**Weather advisory — the forecast is calling for periodic rain showers in Naselle Friday night
Game of the Week
Ilwaco @ Naselle, 7 pm, Friday, Sept. 18, Pentilla Field, Bear River Battle
For local fans and players this date has been circled on the calendar for months, the renewed rivalry game between Ilwaco and Naselle — the Bear River Battle.
Last year the Ilwaco Fishermen (0-2) rewrote their playbook and turned QB Rey Sanchez into a superstar for the big game — 148 yards on the ground, another 158 through the air, and a total 5 touchdowns — in the 43-14 win for Ilwaco. Unfortunately for the Fishermen Sanchez will not be on the field Friday — and in fact Sanchez is out for the entire season due to a neck injury suffered last spring. So far this season the Fishermen offense has been uneven in its results. In a week one loss at Winlock the Fishermen had a balanced attack, gaining 193 yards on the ground and 145 yards in the air. Last week however the Fishermen were shutout by South Bend 40-0 with Ilwaco gaining a mere 153 total yards. Once again the Fishermen have reportedly rearranged their playbook, as well as their back field for the game. With starting halfback Trevor Couch possibly out for the season with a shoulder injury Justin Short, the starting quarterback the first two games, has been moved to halfback, with 5-foot-5, 136-pound sophomore Josh Berteaux moving under center. Justin's brother Dylan has also reportedly been moved off the O-line into the tight end slot.
The Naselle Comets (2-0) are coming off a dominant performance at Warrenton last Friday where they had five different players score touchdowns for them in a 34-6 win. And they may need all the variety they can get as a small handful of players (including some starters) are ineligible for the game Friday. So far this season the Comets defense has been impressive, giving up just three scores in their first two games while holding Warrenton and Wahkiakum to less than 300 combined total yards.
The Comets offense has been equally formidable, as they've scored 8 touchdowns while averaging 299 total yards per game. The running game has been particularly strong as the Comets are averaging 241 yards on the ground per game. QB Austin Burkhalter is looking more and more like his older brother each week as he is running more when he sees an open lane — to the tune of 92 yards last week.
The Comets are moving up in the polls too, as they are now fifth in the Tacoma News-Tribune's 2B state rankings. Also, in the first AP poll of the season, Naselle is ranked sixth in the state with 51 votes (just ahead of South Bend at seventh with 21 votes).
Don't forget to check back Saturday for a game recap, a photo gallery from the game and player posts
Pigskin Pick'em
Last week we went 2-0 with our picks, with Naselle winning and Ilwaco falling at home. We're now 3-1 on the year
L-Ilwaco @ Naselle-W
Changes to the lineups for both teams could make this game closer than the Comets like, but we see Naselle winning late.
1 comment:
Impressive prediction
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