Two weeks in, and things might be starting to get a little clearer. Have no fear, with the 2A Evergreen Conference entering league play and a few pivotal non-league matchups in the 2B and 1B ranks, Week 3 is going to do a whole lot to clarify who stands where in the area’s various pecking orders. Here’s what’s going down this week:
THURSDAY
Toutle Lake at Toledo
Toleo found its run game last week, putting up 46 points in the first half in a drubbing of Rainier. New to the scene is Ethen Carver, who gashed the Mountaineers to the tune of 173 yards on the ground behind a line that’s starting to find its footing. Next up for the Riverhawks is an 0-2 Toutle Lake squad that lost to Ocosta last week in its first 11-man game of the season.
FRIDAY
Centralia at Aberdeen
Things did not, in fact, get better in Week 2 for Centralia, at least on the scoreboard, and now the Tigers find themselves running into the thick of the 2A Evergreen season. First up in league play are the 1-1 Bobcats, who are 1-1 with a convincing win over a 1A (Hoquiam) and a convincing loss to a 1A (Montesano).
Shelton at W.F. West
Yep, turns out the top-ranked 2A team in the state is pretty good. W.F. West made its share of mistakes, and Lynden capitalized every time last Friday. The real question will be whether the Bearcats can flush the loss quickly and get back to playing their brand of football, and starting picking up speed again.
Black Hills at Rochester
After two straight weeks of huge ranked matchups in the 2A EvCo, the league’s most intriguing matchup is probably this one, between two sides trying to establish the pecking order below the likes of Tumwater and W.F. West. Rochester turned on the jets and found its offense in a shutout of Kingston last Friday, while Black Hills rode its defense to a win at North Thurston. The Wolves look like a different team than they’ve been in the past couple seasons, but this is a whole different test for them entirely.
Tumwater at Kelso
Tumwater’s defense looked for real in its gritty win over North Kitsap. The offense? The less said about it the better. The T-Birds are going to need to find something that works on the ground fast, but a matchup against 3A Kelso, which may have the largest line across the board in this corner of the state, is going to be a tough one in the trenches.
Onalaska at Goldendale
If Onalaska didn’t have a chip on its shoulder to start, it’s well and firmly there now. After possibly their most one-sided rivalry loss to Napavine in recent memory, the Loggers will be putting some extra oomph into their hits in practice this week. And look, they even get the last-minute cancellation and reschedule fun that they faced so often last year! Only Friday will tell if Goldendale is ready for the storm coming its way.
Napavine at Rainier
Two games, two wins, 108 points scored, none allowed. Yep, Napavine: good. Nobody’s been able to slow the Tigers down even remotely thus far; next up to try is 0-2 Rainier, coming off a loss to Toledo.
Wahkiakum at Pe El-Willlapa Valley
At some point, the good feelings of taking a ranked 1A school to the final minute and leading Adna late subside, and the only thing that stands out to the Titans is their 0-2 record. Especially with Napavine looming Week 4, a matchup against a 1-1 Wahkiakum side essentially turns into an early-season must-win for PWV.
White Swan at Adna
White Swan will make its second trip over the mountains — and through a fire zone — in less than a week, after going to Morton on Tuesday. That game ended up with the Cougars losing by 35 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score suggested. Adna, meanwhile, is feeling good after grinding out a tough win over Pe Ell-Willapa Valley, and could see a chance to really get its offense going.
Muckleshoot Tribal at Mossyrock
Quilcene may have been down a starter or two, but Mossyrock’s demolition of the state runners-up definitely announced the Vikings’ arrival to the state stage. Next up is their home opener with Muckleshoot Tribal, and fans should expect points in droves; the Kings’ previous finals were 96-88 (a win) and 70-35 (a loss).
Oakville at Taholah
Things got off to a belated and rough start for Oakville, which fell in its opener to Lake Quinault 44-27. Now the Acorns will take on a similarly 0-1 Taholah side that was blown out by Crescent last week.
SATURDAY
Tenino vs. Klahowya (At Lumen Field)
The big one on the big stage comes up north in King County this week, where Tenino will see how well its ground game fares under the bright lights at Lumen Field. Any rust shown in the Beavers’ Week 1 win over PWV was fully shed in a 52-point effort against Sequim, and now they’ll try to take it to a winless Klahowya side that’s allowed an average of 44.5 points in its first two games.
Forks at Morton-White Pass
MWP’s first two weeks have been anything but normal, with a short-notice reschedule Week 1 and the Goat Rocks fire pushing its Week 2 game to Tuesday — and also threatening the homes of multiple T-Wolves. Should conditions improve, MWP will get its first big test of the season against a Forks side that blew it out 69-0 last fall.
Winlock at Evergreen Lutheran
An early-season rematch of the Cardinals’ crossover win over the Eagles last season comes with Winlock sitting at 1-0 after its Week 2 matchup with Concrete was canceled due to poor air quality. Evergreen Lutheran also had last weekend off after getting 70 points hung up on it in a drubbing by Darrington in Week 1.
