Thursday, October 28, 2010

Week 9 preview - 10/28

Whoops! THURSDAY night sights this week for Naselle

Game of the Week
NASELLE (6-2, 3-2) @ Ocosta (0-8, 0-5), 7 pm, THURSDAY, Oct. 28, Westport, Wa.
Facing a team that is last in the league standings, last in points scored and last in points allowed (in the entire 2B division, 343 this year, 43 ppg) the Comets shouldn't have much trouble wrapping up their regular season schedule tonight. In fact, much like last year when they ended their league season with a win at Ocosta, look for the majority of their starters to be done by halftime.
Facing North Beach last week the Comets poured it on for really the first time this year, blowing out the Hyaks 50-6. But really the most notable thing to be taken from that game is the proficiency with which they moved the ball through the air. QB Dustin Eaton continues to get better each week, this time going 12-18 for 241 yards (that's gotta be some kind of record for the run-happy Comets!), throwing for 4 scores and rushing for another. Chris Walkowiak was the recipient of three of those passes for 96 yards — that's 32 yards per catch! 
So while the Comets are padding their stats in Westport, by far the most important game this week will be at South Bend tonight, where the NW Christian Navs will be fighting for a chance to play for a state berth. As it stands right now, NWC is in fourth in the Pacific League at 3-2. Naselle is third at 3-2 as well, though they own the tiebreaker over NWC. And South Bend is in second at 4-1. However, if NWC were to beat South Bend tonight, and Naselle takes care of business, you would have three teams at 4-2, each of which having a tiebreaker on another. In this case the three teams would play off against each other, with the winner getting the #2 seed in the league and an automatic bid to the state playoffs. The second place team in this mini-tournament of sorts would take third in the league and would play a crossover game with the third place team from the Central League next week for the final state playoff berth, on Nov. 6 in Aberdeen at 7 p.m. As it stands right now that third place team is perennial power Adna and would be played at a neutral site. The winner of that game would likely face top-ranked Napavine in the first round of the playoffs. As it would happen, Pacific League champ Valley is playing Napavine in a non-league game to end the regular season this week.
We'll have a more accurate report on all this once the games are played tonight, so check back tomorrow for all the details.

ILWACO (1-7, 0-6) @ Ridgefield (6-2, 4-2), 7 pm, Friday, Oct. 29, Ridegefield
After a tough loss in their homecoming game last week, the FIshermen go on the road to end their season, traveling to Ridgefield to face a Spudders team that is on the rise. Ridgefield upset league-leading Toledo last week and are in third place in the Trico League going into this week. But, with Toledo finishing their regular season at Castle Rock, who looked particularly tough here last week, the Spudders have the opportunity to move up to the second seed going into the state playoffs if Castle Rock were to knock off Toledo. 
Despite the loss, the Fishermen scored the most points (16) they have since their 34-6 win back in week 2. Freshman QB Eric McMullan looked pretty good in his first start, connecting on a 62-yard bomb to Bobby Byrd for a late score. Senior Sklar Olson ran for 63 yards, averaging 10 yards per carry. And while the season has been one long lesson in perseverance and character building, you gotta give the student athletes high marks for both as they have hung in there. Many of them will now move on to basketball and wrestling in the next month, teams that advanced to their respective state tournaments just last year.

Pigskin Pick'em
1-1 last week — now 10-5 this year
W- Ilwaco @ Ridgefield
Once again it all comes down to pride for the Fishermen. Ridgefield knows they're going to the playoffs and may overlook the hungry Fishermen
W- Naselle @ Ocosta
Look for the JVs to get in a good amount of playing time in this one, an easy win for NHS.


No comments: