Social media in the modern age has been a blessing and a curse, especially for live sporting events of all levels.
Twitter may be the epidome of the socal media pulse of sports today, offering instant analysis from your couch, the stands and, for some players, on the sidelines. For high school sports fans, Twitter has been a blessing for score updates, information and snarky sports writers.
To help you to find the right scores and games you need instant updates on this football season, here are a few hashtag tips:
• Set up a search for a specific hashtag — # — to weed through your timeline for easy reference. The best one out there for state high school football scores is #wafbscores, which is the brain child of the Meridian Football Twitter operators. Some newspapers use paper-specific hashtags to bring you to their accounts and other papers don’t use hashtags at all.
The only problem with hashtags is the alphabet soup affect of too many hashtags drowning out what you are trying to say. One is good, two is enough, three or more is overkill.
For us at The Daily World, we usually stick to the scores hashtag, with an additional hashtag abbreviation of the teams playing — #AbeHoq, for example — if the game warrants it. If we are at the game, you’ll get in-game updates.
• Nearly every newspaper in the state of Washington has a Twitter account, especially the sports writers who work for them. If you are a sports fan, you probably already follow many of the larger papers’ sports-writer accounts for in-game updates. You get the scores and the updates, plus a bit of the writer’s personality as well. Many of the major sports writers are pretty popular for their in-game commentary and sense of humor.
So, here’s our gratuitous plugs: Follow our accounts — @RobRVR, @DW_Brendan, @JustinDama and @DW_GHSports — to get the latest updates on Twin Harbors sports. Come for the scores, stay for the snark and life commentary.
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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
Hoquiam Grizzlies (0-1) at Aberdeen Bobcats (0-1), Stewart Field — In case you were wondering if we were going to mention this game, of course we would here. Hoquiam is the favorite, even after a tough loss to Class 2A Chehalis at home, and an improved Aberdeen squad knows this. It’ll come down to emotion, which team can lift their game above the rivalry frey and who will step up. Tough to call. … Grizzlies 34, Bobcats 28.
Montesano Bulldogs (1-0) at Sequim Wolves (1-0) — Montesano will hit the road to take on its second consecutive Class 2A opponent. Sequim will take on Monte for the first time ever and is coming off a 28-27 win over Port Angeles in its season opener. The Bulldogs took advantage of Aberdeen mistakes last week. If Sequim makes any… … Bulldogs 35, Wolves 14.
Elma Eagles (0-1) at Columbia-White Salmon Bruins (1-0) — Elma had a rough time in its season opener against Class 2A Eatonville, while White Salmon routed Goldendale on the road. The Bruins will have the road-weary Eagles at home and the edge in this contest. … Bruins 28, Eagles 7.
Life Christian Academy Eagles (1-0) at North Beach Hyaks (0-1) — Over the past two years, these two teams engaged in grudge matches for control of the then-Pacific 2B League. This time around, the Eagles are still in flight and the Hyaks are rebuilding in this non-division matchup. … Eagles 31, Hyaks 12.
Wahkiakum Mules (1-0) at Ocosta Wildcats (1-0) — We’re going to step onto the ledge here and say that Ocosta, with a big win over Chief Leschi last week at home, probably got a better game than Wahkiakum, which knocked off eight-man Naselle. This isn’t a knock on the Comets, mind you. … Wildcats 42, Mules 27.
Morton-White Pass T-Wolves (1-0) at Pe Ell-Willapa Valley Titans (0-1), Pe Ell — A battle between Class 2B combines will bring two rebuilding programs onto the field. The Titans are getting themselves into playing condition, while the T-Wolves have a new coach and a very young roster. … T-Wolves 14, Titans 13.
Rainier Mountaineers (1-0) at Raymond Seagulls (0-1) — Raymond got a good look at top-ranked Napavine on the road last week, while Rainier put North Beach to the task at home. The Mounties have the edge in momentum, but they aren’t the Tigers, much to the Gulls’ benefit. … Mountaineers 37, Gulls 14.
South Bend Indians (1-0) at Chief Leschi Warriors (0-1) — South Bend put 72 points on Winlock at home last week and will hit the road to take on Chief Leschi, which gave up 58 to Ocosta on the road. The schedule makers were kind and generous to the Tribe this year and they will take full advantage of it. … Indians 42, Warriors 7.
Saturday
Non-League
Taholah Chitwhins (1-0) at Tacoma Baptist Crusaders (1-0) — A powerful opening week win for Taholah will give it some momentum against the former 11-man Tacoma Baptist squad that is adjusting quickly to the eight-man game. This is the second SeaTac 1B team the Chitwhins will meet this season and will establish some postseason clout as well. … Chitwhins 56, Crusaders 52.
Rob Burns: (360) 537-3726; rburns@thedailyworld.com, Twitter: @RobRVR
