Week 8 previews - 10/24

Game of the Week

Naselle homecoming game vs. North Beach, 7 pm, Naselle High School
It used to be that homecoming week followed your teams longest road trip of the season, but since Naselle's schedule has them playing a home game every other week, tonight's game was chosen as the date. And it couldn't come at a better time for the Comets (3-4, 2-1), who lost their fourth-straight road game this year last week to Seattle Lutheran, 22-19. That good news I was referring to before was the fact that the Comets are 3-0 at home this year.
The Hyaks of North Beach (5-2, 2-1) come into the game in a three-way tie with the Comets and South Bend for second place in the Pacific League after losing to Valley last week. The Vikings are the only undefeated team in the league and are currently ranked no. 6 in the state poll. Prior to last week the Hyaks had rolled off four wins in a row, including wins over league foes Raymond and NWC. North Beach is however a mere 1-2 on the road this year.
The Hyaks have a high-scoring offense, averaging 34 points per game, while holding opponents on average to just 17. The Comets on the other hand need to find some offense (17 PPG average) and stiffen up their defense further (19 PPG average) if they want to stay in the race.
All three teams tied for second in the Pacific League essentially control their own destiny as they will all play each other over the next three weeks, starting tonight. Naselle travels to South Bend next week for a rivalry match on Halloween night. South Bend and North Beach play each other on the final week of the season when Naselle hosts Ocosta (2-4, 0-3). Winning all three games would assure the Comets of a playoff berth as the second place team in the league (the Pacific only gets two playoff spots this year). However, faltering against either North Beach or South Bend would cost the Comets a tie-breaker.
Homecoming crowning will take place at halftime — be sure to dress warm as the temps are predicted to drop into the high 30s tonight!

Be sure to check back Saturday morning for a photo gallery from the game, player blog posts and a game recap.

Ilwaco @ Columbia, 7 pm, Columbia High School, White Salmon
Despite losing their last three games by a combined score of 117-41, the Ilwaco Fishermen (2-5, 0-3) do still have an outside shot of making the playoffs this year. All they have to do is win their next two games and hope for some other teams above them in the standings to fall. They begin this quest tonight at the Columbia Bruins (3-4, 0-3).
The Bruins have also been on hard times of late, dropping their last four games, most recently last week at Kalama, 26-6. The Bruins began their season 3-0 after defeating Goldendale and two small Oregon schools. The Bruins don't score a lot of points, 16 ppg, and they give up about the same, 21 ppg. The Fishermen are still averaging over 23 ppg, but their defensive average has risen significantly over the last few weeks to 28 ppg. If Ilwaco can flip those numbers they'll have a great chance to pick up their first league win of the year.