Editor's Note: This story is included in The Chronicle's 2022-23 Prep Basketball Preview, which is published in the Thursday edition.
The way the cookie crumbles in southwest Washington, three schools from District 4 get bids to the regional round.
This winter, that could be a problem, with four teams looking dangerous.
The emerging wild card that makes things interesting comes out of East Lewis County, where Mossyrock has designs on bigger and better things. Last season, the Vikings finished two games under .500 and never came that close to toppling either Willapa Valley or Naselle, both of which made it past the regional round to get to Spokane.
But things might be changing. Mossyrock had been solidly a tier below Naselle in football for a few seasons before this fall came around and the Vikings roared to the fore, beat the Comets for the first time, and established themselves as the team to beat in southwest Washington. It’s generally the same core of players on the hardwood, with Zachary Munoz leading the way in scoring, Eason and Keegan Kolb pitching in, and Hunter Isom working hard in the post.
The Comets aren’t going anywhere quietly themselves. Despite losing do-it-all seniors Jason Harman and Joe Strange, Kolten Lindstrom is back for another year as arguably the best pure scorer in the 1B CVL. Behind him, the next generation is coming through the ranks for Naselle in sophomores Jack Strange and Jacob Lindstrom.
And, of course, the defending district champs may have something to say, with Willapa Valley graduating a few key pieces but returning Kolten and Derek Fluke and Wil Clements to lead a lineup heavy on juniors and seniors.
Below the obvious top three, Pe Ell could find itself one of the few solidly-in-the-middle teams in the league. With more than a couple struggling programs below them in the standings, there are plenty of wins on the board for the Trojans to rack up, with a chance to sneak into the district tournament and make a run.
Speaking of the district tournament, there’s one more key piece to the District 4 discussion, and it goes by the name of Oakville. After getting to the regional round in Marcus Whittaker’s first season in charge, the Acorns lost just one senior from last year’s team. This winter, they don’t appear to have slowed down at all offensively, but if anything, they’re doing it all with more balance. Reigning 1B Coastal MVP Eddie Klatush is back, as are first-team all-leaguers Courtney Price and Ashton Boyd, with Gio and Daniel Rodas, Shayden Baker, Haezen Cayenne, and plenty others getting in on the fun as well.
Oakville’s already beaten a 3A team (River Ridge) and a 2A (Centralia) and has a couple more key non-league matchups against higher-classification sides before getting into its league stretch, which could give it plenty of momentum heading to Districts.
Mossyrock
Coach: Tom Kelly (first)
2021-22 record: 10-11 (districts)
Returning starters: Zack Munoz, Keegan Kolb, Easton Kolb, Hunter Isom
Newcomer(s) to watch: Luke Cooper, Shaun Fry
Pe Ell
Coach: Chris Phelps (second)
2021-22 record: 7-12 (districts)
Returning starters: Carter Phelps, Blake Howard, Kail Homan
Newcomer(s) to watch: Logan Baldwin, Calan McCarty, Kaden Knowlton
Quotable: “We want to be a defensive juggernaut. You saw tonight, offensively was a struggle, but we’ll continue to work on that. Defense wins championships, I know it sounds cliche, but it works. That’s what our identity is going to be, that’s what we want to hang our hat on, we just have to find a way to score.” — Chris Phelps
