Week 10 preview - 11/5 - District playoff game

This week it's Saturday Night Sights for Naselle as they try for a fourth-straight state playoff berth

Game of the Week

NASELLE (7-2) vs. Adna  (7-2), 7 pm, SATURDAY, Nov. 6, Stewart Field, Aberdeen

After a slow start in what would turn out to be an easy win last week at Ocosta, the Naselle Comets come into their district crossover game this Saturday riding a four game win streak. During that stretch, which began after their back-to-back losses to South Bend and Valley, the Comets have outscored their opponents 148-47, including two games where they gave up only 6 points each. The Comets took down a tough NWC team during this run, but for the most part  played the easiest portion of their schedule against teams with sub-.500 records. That will not be the case Saturday night as they face an Adna team that comes with a 7-2 record — their only losses came to undefeated Napavine and one loss White Pass/Morton, ranked second and fifth, respectively, in the state. Oh, and by the way, the winner of this game gets Napavine in the first round of the playoffs next week!

The two teams seem to have a lot of similarities coming in. The Pirates average 23 ppg while giving up 11 ppg. In contrast, Naselle is averaging 25 ppg while giving up 12 ppg. Both got throttled in their two games against the teams ahead of them in the standings, and both took care of business easily enough against their lesser foes. Both teams are also playing a hot hand over the last few weeks. The Pirates have won their last three games by an average score of 39-13, while the Comets have won their last four by an average of 37-12. But here's one major difference between the two — Adna is the defending state champions and have that pride riding on the line coming into the playoffs.

The Comets are a young team, and no one has symbolized the ups and downs that can bring more than sophomore QB Dustin Eaton, in his first year as the starter. At the start of the season Eaton couldn't hold onto the ball to save his life it seemed. The Comets were able to get by thanks to a dominant running game. But then halfway through the season that backfield was tore asunder thanks to injuries and suspensions. That's when Eaton turned it on and took over the offense. Reeling after the back-to-back losses, Eaton ran for 136 yards and three TDs at Pe Ell. The next week he broke all Comet conventions and threw for 172 yards and a score, with another on the ground, in a dramatic fourth quarter comeback win over NWC. The next week he threw for 241 yards and four scores, followed by 184 yards in the air and two TDs (one on the ground) in the final game of regular season. Oh, and don't forget that he has played much bigger than his size at linebacker as well. Coming back to the defensive line this week is Robert Eaton, who has been out since the South Bend game with injuries. A team source said that it is unlikely that he will be lining up at the FB position on offense though, so expect to see Leo Mendoza in that spot for a fourth straight week. Though starting the year as a RB and backup/wildcat QB, Mendoza has had quite a bit of success from the FB position, scoring five TDs in the last three games.
The Saturday night game will cap off a long day of crossover games at Stewart Field in Aberdeen, a stadium that features artificial turf, as is prescribed for all playoff games. In order to prepare to run on the surface the Comets will be traveling to Kalama tonight (Friday) in order to practice on the Chinooks synthetic field.


Driving directions to Stewart Field:
Take Hwy 101 north 54 miles, arrive in Aberdeen, turn right on 101 north for .6 miles, stay straight to go onto S. G St. for .1 miles, turn right onto E. Market St. for .3 miles, turn left onto N. B St. for .5 miles, field on the right

Pigskin Pick'em

1-1 again last week — now 11-6 this year

W- Naselle vs. Adna

I could see the Comets pulling this one out late, maybe similar to the NWC game. Adna is tough, but the Comets have evolved quite a bit since their two losses.