Semifinal Countdown: Napavine, Kalama Meet Again With Title Shot on the Line

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The Sept. 9 game between Napavine and Kalama carried about as much weight as a nonleague prep football matchup can hold. The defending State 2B champion Tigers were ranked No. 1, while Kalama was ranked No. 2 but — by most local coaches, anyway — tabbed as the best team on the west side of the state.

Ten weeks later, those preseason predictions ring true.

Kalama, undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the last Associated Press poll of the season, faces No. 3 Napavine (11-1) on Saturday at Centralia’s Tiger Stadium in the state semifinals.

For Kalama, it’s a chance to reach the semifinals for the first time since 1999; for the Tigers, it’s a chance to return to the Tacoma Dome for the state title game for the fourth year in a row.

Are the Chinooks the favorite? On paper, maybe — but only on paper.

“The perception might be that we’re underdogs. We don’t necessarily feel like that,” Napavine coach Josh Fay said. “I think we’re pretty evenly matched. I think there’s some things we can be successful at, and some things they can be successful at. I don’t think the kids really see it that way.”

Only so much can be derived from that Week 2 game. In wet conditions, a Napavine team with plenty of new faces in the starting lineup threw three interceptions and lost, 14-8, in overtime.

“I think it was a loss we were okay with,” Fay said. “Nobody was too upset in the locker room.”

Part of that was eschewing the team’s 15-game winning streak that had carried over from the previous season and hitting the reset button.

“I think it was more of a starting point for us than anything else,” Fay said. “‘We’ve got to get better, and they’re an awfully good team.’ Our guys realized this isn’t 2016; we’re going to have to earn everything we can get.”

The Offense

Napavine’s basic gameplan has changed since last season’s prolific passing attack and has been in a state of development all season.

Dawson Stanley has been a big part of that evolution. The junior emerged as the Tigers’ full-time starting quarterback early in the season, filling the big shoes left by his older brother Wyatt.

His performance against Kalama back on Sept. 9 left a little to be desired; he completed 7 of 22 passes for 74 yards, with three interceptions and one touchdown.

Since then, though, he’s settled into the role. On the season he’s hit 93 of 169 passes for 1,610 yards with 26 touchdowns and five interceptions — four of which came in the first two games of the season.

“The biggest thing was probably the confidence component of that,” Fay said, “and he gets that through repetition.”

He’s also spent a ton of time studying film and working with offensive coordinator Tyson Wilson on his mechanics and reads, Fay added.

“Some guys with his athleticism would kind of blow that off, because they’re good enough, but I don’t think he just wants to be Wyatt’s little brother,” Fay said. “He has greater aspirations than just being the 2017 quarterback.”

Stanley’s also been a major running threat, along with running back Cole Van Wyck and slotback Noah Lantz. Six-foot-3 senior Jordan Purvis (799 yards, 14 touchdowns) has been the Tigers’ main receiving threat.

Working Lantz, an All-Area player last season, into heavier rotation has been one of the team’s top priorities.



“Noah’s a guy that we just have to continue to find ways to get him the ball,” Fay said. “He’s one of the most dynamic players in the state at our level.”

The Defense

The Tigers are giving up just over 10 points a game this season, with plenty of new faces in the mix. Senior Ben Woodrum has been a standout with Purvis and Garret Shannon in the defensive backfield, and freshman Cade Evander and senior Kyson Newcomb have been strong additions on the defensive line.

The big key, though, has been Jared McCollum. The 5-foot-10, 160-pound junior moved into a starting linebacker role this season, filling a spot held by back-to-back defensive league MVPs in Chase VanWyck and Austin Filley.

“He’s just a bulldog. He’s certainly not imposing; if you saw him at his place of employment I don’t think anybody’s going ‘Wow, look at this kid,’” Fay said. “But he’s the epitome of a company guy. He’s one of the hardest-working kids I’ve ever coached, and his instincts at linebacker are really good.”

Kalama: High-Octane Offense

The Chinooks are averaging over 40 points a game this season, and have been held under 35 just twice — in a 26-14 Week 1 win over 2A Woodland, and in the 14-8 win over Napavine.

Junior quarterback Alex Dyer has been the catalyst; through 12 games, the 6-foot-1, 170-pound junior has completed 186 of 227 passes for 2,572 yards and 37 touchdowns.

“The Dyer kid is really good. I don’t think there’s any doubt he’s the best quarterback in the state, probably, at our level,” Fay said. “He’s got pinpoint accuracy throwing the ball, and he’s really good on his feet.”

A big part of that is working on the run when the pocket collapses.

“They have plays break down, but he’s able to keep them alive, and their athletes, they just work on coming back to the football,” Fay said. “That, to me, is the scariest thing.”

Tucker Wetmore (6-1, 180) has been the Chinooks’ most productive receiver, with 49 catches for 845 yards and 18 touchdowns, while Jacob Herz (6-0, 185) was voted the SWW 2B River Division’s Offensive MVP. Herz ran back a kickoff for a touchdown against Adna, while Wetmore ran back a punt; against Pe Ell-Willapa Valley a week later, Wetmore ran a kickoff back 94 yards for a touchdown.

Throw in Brennon Vance (6-0, 175), Max Ross (6-0, 185) and tight end Corbyn Byrnes (6-2, 205), and the Tiger secondary has its hands full.

“I’ll give Dyer a lot of credit,” Fay said. “He’ll throw to four or five different guys, which means we have to have four or five different guys cover.”

History

Napavine’s won 12 playoff games in a row playing at ‘the other’ Tiger Stadium, and practicing over the holiday week is nothing new; this is the fourth year in a row, and the sixth time in Fay’s 11 years in Napavine that the team has a game in the penultimate week of the season.

“It’s something these kids are used to. They were real business-as-usual this week,” Fay said. “But I’m not sure that’s going to deter Kalama from wanting to come out and throttle us.”

The game kicks off at 7 p.m. on Saturday night. In the other 2B semifinal, Asotin faces Liberty — last year’s state runner-up — at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Gonzaga Prep in Spokane.

The winners play on Saturday, Dec. 2, in the State 2B championship game in the Tacoma Dome.