Photo Gallery - NHS-Adna District crossover playoff

Photos by Damian Mulinix/Chinook Observer

Game recap - Comets shut out of state playoffs by Adna shut out

ABERDEEN – For the first time since 2006 Naselle will not be in the state football playoffs. Adna downed the Comets 21-0 in a district loser-out game on a rainy night on Aberdeen’s pristine Stewart Field turf Saturday, Nov. 6. The Pirates escaped poor field position with a late second period six-play, 62-yard drive for a touchdown and scored twice more in the fourth period to put the winner-to-state contest away.
“We had our chances. You guys played a heckuva game, especially on defense, but you can’t lose three starters at this level and expect to win,” Coach Jeff Eaton said.



Adna   0   7   0   14   --21
Naselle   0   0   0   0   --0

Read the full story in this week's Observer

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.

Game recap - Comets tame Wildcats 47-14

OCOSTA - Naselle jumped to a 27-0 half-time lead and then cruised to a 47-14 Pacific 2B League win at Ocosta Oct. 28 in the final regular season football game of the season. Next for the Comets will be a crossover game against Central League three seed Adna at Aberdeen's Stewart Field Saturday, Nov. 6. The winner of that contest will be in the state playoffs.
Chandler Chapman was the hero for the Comets as the sophomore ran for a touchdown, took a hook-and-ladder pitch for a score, and caught a TD pass from Dustin Eaton. Eaton also ran for a touchdown and Leonel Mendoza ran for two more scores. Sam Scrabeck also ran for a TD in the rout.
In other Pacific action South Bend defeated Northwest Christian 18-6 and Raymond downed North Beach 37-13.

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.

Game recap - Happy Homecoming as Comets crush North Beach 50-6 on Senior Night

NASELLE - Dustin Eaton threw for 215 yards and four touchdowns and the Comets rushed for 179 more yards as they flew past North Beach 50-6 at Naselle Oct. 22.
Eaton completed passes to five different receivers and connected on seven consecutive passes during the first half as Naselle built a 38-6 lead before Homecoming and Senior Night were celebrated.
Chandler Chapman, Chase Chapman, Chris Walkowiak, and Leo Mendoza each caught touchdown passes and Mendoza, Eaton, and Chase Chapman ran in others in the lopsided Pacific 2B League victory. Eaton also ran in an intercepted pass for a score and Nick Strange had another interception for the Comets.
Eaton, Jesse Kimball, Mendoza, Jake Condon, Trevin Leeland, Adam Jordan, Ryley Queener, Nick Zimmerman, Seth Scrabeck, and Tanner Hoven all had one or more tackles for loss for the Naselle defense.

Game recap - Rockets spoil Homecoming with 42-16 win over Fishermen

ILWACO - Skyler Olson ran 53 yards for a touchdown and freshman Eric McMillan connected on a 62 yard pass to Bobby Byrd for another score and Ilwaco converted on both two-point conversions to score 16 second-half points, but it wasn't enough as Castle Rock put 42 on the board for a Trico League win at Ilwaco Oct. 22.
More details will be available in next week's Chinook  Observer.

Photo Gallery - IHS homecoming game

Photos by Damian Mulinix/Chinook Observer

Better late than never... WAY better!

FINALLY, we played COMET FOOTBALL for a full 48 MINUTES! Going into this game we were in a position that i never expected to be in. If you told me in august that we'd be playing Northwest Christian for third in the league and that a lot of people around the state might even go as far as to think that we might lose for the first time in history to NWC, I would have laughed. But, things happen and thats the situation we were in. But i don't think anybody anywhere expected a game that ended the way it did. We started the game slower than we would have wanted (what's new?) when we let them score on a huge run on their second play of the night. However, it wasn't long after trading punts that we got on the scoreboard. After our first possession didn't lead to paydirt, i knew that our offense still should have no problem finishing this game and that it would really come down to our defense stepping up (another thing i would have laughed at if you told me that in august.)
So with the scoreboard reading 7-6 our defense wasn't quite able to stop them, as they extended their lead to 14-6. but their defense wasn't quite able to stop us either, as we scored to narrow the gap to 14-12. We got the ball back with some time left in the half to try and gain the advantage. Our offense went down the field, and with seconds on the clock we called a pass with all our receivers going on streak routes. Dustin's pass didn't have quite enough air on it, and it was picked off. It would've been great to be leading at half, but it wasn't a game changer by any means.
Not much happened until we scored again with i think around 5 minutes left in the game (14-18). i know thats over a quarter of the game that we could've used to put the game out of reach, but hey "we like to keep it close". We really needed a stop to get the ball back and finish them. And actually, we did stop them on 4th down... 3 times. All i want to say about those 3 calls on Dustin is that everyone has a job to do and sometimes people make mistakes. A player might miss a tackle, an announcer might mispronounce a players name, a coach might tell tony romo to hold the snap for a game winning field goal in the playoffs, and in this case a ref might make a series of calls that were completely ridiculous and almost cost the better team the game- not once- but three times on the same drive. It was unbelievable.
So we got them ball back with a minute to go and basically the rest of the season on the line, down 21-18. We all knew what we had to do, and we all trusted each other to do our jobs and to do our own. Our first pass was complete for a first down and we got out-of-bounds, stopping the clock. Our next pass attempt failed, just barely over thrown. but the next few were complete, and we capped of the drive with an almost 20 yard pass to chandler chapman. Ironically, this was the same play, same target, and around the same distance that we tried to score on right before halftime. That time it failed, But this time it was flawless and gave us the lead 21-24 with around 30 seconds left in the game!
They do have a great kicker and we knew that they didnt have to make it all the way to the endzone to prevent this game from being over. They never got the chance. They might have passed the 50 yard line with one second left, but a sack on the play prevented any chance of us not leaving with a victory.
This was one of the most incredible games that I've been apart of, maybe even as impressive than some of the 2008 team's comeback finishes against NWC (go figure), North Beach, and South Bend. They don't call Naselle the Cardiac Comets for nothing I guess!
This week is Homecoming and honestly, i could care less. All i want to do is go out there and play Comet Football. Tonight is also Senior night, which is a big deal to us. Thank you Leo and Chase for the memories at our home field.. Comet Pride Forever!

-Ryley Queener

Week 8 previews - 10/22

Homecoming for both teams this week

Game of the Week

Ilwaco (1-6, 0-5) vs. Castle Rock (2-5, 1-4), 7 pm, Friday, Oct. 22, Peterson Field

Another long season is winding down for the Fishermen, and potentially one of the funnest games of the year is upon us once more — it's homecoming!

The Fishermen had their least fun game in awhile last week, as they fell 54-0 to Trico-leading Toledo.

I know times are tough once again on the gridiron for the Fishermen, but I really hope they aren't giving up. I don't think they are. It's unclear why the JV team has forfeited their final two games of the year, but usually it's because they don't have enough players to fill out the roster. It's common for students to lose interest when success doesn't come. But perhaps the players need to look past the W's and L's and look at the successes they have had. 

Look up at the stands and see that the fans — students, parents, friends — have not given up on you. You have one of the best pep bands in the region. Your cheer squad is great, and both keep the crowd alive during the games. They know you're playing hard and appreciate the effort they see. You play in an extremely tough league, where five of the eight teams have winning records, and all of which also averaging at least 27 ppg and only give up an average of 14 ppg.

You've had a bevy of troubles on offense, namely turnovers, that have made it tough to get in the endzone. That being said, you've been IN almost every game, and for a good portion of the game. That shows heart. Sometimes heart is reflected by the scoreboard, but more often not. More often it is shown along the sidelines, in the huddle, getting up after a tackle, and after the game. You don't see heads down, you see guys wanting to get back in the game, thinking the next set of downs is the opportunity to get something going. 

And while your team has seen more than its fair share of hard times over the years, look around at the accomplishments your school has had in other athletic endeavors, including golf, basketball, cross country and track, all of which have had great success at the highest levels of competition. Some day, and maybe sooner than later, football will have those same opportunities, but until then, enjoy the time you have on the field. Enjoy the fact that you have the opportunity just to play — and that word is used for a reason by the way. 

Homecoming is usually the most highly attended game of the year, and in this case is also the final home game of the year. The fans know what's up, their expectations are not outrageous. They want to see guys playing, playing hard, and playing to have fun. Win or lose, they won't be let down by that.

Don't forget to check back Saturday for a game recap and photo gallery

Naselle (5-2, 2-2) vs. North Beach (2-5, 1-3), 7 pm, Friday, Oct. 22, Pentilla Field

Can you say clutch? After an impressive performance in the clutch to win on the road against NWC last week the Comets are that much closer to saying clinch, as in clinch their fourth-straight playoff appearance.

The Comets go into their final two games with sole possession of third place in the Pacific League, as they now own the tiebreaker over NWC. The Comets next two opponents — North Beach and Ocosta — are a combined 2-12 on the season and should be easy work for a Comets team that is starting to play its best football at the right time of the year. Should the Comets win out they would be 4-2 in league. Friday's South Bend @ Valley game will likely decide the league title. Should South Bend lose, and then lose at home to NWC to end the season, they too would be 4-2 and NWC would be 4-2, causing a three way tie for second and third. If this were to happen, South Bend would have the tiebreaker over NHS, NHS would have the tiebreaker over NWC and NWC would have the tiebreaker over South Bend, resulting in a three-way playoff tournament of sorts, likely on Saturday, Oct. 30, to decide second and third, with the second place team automatically advancing to the state playoffs and the third place team playing a crossover game with the Central League for the last state playoff spot. Going into this week,  third place in a very strong Central League, is perennial power Adna. Of course if South Bend were to win either game against Valley or NWC the Comets would likely be assured of the third place finish.

Coming to Pentilla Field this week are the North Beach Hyaks, having lost their last two by the identical scores of 6-49. Through seven games the Hyaks have averaged only 13 ppg while giving up 34 ppg. Their two wins came in a one-point win at Seattle Lutheran, 7-6, and a six point win at 0-7 Ocosta. 

For the Comets, QB Dustin Eaton has come miles since the beginning of the season. Whereas he looked shaky and uncertain in early games, he has looked downright poised the last two. At Pe Ell two weeks ago he ran for over 100 yards (for the first time) and scored three TD's. Last week, on the road again, Eaton threw for 172 yards (!!) for a 17-yard average per pass and a game-winning TD (he also ran for 48 yards and another TD). Perhaps the best example came after NHS took the lead late in the fourth quarter. With the opportunity to stop an NWC drive and salt away the last minute of the game, Eaton was called for three penalties (only one of which was legitimate in my eyes) that practically gave the Navigators their go-ahead score. On the sideline before heading back to the field, with multiple coaches in his face, Eaton's only answer was "I'm going to score a touchdown!" in a highly emotional voice. And that's exactly what he did. Awe inspiring, especially for such a young player.

The Comets will be without  Robert Eaton again this week, as he continues to heal from an injury that has kept him out of the previous two games. Leo Mendoza, who returned from his own injury last week and scored twice, will continue to fill in at FB in two back sets.

 

Pigskin Pick'em

Boy, hit both nails on the head last week — now 9-4 this year

W- Ilwaco vs. Castle Rock

With pride on the line and facing a team with little to play for, I think Ilwaco pulls a small upset and gives the big crowd something to cheer about

W- Naselle vs. North Beach

This should be an easy one as the Comets come down the stretch looking better each week

Photo gallery - NHS @ NWC

Photos by Damian Mulinix/Chinook Observer

Game recaps - Comets cardiac comeback crushes Christians 24-21

RAINIER - Sophomore Dustin Eaton tossed a perfectly thrown touchdown pass to classmate Chandler Chapman with 32 seconds remaining to earn Naselle a 24-21 come-from-behind Pacific 2B victory at over Northwest Christian Friday, in a game played at Rainier High School stadium.
Naselle had trailed 7-0 and 14-12, but went ahead for the first time with 5:03 remaining when Eaton ran five yards for a touchdown. The Navigators put together a 65-yard drive, thanks in part to 50 yards of penalties assessed from the South Sound officials.
Not to be laundered by yellow hankies, Eaton brought his Comets back with three completions good for 51 yards in what amounted to the NFL's two-minute drill. Leonel Mendoza ran for a pair of touchdowns early and gained 71 yards in 12 carries. Eaton added 48 yards rushing and was 10-17 for a career-high 171 yards.
Coach Jeff Eaton had praise for his line of Trevin Leeland, Seth Scrabeck, Nick Zimmerman, Jesse Kimball and Ryley Queener. "They only got to Dustin once in the pocket, thanks to our line. We threw a season's worth of passes tonight, but we needed every one of them," said Eaton with a huge smile and a sigh of relief.
The huge victory gives Naselle sole possession of third place in the Pacific as they improve to 2-2 in league and 5-2 overall. The Navigators are also 2-2 and drop to fourth place.

Game recap - Toledo first-quarter explosion leads to 54-0 win at Ilwaco

ILWACO - Toledo scored early and often as they went ahead 34-0 after the first period and then cruised to a 54-0 Trico League win over the Fishermen at Peterson Field Friday. The Indians had 359 yards of total offense to 118 for Ilwaco, with 319 of those yards coming on the ground.
Josh Berteaux was the leading Fishermen rusher with 45 yards in 12 carries and halfback Austin Woodby completed a 30 yard pass to Justice Schenk. After Toledo's touchdown in the third period a running clock was used as the score was 47-0 and the running clock is employed when one team has a 45 or more point lead.
Ilwaco is now 0-5 in the Trico and 1-6 overall, while the league-leading Indians are 5-0 and 6-1 for the year.

Week 7 preview - 10/15

Do or die for Naselle on the road while Ilwaco faces league leader Toledo at home

Game of the Week

Naselle (4-2, 1-2) @ NW Christian (4-2, 2-1), 7 pm, Friday, Oct. 15, Lacey, Wa.

Despite the fact that they have three games left, the Comets whole season comes down to their game in Lacey against NW Christian Friday night, simple as that. 

They win the game, they put themselves into a third-place tie with NWC, with the tie-breaker over them, and two games left (which they should win) against the two worst teams in the league. If they lose, they could never catch back up as NWC would own the tie-breaker, even if they lost in their final game at South Bend (which they likely will). The third place team will play a crossover game with the Central League third place team for the final state playoff spot.

The Comets (4-2, 1-2) got back on track last week after two straight losses with a solid win at floundering Pe Ell — though the bumbling referee crew did everything they could to make it that much harder. Sophomore QB Dustin Eaton came alive after coming under fire early in the season for suspect play. With the Comets two leading rushers out last week Eaton looked like a certain quarterback from years back (Kyle Burkhalter) when he took off running time and again, scoring three TDs, and scoring his first 100 yard game, while operating a wildcat, option-read offense. RB Leo Mendoza is set to be back on the field this week, giving their offense some added dimension. It is unclear whether FB Robert Eaton will return this week or not.

This has been by far the most successful season in the short history of the NWC football program (4-2, 2-1). In their previous four seasons they went a combined 6-32. So far they have blowout wins over 0-5 Rainier Christian, 1-5 Seattle Lutheran, 2-4 Ocosta and got by a feisty 1-5 Raymond team in a shootout. Their two losses have come against the 1-5 Tenino, and last week at Valley, where they put up a good fight in a 36-19 loss.

The Navigators have scored a lot of points (against Swiss cheese D's for the most part), to a 30 ppg average, but have also given up more than their fair share, 15 ppg on the year. However, that average has been doubled over their last two games.

The Comets scoring is down this year, having just crossed the century mark last week (103 points total), for an average of 17 ppg. However, if you take away the two games against South Bend and Valley where they only scored 6 points, the Comets are averaging a more respectable 24 ppg in their four wins. Last weeks 27 was the highest output yet this season. The Comets are 3-0 on the road this year, while NWC is perfect at home.

Don't forget to check back Saturday for a game recap, photo gallery and player blog posts

Ilwaco (1-5, 0-4) vs. Toledo (5-1, 4-0), 7 pm, Friday, Oct. 15, Peterson Field

Good lord, that long bus ride up the gorge can be a killer, as the Fishermen found out last week when visiting White Salmon. The Fishermen went in with a real good chance at a win, and left two hours later (for the four hour bus ride home) with an 8-42 loss. *See sidebar below

Prior to last week the Columbia Bruins had scored only 33 points over the first five weeks, and then drop a 42 point bomb on the Fishermen, nearly matching their worst outcome of the season, a 45-8 loss to Kalama in week four.

Skyler Olson had a pretty good game, rushing for 76 yards on 10 attempts (7.6 ypc) and had a 93-yard kick return for the Fishermen's only score, and QB Josh Berteaux completed just under 60 percent of his passes, but only for an average of 6 yards per. The Fishermen came close to scoring two other times, but lost another fumble on the Bruins 15 yard line and the clock ran out on them on the Bruin 1 yard line to end the game. The Fishermen gave up 311 yards on the ground and another 90 in the air.

Things don't get any better for the beleaguered crew as they come home to an undefeated Toledo team who are atop the Trico League, are averaging a league-best 30 ppg and giving up 14 ppg. The Fishermen on the flip side have the league's lowest scoring offense, averaging only 9 ppg. Toledo come in after knocking off the other previously unbeaten Trico team, Stevenson, last week, 33-0. 

** So this leads me to a rant that I've been thinking about for quite awhile now — Why the hell are teams located that far apart still in the same league? 

The Trico League is made up of eight teams, five of which are located between Longview and Vancouver, as well as the far flung places like Ilwaco, Stevenson and White Salmon. A bus ride from IHS to Stevenson is a total of 294 miles and at least six hours on the road roundtrip. An away game at White Salmon, like last week, is a whopping 342 miles and nearly eight hours on the road! Last week they didn't get back until after 2:30 am. 

The other 1A league in District IV is the Evergreen League, made up of mostly teams from around Grays Harbor county and a few along the southern I-5 corridor. And then there's Forks. Forks! That vampire-loving northern Washington town, that is still a 5 hour roundtrip for an Evergreen team like Montesano. 

Granted there was some team shifting last year as a few teams either dropped down to 1A, moved up to 2A, etc., but none of that made Ilwaco's travel schedule any easier. Put this into contrast with the league Naselle plays in, the 2B Pacific League, all of their foes are in Pacific or south Grays Harbor counties, save for NW Christian, located in Lacey — 200 miles roundtrip and 4 hours on the road total. A two hour bus ride is not unreasonable, but when you start adding more and more hours to that it gets a little ridiculous, not only for the athletes, but for transportation costs.

Why can't Ilwaco be placed into a restructured Evergreen League (with Forks moving to a northern Washington league and Rainier into the Trico), that way their longest drive would be a two hour trip to Tenino once a year. And while we're at it, let's take this a step closer to home — what happened to natural rivals? I know that IHS' enrollment is still just a tick too high to be placed in the 2B Pacific League (probably not for too much longer though), but wouldn't it make sense if they were? They are the only high school in the county that isn't. Between the teams in Pacific, Grays Harbor and Wahkiakum counties, you can't tell me they couldn't reshuffle the deck and come up with leagues that are feasible athletically, economically and in the way of travel time.

These leagues need to be reassessed with travel time and distance in mind, because it can't be any better for the likes of Stevenson and White Salmon who have to come here, especially after a blowout?

Pigskin Pick'em

Comets come thru, Fishermen, eh, not so much— now 7-4 this year

L- Ilwaco vs. Toledo

Hate to say it, but this one could get ugly

W- Naselle @ NW Christian

This is going to be a tight game, probably the best in the Pacific League this week. But with their season on the line I think the young Comets get by in a close win.

Game recap - Big first half powers Comets past PeEll 27-6

PE ELL - Naselle ran 33 plays to 12 for PeEll in the first half and Dustin Eaton rambled for three touchdowns and a two-point conversion as the Comets trounced the Trojans 27-6 in a non-league football game there Friday. "We scored on three long drives in the first half," Coach Jeff Eaton said. "Our sophomores came through and our line played exceptionally well, especially in the first two quarters."
Eaton ran for 136 yards and passed for 53. Chandler Chapman had two interceptions and two receptions. Nick Zimmerman recovered a pair of fumbles and Kai Leach ran for 29 yards and another touchdown. Jake Condon led Naselle with seven tackles, including a sack for a 12-yard loss. All are sophomores.
Naselle is now 4-2 on the season and remains at 1-2 in the Pacific League. The Comets will travel to Lacey to play Northwest Christian next Friday. The winner of that game will take over third place in the Pacific. Raymond snapped a 20-game losing streak by pounding Ocosta 63-6, Valley out-lasted Northwest Christian 36-19, and South Bend bombed North Beach 49-6.

Game recap - Bruins bag 42-8 Trico League victory over Ilwaco

WHITE SALMON - Ilwaco lost 42-8 to Columbia of White Salmon in a Trico League football game there Friday. Skyler Olson scored on a 93 yard kick off return following the Bruins' second touchdown. The Fishermen arrived back at Ilwaco at 2:35 a.m. so no other details are available as of now.
In other Trico League games Toledo took over sole possession of first place by blanking Stevenson 33-0, LaCenter pounded Castle Rock 40-13, and Rochester rocked Kalama 38-18. Ilwaco is now 1-5 overall and 0-4 in the Trico, while White Salmon improves to 1-3 in league play.

Photo Gallery - NHS @ Pe Ell

Photos by Damian Mulinix/Chinook Observer

Week 6 preview - 10/8

Get on your traveling shoes, pack up the car, we're going on a road trip!

Game of the Week

Naselle @ Pe Ell, 7 pm, Friday, Oct. 8, Pe Ell High School

Naselle (3-2, 1-2) could not have played much worse than they did the last two weeks, scoring only 6 points while giving up a total of 44 in back to back losses at home to the two best teams in the Pacific League — South Bend and Valley. The Comets haven't lost two games in a row since 2006 — which was also the last time they lost two home games. Not surprisingly, that was the last year they had a losing record.

This losing streak has caused the coaching staff to apparently reorganize the line-up in an effort to get healthy and rediscover their mojo. 

Perhaps their two most explosive players, FB/DL Robert Eaton and RB/S Leo Mendoza, are out this week to rest injuries suffered over the last two games. This creates some serious holes on both sides of the ball. On offense, these two had been the most productive ball carriers on the team this year, and Mendoza has been successful while playing QB out of the wildcat formation. On defense, Eaton helps make up the line that for most of the season has held opponents running game in check, while Mendoza is by far the biggest player in the secondary as the lone safety, backing up a pair of shorter CB's. Kai Leach, who has had some success at RB this year, is being moved to FB. This seems an odd choice seeing as how he is a speed back who is not very large in his physical stature. The Chapman brothers — Chase and Chandler — are being moved to RB. On the defensive side of the ball, Jesse Lopez is being moved off the D line, replaced by Tanner Hovan, while Ryley Queener is being replaced on the line by Jake Condon.

So will these changes lead to victory for the Comets? Well, this week it probably will as they face awful Pe Ell Trojans (0-5) in a mid-season non-league game. The Trojans have scored only 22 points all year, while giving up 176 (and average of 35 per game). They have also been shut out three times this season, including the last two weeks. One thing to keep in mind? It is supposed to rain tomorrow night, and the Comets have had a pretty difficult time hanging onto the ball this year.

A win Friday could get Naselle back on track as they prepare for the most important game of their season at Northwest Christian, currently the second place team in the league. The Comets need to win out in order to put themselves into one of the top three places in the league and at least have the opportunity to play their way to a state playoff spot in a crossover game. The Crusaders face league-leader Valley this week and will play South Bend on the final week of the season. South Bend will play for league superiority the week before in Menlo. 

**NOTE: To kind of make up for us dropping the ball last Saturday in terms of coverage reports, Observer photojournalist Damian Mulinix will be attending a rare away game and posting a photo gallery.

Don't forget to check back Saturday for a game recap, photo gallery and player blog posts

Ilwaco @ Columbia of White Salmon, 7 pm, Friday, Oct. 8, White Salmon High School

The Fishermen (1-4, 0-3) have a heck of a chance this Friday. Chance to what, you might say? A chance to get their second win of the year. A chance to get their first league win since 2007. Chance to see some returns on their exceptional efforts they have put forth this year on defense. 

Aside from the blow out loss at Kalama in week four, 45-8, the defense has been stout, holding league leader Stevenson to 23 points (they average 30 ppg) and LaCenter last week to 21 (they average 25 ppg). 

This week they travel to White Salmon to face a Columbia team that has scored only 33 points this year, while giving up a Trico League worst 198 (an average of 40 ppg!).

The Fishermen offense hasn't inspired much confidence this year, but they did put up the points the last time they faced a lesser adversary — 34-6 win at 0-4 Neah-Kah-Nie back in week two. Josh Berteaux's debut at QB was inauspicious, 0-2 passing and 20 yards on 10 run attempts, but new RB Skylar Olson did rip off an 80-yard run for a TD late in the game.

Pigskin Pick'em

Both teams lose last week, bad for them, good for my picks— now 6-3 this year

W- Ilwaco @ Columbia of White Salmon

Fishermen have a chance at a multi-win season, I think they take it

W- Naselle @ Pe Ell

Comets get back on track with a possible blow out, giving them plenty of time to plan for NWC next week

Player Blog Post - What we should be, and what we are

We are supposed to be 5-0, set to win the league championship outright, overpowering every single team on our schedule, Scoring 50 points a game (except maybe south bend), on pace to have three 1,000 yard rushers, a defense that shuts out nearly every team, special teams that destroy our opponents in the field position battle, an offensive line that not only knows who to block 100% of the time but blocks said person 100% of the time, and our jv's should be in the game by the 4th quarter at the latest. That is the kind of talent that i have believed that the Naselle Comet football team had at the beginning of the year, and the kind of talent we still have.
But that is not the season we've had so far.
I could go into detail about everything that we are doing wrong but i would probably bring some people to tears and quite frankly i am sick and tired of thinking about what we did wrong every week just to turn around and make the same stupid mistakes next week. I AM AS GUILTY AS ANYONE OF THOSE MISTAKES. But we all need to be held accountable for what we do wrong, as individuals and as a team. Captains- please tell us not just that we are doing something wrong but could you please tell us what we are doing wrong and how we can fix it? Please lead us? Thank you. As Trevin said, we have an amazing coaching staff and yes I believe they will do everything they can to help us but i think that the biggest problem is that we need to learn to help ourselves. We have some changes in the line up. DL/FB Robert Eaton and RB/FS Leonel Mendoza are out to rest injuries and RB/OLB Kai Leach is now FB/OLB Kai Leach and all-purpose players Chase and Chandler Chapman are the new RBs. DL/TE Jesse Lopez Has been replaced by DL Tanner Hovan. And DE Jake Condon is replacing myself. Hopefully these changes will put the best players on the field and more W's in the Comet's favor. We have another 5 games left in our regular season. The first 5 were inexcusable, but i want to remember them down the road and be able to say "This is what went wrong. This is what we did to make it better. Here is where we ended up." The shining lining of the whole situation is that we do have 4 regular season games left before the district crossover. I sure hope we decide to play comet football by then. I believe we can do it if everyone else does.
Comet RT #71 Ryley Queener

Naselle Player Post - No excuses.

Friday October 1st was the first night that the Naselle Comets got beat on the offensive line and it was painful to watch. I would like to say that I played well Friday night but I would be lying to everybody including myself. What the Comet fans saw that night was just a bad night of football. We did not give up, things just happen to go Valley's way. Matt Friese played well on offense. Enough said. We had a hard time stopping him. The momentum was favoring Valley after a Comet injury and it seemed to stay on their side for the remainder of the contest. To me, that Friday night was a nightmare. What we need to do is wake up from it, smell the coffee, and play hardnosed, Comet football. I have full trust in my coaches that they will help us achieve our goals we set at the beginning of the season. I wouldn't have any other coaching staff in the state. They are all excellent teachers and great guys all around and I believe that they will never quit on us. They know what needs to be done and they will do whatever it takes to win. Overall October 1st was another night that we need to put behind us. We just need to play Comet football for 48 mintues every snap of the ball of every game. No excuses.

Trevin Leeland #57 MLB/LT