quarterback K.J. McCoy, the Grizzlies have shown they can put points on the board, scoring three touchdowns or more in five of its seven games this season.
But the Grizzlies have missed hard-charging running back Kingston Case, who was out last week against Tenino and has proven to be Hoquiam’s best ball carrier over the past three seasons.
With both offenses exhibiting an ability to score in bunches and the defenses leaving much to be desired, this one could be a high-scoring affair with the two league rivals trading touchdowns.
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PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano quarterback Tyson Perry, seen here in a file photo from Oct. 17, and his Bulldogs teammates face Nooksack Valley on Friday in Everson.
Montesano at Nooksack Valley
When and where: 7 p.m. Friday at Nooksack Valley High School
Players to watch: Montesano – Tyson Perry QB/DB, Toren Crites RB/DB, Mason Fry REC/DE, Zach Timmons RB/DB. NV – Cole Coppinger WR/CB.
Montesano will be playing to retain its top spot in the latest WIAA RPI rankings and a perfect season when the Bulldogs face Nooksack Valley on Friday in Everson.
The Bulldogs (7-0) are coming off a gritty win over No. 10 Rochester in which Monte dominated early, then clutched up late as Rochester appeared to be charging in for a game-tying score.
That win propelled the Bulldogs to No. 1 in the state’s latest computer rankings, with this week’s test being the Pioneers (4-3), which are ranked No. 9 in RPI and are coming off a 47-20 win over Meridian.
Nooksack is led by standout wide receiver Cole Coppinger, who had a massive 226 receiving yards on just five catches last week.
Monte’s pass defense should get a workout this week as Nooksack likes to throw the ball, a stark contrast to the run-heavy machine they faced last week against Rochester.
Monte senior running back Terek Gunter dressed for last week’s game but the coaching staff decided he was not ready to go during pre-game warm-ups.
With the Bulldogs hoping Gunter returns to the lineup this week, Monte quarterback Tyson Perry should have all his weapons at the ready.
This might be Monte head coach Terry Jensen’s best team since the state-championship squad of 2012, as evidenced by five wins over ranked or previously-ranked teams across the 2B, 1A and 2A classes this season.
A win on Friday can go a long way toward Monte receiving a high playoff seed when the state-tournament committee gets together in a few short weeks.
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Pe Ell-Willapa Valley at Napavine
When and where: 7 p.m. Friday at Napavine High School
Players to watch: PWV – Brody Ritzman QB/DB, Blane King WR/DB, Lucas Lusk RB/LB, Spud Swogger RB/LB. Napavine – Caleb Von Pressentin RB; Dean Hamilton RB, Talon Tabor QB.
If ever there was a time for Pe Ell-Willapa Valley to snap a losing streak to Napavine that goes back 10 years, Friday’s meeting in Napavine is it.
Aside from a blowout loss to top-ranked Toledo in Week 3, the Titans (6-1, 3-0 2B Central-North) are in the midst of one of their best seasons in recent memory as head coach John Peterson has come in to stabilize a program that had a tumultuous 2024 campaign.
PWV has been solid both offensively (33.1 points per game) and defensively (12.6 points per game) and have rushed for an average of 266 yards per game this season.
The Titans have been led by junior Lucas Lusk (682 rushing yards, 7 TD) and senior Blane King (474 yards, 5 TD), both of whom are slated to be available for Friday’s game.
The Tigers (3-4, 2-1) have looked less like the “University of Napavine” moniker given to the traditional 2B power in some coaching circles and more like a junior college version of themselves after starting the season 1-4 and suffering through a four-game losing streak.
But the Tigers got better over its past two league games, beating Raymond-South Bend and Ilwaco by a combined score of 83-23.
A big part of the problem for Napavine was they have been without quarterback Grady Wilson since he went down with an injury against Montesano back in Week 4.
The Tigers will rely heavily on running back Caleb Von Pressentin, who had 317 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries in last week’s 34-7 win over Ilwaco.
The last time PWV beat Napavine was in a 28-27 victory on Sept. 18, 2015.
Friday’s contest represents the best chance the Titans have had to snap that streak and put itself in prime position to win a league title in a decade.
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PHOTO BY MATT RUMBLES Raymond-South Bend running back Chris Banker, seen here in a file photo, has rushed for 1,182 yards this season and will lead the Ravens when they face Forks on Friday.
Forks at Raymond-South Bend
When and where: 7 p.m. Friday at Sanchez Field, South Bend
Players to watch: Forks – Kaden Ward RB, Lane Helvey QB, Kade Highfield RB/LB. RSB – Chris Banker RB/LB, Manny Becerra-Souza RB/DB, Keeton Nichols RB.
The Raymond-South Bend Ravens have two winnable league games to close out the season, starting with Forks this Friday.
Raymond-South Bend enters Week 8 riding high after snapping a four-game losing streak and faces a Forks team that has been blown out in its past two league games.
The Ravens (3-4, 0-3) found plenty of running room last week as three players eclipsed 100 rushing yards in the game.
Speedy senior star Chris Banker led the way with 255 yards to break the 1,000-yard plateau for the season.
Banker stands at 1,182 yards this season and figures to be able to add to that total against the Spartans (1-6, 1-2), which struggled to stop the run in league losses to Adna and PWV the past two weeks.
The Ravens can leapfrog both Ilwaco and the Spartans in the league standings with a win this week, and after having their desire for the game challenged by the coaching staff during the four-game losing streak, another victory would show RSB is turning things around.
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Other games
Chief Leschi at North Beach: They Hyaks (3-4, 2-4 1B SWW 8-man) host the Warriors (1-5, 1-5) in a 1B Southwest Washington 8-man League game at 7 p.m. Friday.
Taholah at Winlock: The Chitwhins (0-6, 0-6 1B SWW 8-man) play at 7 p.m. Friday at Taholah High School.
Lake Quinault at Mary M. Knight: The Elks (1-5, 1-4) face the Owls (2-3, 2-3) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Mary M. Knight High School.
Ocosta at Naselle: The third-place Wildcats (4-2, 4-2 1B SWW 8-man) face the second-place Comets (6-1, 4-1) in a key matchup at 7 p.m. Saturday at Naselle High School.
