Some will be prohibitive favorites. Others will be significant underdogs.
Six Twin Harbors football teams that earned postseason berths will have only one thing in common Friday night. They are all one win from a state playoff appearance.
Aberdeen, Montesano, Hoquiam, Pe Ell-Willapa Valley, Raymond and South Bend will be eyeing state berths when they compete in district crossover playoffs this weekend.
The Bobcats (4-5) visit Hockinson (9-0) in the District IV 2A playoffs on Friday. In the Class 1A ranks, Montesano (9-0) hosts Stevenson (7-2) and Hoquiam (5-4) is home against Castle Rock (3-6).
Pe Ell-Willapa Valley (7-2) takes on Toutle Lake (3-6) at Menlo’s Crogstad Field in one of the district 2B contests. Raymond (4-5) travels to Adna (8-1) and South Bend (4-5) visits Napavine (8-1) in other 2B tiffs.
All district contests are winner-to-state, loser-out affairs and will begin at 7 p.m.
Aberdeen-Hockinson
Making their first postseason appearance since 2013, the Bobcats clearly rank in the underdog category when they travel to Brush Prairie to face the state’s second-ranked Class 2A team.
Although its non-league schedule wasn’t as formidable as Tumwater’s, for example, Hockinson dominated its regular-season foes. Hockinson’s closest margin of victory was 22 points.
Stylistically, the pass-first Hawks are poles apart from most of Aberdeen’s opponents. Senior quarterback Canon Racanelli has thrown for more than 2,500 yards this season. His sophomore brother Sawyer has logged more than 1,100 yards in receptions.
“They throw the ball a ton and they run a few times just to keep you honest,” Bobcat coach Kevin Ridout observed. “They just do a lot of things with precision, particularly with the passing routes.”
Ridout, noting that rain is forecast, is hopeful that style will suit his quick team.
“They’ve got some height over us, but on the films that we’ve watched, the (other teams) have given them a lot of room,” the Aberdeen coach said. “We’re going to play them tighter. We’ve got some speed out there, so hopefully good things will happen.”
Ridout is still hoping to diversify his offense. Kylan Touch again was Aberdeen’s chief weapon in Friday’s 28-21 playoff-clinching win over Centralia, rushing for 258 yards and all four touchdowns.
Montesano-Stevenson
Montesano will be seeking its 12th successive state appearance when it takes on Stevenson in a battle of Bulldogs (the schools share the same mascot).
Stevenson’s Bulldogs are somewhat of an unknown quantity. In their one appearance against an Evergreen 1A League team, they edged Evergreen cellar-dweller Tenino, 20-12.
Stevenson features a balanced attack, with quarterback Brandon Connell throwing mostly to running back-receiver Lincoln Krog and receiver Isaac Hoidal.
“They try to get their playmakers in space,” Montesano coach Terry Jensen said. “They move them around in different formations, they throw a lot of screens and fades. They are aggressive defensively, playing a lot of man and blitzing.”
Montesano’s Bulldogs were explosive as ever in last week’s 51-0 drubbing of East County rival Elma. They needed only three offensive plays to build a 14-0 lead in that game.
With a win Friday, Monte would host a state playoff opener Nov. 10, probably against Charles Wright Academy.
Hoquiam-Castle Rock
In contrast to Stevenson, Castle Rock is very familiar to Grays Harbor football fans. The Rockets lost to both Aberdeen (35-21) and Montesano (47-0) in non-leaguers.
As evidenced in the second half of the Aberdeen game, the Rockets are capable of moving the ball effectively. They have been hamstrung all season, however, by turnovers. Running back Nathan Halliday is the team’s leading rusher.
Hoquiam, meanwhile, came up with five takeaways (four interceptions and a fumble recovery) in last Friday’s 28-0 victory over Forks.
After emphasizing the pass under what proved to be an accurate assumption that Forks would load the box to defend against the run last week, Grizzly coach Jeremy McMillan hopes to re-establish a greater balance this week.
“What we’re looking for is to minimize our mistakes and control the play clock in terms of time of possession,” McMillan said.
Friday’s winner will likely head to the Bellingham area to face a Whatcom County foe (probably Meridian) in the opening round of state.
Willapa Harbor schools
Having secured its third successive league championship (one in the Central League; two in the SWW 2B Coastal Division), Pe Ell-Willapa Valley will be seeking its sixth straight victory when it hosts Toutle Lake on Friday.
With a victory, the Titans will have choice of fields for their state opener.
Peter Hamilton rushed for 228 yards on 24 carries and Max Smith ran for another 126 in last Friday’s title-clinching 45-7 conquest of Raymond.
The Gulls are hoping lightning strikes twice in their rivalry with Adna. Outgained by a considerable margin, Raymond capitalized on four fumble recoveries to upend the heavily favored Pirates, 16-14, in last year’s district playoffs.
After recovering an Adna fumble in the final two minutes, the Gulls made it into scoring territory on a tipped Kason Koski pass that Jack Jordan (now Raymond’s quarterback) hauled in for a 66-yard gain. That set up Koski’s game-winning field goal as time expired.
Although tying for second in the 2B Coastal Division, South Bend came out on the short end of the ensuing coin flips and will challenge reigning state 2B champion Napavine on Friday. The Tigers have lost only to Kalama this season.
