Week 8 Roundup: What’s on the Line in Week 9?

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There’s really nothing major on the line this week as the regular season comes to a close. The league titles have already been determined, and for the most part there’s nothing but seeding position, and the corresponding crossover opponents, up for grabs in Week 9.

In the Evergreen 2A Conference, Tumwater has the top spot, and W.F. West wraps the season with a winnable game against Aberdeen, which should leave the Bearcats hosting a district crossover as the No. 2 seed. Centralia plays undefeated Tumwater, and Black Hills plays Rochester; if everything chalks out, Black Hills, Aberdeen and Centralia will wind up in a three-way tie for the No. 3, 4 and 5 spots, which would necessitate a real-life tiebreaker to figure out who goes home.

The SWW 2B League is finishing out on similar lines. The Mountain Division champion has already been crowned; Adna kept the possibility of a three-way tie for first alive most of the way in its eventual loss to the Loggers, but now look like the No. 3 team out of the Mountain. The final standings come down to Napavine’s season finale with Rainier; if the Tigers win, they’ll finish second, but if Rainier pulls off an upset, it’s looking like a three-way tie for second, third and fourth, which means some variety of coin toss.

Kalama’s the River Division champion, and Toledo’s rivalry win over Winlock on Friday wrapped up second place. The Indians finish the season with Mossyrock, but previous wins over Wahkiakum and Winlock mean that a loss wouldn’t move Toledo out of the No. 2 spot. The Mules host the Cardinals on Friday in a battle for third and fourth. Those two positions, however, play crossover games at the Mountain Division’s 1 and 2 seeds — likely No. 1-ranked Onalaska and No. 2-ranked Napavine — which is a daunting task either way.

And in the Coastal Division, Pe Ell-Willapa Valley sealed its fourth-straight division title by beating previously-undefeated Ocosta, which means a crossover game against the Mountain Division No. 4 team — most likely Rainier.

Here’s a few more notes from Week 8.

• Onalaska’s defense recorded another interception in Friday’s win over Adna, giving them 13 in eight games this season. They’ve got nine in four Mountain Division games, 12 in their last five games, and have had at least one in six games this year. The only two pick-less performances were wins over Toutle Lake and Wahkiakum. The Ducks were 3 of 6 passing in that game, and the Mules were 2 of 10.

• Kalama set a handful of passing records on Friday night, when the Chinooks beat up on Wahkiakum 58-10 to wrap up the River Division title. Sophomore Jackson Esary — who succeeded two-time 2B Player of the Year Alex Dyer under center this season — did all the passing, throwing for 449 yards and seven touchdowns (both team records). Senior Brennon Vance did most of the catching, with 279 yards and five touchdowns.

• While the SWW 2B League is mostly settled at this point, the rest of the state can’t determine down from up or good from bad. In the 2B EWAC: high-flyin Tri-Cities Prep was the favorite, but lost to Columbia-Burbank. Burbank then took a road trip and got blown out by Tonasket, which then got blown out in a Central Washington 2B League game by Lake Roosevelt. And Lake Roosevelt was just two weeks removed from a loss to Chewelah — a Chewelah team that hit .500 for the first time Friday with a win over a dismal NWC-Colbert team.

Chewelah’s in the NE2BL North driver’s season, but still has to get through the crossovers against a NE2BL South team. Colfax, Asotin and Reardan have taken turns making their case for league favorite and then losing, and Liberty — just outside the conversation — might wind up in fourth place and play Chewelah in the crossover. Naturally, Liberty beat Chewelah by three touchdowns back in Week 2.

The ups and downs back east are entertaining, but often symptomatic of a league full of teams with consistency issues. That should have District 4’s six entrants into the state playoffs feeling good about their postseason odds.

Fantasy Football

Here’s the Week 8 Lewis County Fantasy Football roundup.

Quarterback

Mikey Green, Rainier (37 points): Green passed for 146 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 25 yards and two scores, with three converted conversions, in a win over Morton-White Pass.

Duke Schaplow, Toledo (35 points): Schaplow ran for 106 yards and four touchdowns on 16 carries, and added 40 passing yards, as the Indians beat Winlock.

Bryce Cline, Winlock (20 points): Cline ran for 138 yards and a touchdown, with 30 passing yards, in the Battle of the Cowlitz.

Aiden Weist, Mossyrock (19 points): Weist ran in one touchdown, tossed two touchdown passes with 144 passing yards against Toutle Lake.

Braden Thomas, Adna (19 points): Thomas returned a fumble for a touchdown, tossed a touchdown pass, and finished with 175 passing yards (and a conversion run) against top-ranked Onalaska.



Gavin Fugate, W.F. West (17 points): The freshman quarterback passed for 142 yards — going 9 of 10 — and three touchdowns in the Bearcats’ 11th straight Swamp Cup win.

Lucas Kreger, Onalaska (11 points): Kreger ran for 115 yards on 12 carries, without throwing a pass, against the Pirates.

Cameron Erickson, Centralia (11 points): Erickson passed for 115 yards and a touchdown and ran for 31 yards against W.F. West.

Honorable Mention — Jackson Esary, Kalama (45 points): Esary tossed seven touchdown passes, with 449 yards, against the Mules.

Running Back

Ashton Haight, Onalaska (49 points): Haight ran for 278 yards and three touchdowns, with a pair of conversion runs, against Adna.

Max Smith, PWV (41 points): Smith ran for four touchdowns and 173 yards as the Titans knocked off Ocosta.

Colton McClure, Mossyrock (35 points): McClure had 128 receiving yards, 53 rushing yards, and three total touchdowns — one of which came on a fumble return — in a win over Toutle Lake.

Davin Kinsman, Toledo (25 points): Kinsman ran 18 times for 173 yards and a touchdown with a conversion run during a rivalry win over Winlock.

Kollin Jurek, PWV (21 points): Jurek ran for 150 yards and a touchdown against Ocosta.

Chase Sobolesky-Reynolds, Centralia (12 points): Sobolesky-Reynolds ran for 27 yards, with 42 receiving yards and a touchdown, against W.F. West.

Kyle Peterson, Rainier (12 points): Peterson ran for 60 yards, with a 31-yard touchdown, against MWP.

Wide Receiver

Leandre Gaines, W.F. West (38 points): Gaines, moving from receiver to tailback, powered his way to 204 yards and three touchdowns against the Tigers.

Brody Klein, Rainier (25 points): Klein had 68 rushing yards, 77 receiving yards, and two touchdowns against MWP.

Max Taylor, W.F. West (21 points): Taylor had 99 receiving yards and two touchdowns against rival Centralia.

Coleson Richendollar, Winlock (12 points): Richendollar caught two passes for 62 yards, one of which was a 60-yard touchdown to end the game, against Toledo.

Ryan Young, Adna (8 points): Young had 23 receiving yards and a touchdown against Onalaska.

Honorable Mention — Brennon Vance, Kalama (57 points): Vance hauled in nine passes for 279 yards and five touchdowns against Wahkiakum.