Week 6 Washington high school football preview: 3 storylines, game predictions, top statewide matchups
It is the midway point of the WIAA football season, and contenders are jockeying for prime position, including first place, in their respective leagues.
In fact, sole first place in the 3A Metro League is up for grabs Friday night when No. 2 Eastside Catholic travels to No. 8 Garfield for a matchup of unbeaten teams.
Here is a quick recap of last week’s highlights, and a look forward to Week 6 storylines and games to follow:
THREE THINGS WORTH REVISITING FROM WEEK 5
Photo by Todd Milles
W.F. West just had that look facing Tumwater
Before last Friday, No. 7 W.F. West was on a 12-game losing streak to the king of the 2A Evergreen Conference - second-ranked Tumwater.
But Bearcats coach Dan Hill sensed something was different - not just that week in practice, but months prior to the 2022 season even beginning.
He saw the eyes of his players after their season ended in the Class 2A playoffs at Prosser.
"They've been a very motivated group this offseason - the last 10-11 months," Hill said. "I saw in in their eyes again when camped started, and again when the game started Friday night.
"They were ready for the moment."
Indeed, they were - winning 28-7. They jumped out to a 28-0 lead, including two first-quarter touchdowns. The defense held Tumwater to just 161 yards.
Now, W.F. West controls its own fate in its quest for the league championship.
"If there was ever a community win, it was on Friday night. You could feel it," Hill said. "Everyone was on the field, smiling and hugging each other. It was a pretty special night."
Caged tiger in Lake Stevens? Vikings not enjoying break
Make no mistake, coach Tom Tri will never get used to in-season breaks with Lake Stevens football.
His Vikings missed two weeks last fall because of pandemic-related issues. And his team was off last weekend when scheduled 4A Wesco foe Jackson contacted the school to say it was forfeiting the game due to low healthy roster numbers.
Lake Stevens picked up a win, but it didn't get its jump-back-in-the-saddle redemption moment after losing to Oregon powerhouse West Linn, 45-6, on Sept. 23.
"Our kids are tired of just practicing, especially after getting our butts whooped two weeks ago," Tri said. "It's been tough. In practice, they are not as dialed in in the way they need to be."
Tri said the team is working through pass-game issues in order to get big-play excitement going again.
Good news - tailback Jayden Limar, who left the West Linn game after a nasty helmet-to-helmet hit, is expected to be back Friday against No. 9 Eastlake.
Central Valley standout overcomes different issue - shattered prosthesis
Central Valley linebacker Brandon Thomas was on his way to a monster game after racking up tackle after tackle Friday night against Mead.
It was another outstanding showing for a teenager who worked his way back from a leg amputation after battling a rare form of cancer called osteosarcoma, which cost him an entire season.
And then early in the second half, as Thomas was running to make a play, his carbon fiber prosthetic right left broke in half.
"It snapped immediately ... and there's nothing you can do," he said. "You eat it (the loss)."
Thomas went with team athletic trainers and his father and brother under the medical tent to remove the old prosthesis for a new one.
Except there was an unexpected delay - nobody has the right tools on hand.
"It took me 10 more minutes than I wanted," Thomas said. "I was just laying there, watching the game."
By the middle of the fourth quarter, Thomas had a new prosthetic leg attached - and he finished the Bears' final series on defense. They lost, 21-17.
REWIND SBLIVE’S WEEK 5 COVERAGE
Photo by Vince Miller
Thu: (4A) No. 7 Chiawana 24, (3A) No. 6 Kennewick 13
Fri: (3A) No. 3 Eastside Catholic 24, (3A) No. 2 O'Dea 17
Fri: (2A) No. 8 Anacortes 42, (2A) No. 6 Sedro-Woolley 20
Fri: (1A) No. 1 Eatonville 27, (1A) No. 6 Tenino 22
Fri: (3A) Mead 21, (4A) Central Valley 17
Fri: (4A) No. 5 Kennedy Catholic 40, (4A) Federal Way 8
TOP STORYLINES TO FOLLOW IN WEEK 6
Photo courtesy of Stanwood football
First place on the line in Metro League tilt
As a football fan, Reggie Witherspoon could just sit and watch the Metro League showdown between No. 2 Eastside Catholic and No. 8 Garfield for sole first place in the standings.
But given he's the Garfield coach, and feels like the cupboard is overflowing with young talent, he'd rather trying a scheme up a victory Friday from the sideline at Memorial Stadium.
"It's definitely going to be, from start to finish, won in the trenches," Witherspoon said. "These guys' success (at Eastside Catholic) is predicated on the front four defensively, and the front five offensively."
The game will feature the league's best two quarterbacks going at it - top 2024 recruit EJ Caminong with the Bulldogs and Brady McKelheer with the Crusaders.
The same can be said in the linebacking corps, too, with Garfield's Michael Montgomery and Eastside Catholic's David Lene.
"I think it's going to be physical just because of the magnitude of the game," Witherspoon said. "But it's who we are. If you've watched us for five games in a row, we hit you - and we continue to hit you."
Which style will win - cloud-of-dust running or touch-cloud passing?
On Friday, 'Air Raid' will meet 'Run Tight' for the lead in the 2A CWAC.
Pass-fueled Prosser, ranked No. 3, is the reigning league champion. One of its toughest games last season was a 19-7 win at home over run-you-over Othello, which is ranked No. 7.
Now, the contrast-in-styles 2A CWAC rivalry game shifts back to the Huskies' home field where they will attempt to sustain long drives and shorten the game significantly.
"We've been talking about it as a staff, that if we get five possessions, we need to score on three of the five," Prosser coach Corey Ingvalson said. "Or if we get six (possessions), scoring on four of the six.
"We've got to be very efficient and score to give ourselves an opportunity to win the game."
And that is how Corey Ingvalson will manage the game - not by how much time has elapsed but by how many possessions the team will get.
"(Othello coach) Roger (Hoell) challenges every aspect of your program ... especially the management of the game," Ingvalson said.
Stanwood takes Wing-T show on the road to Vancouver
Over the past calendar year, Stanwood football has gone 10-2 - including its 5-0 start this fall.
The 3A Wesco contenders will face a different challenge this weekend - traveling hundreds of miles to the southwest Washington border to play perennial Class 4A playoff contender Union in Vancouver.
"It's good to play different styles in different (geographic) areas," Stanwood coach Jeff Scoma said. "We are excited."
The No. 9 Spartans continue to be one of the more stunning transformations in the state, going from a spread offense in the past to operating the Wing-T attack under Scoma, a former youth coach from the Bellevue championship-run heyday.
"We have really brought a lot of the details from the bellevue system over here," Scoma said. "And (my players) work ethic is through the roof. We don't have the lows. We continue to be on an upward trajectory."
Scoma said he is appreciative of one aspect of traveling a longer distance Friday night.
"We get the charter buses," he said, "and not the yellow school buses."
TOP WEEK 6 GAMES ON TAP
Photo by Vince Miller
No. 2 (3A) Eastside Catholic Crusaders (5-0) at No. 8 (3A) Garfield Bulldogs (5-0)
7:45 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium, Seattle
Skinny: Quarterbacks will sling it - and the lines of both programs will hit anything in their way. In the end, big-game experience will matter most.
Live streaming link: NFHS.
SBLive Washington's pick: Eastside Catholic, 28-24.
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No. 3 (2A) Prosser Mustangs (5-0) at No. 7 (2A) Othello Huskies (4-1)
7 p.m. Friday at Othello High School
Skinny: Both schools bringing two of their more talented teams to town in recent memory, which should make for class 2A CWAC matchup.
Live streaming link: NFHS.
SBLive Washington's pick: Othello, 21-19.
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No. 3 (1A) Nooksack Valley Pioneers (5-0) at No. 4 (1A) Lynden Christian Lyncs (5-0)
7 p.m. Friday at Lynden Christian High School, Lynden
Skinny: Lyncs' backfield of QB Jeremiah Wright (6-6, 220) and RB Kade Eldridge (6-5, 240) is scary, but Pioneers have collective depth to deal with it in flip-a-coin game.
Live streaming link: NFHS.
SBLive Washington's pick: Nooksack Valley, 28-27.
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