Thursday, Sep. 03, 2009

Ready to kick off

Well, finally caught up a little bit on my sleep after shepherding our high school football preview section out the door.

A lot of hard work from mis compadres helped put it out, so hope you enjoy it when it hits your front porch Friday morning.

Can't disagree with any of the predictions made for the league standings -- especially mine (I did the CBBN Cascade).

But I'm looking forward to seeing what y'all think of our picks.

Until then, it's time for the Week 1 predictions:

Chiawana at Moses Lake

I'll be very interested to see how Steve Graff's boys fare in the school's first-ever game. If this were at Edgar Brown, I'd say it's a Riverhawks win. But Moses Lake is not an easy place to play, and the Chiefs have the advantage in the trenches. Moses Lake 24-21

Columbia (Burbank) at Granger

The Coyotes are excited under first-year coach Rich Harris, and I think they want to give their new coach a win in his debut. Granger is a streaky type of team. Burbank 28-21

Hermiston at Walla Walla

This should be a very exciting game. Two explosive offenses taking on each other. I'm looking forward to seeing the stats for two of the top QBs in the area -- Hermiston's Faafiaula Ena and Wa-Hi's Michael Weisner. I see the Blue Devils getting the ball last and taking advantage. Walla Walla 35-31

Imbler at Tri-Cities Prep

Another great matchup featuring last year's Oregon 8-man champs and a Prep team led by QB Will Hoppes. The game will be the first ever to be played on Chiawana's new field. Prep 54-50

Othello at Connell

The Basin rivalry. The Huskies have a lot of skill players to break in behind a strong offensive line. Connell, as usual, is one of the top three or four 1A teams in the state, and it has an experienced QB in Nathan Martinez. That will be the difference. Connell 34-26

Redmond at Prosser

The Mustangs also are breaking in a lot of newcomers, especially at quarterback (T.J. Finn) and at head coach (Benji Sonnichsen). But their line may be the best in the Mid-Columbia, regardless of classification, and Sonnichsen's debut will be a successful one. Prosser 35-27

Richland at Pasco

Two offenses with a lot of question marks. Can Hayden Hilty have the same success as Richland QB with a new receiving corps? Can Josh Morris make it a seemless transition as Pasco QB for Carlin Andrew with the bevy of skill talent surrounding him? Pasco 20-17

River View at Highland

I'm pretty high on the Panthers to finish third in the East behind ... well, guesss who. River View 40-7

Southridge at Kamiakin

The Braves have a lot of speed at the skill positions. The Suns have the beef (check out that starting O-line). Big men don't shrink, and they'll wear down the Braves in the second half. Southridge 22-16

Sunnyside at Hanford

A playoff game in Week 1? That's what this works out to be, because the CBBN 3As have three teams fighting for two spots. The winner gets a leg up toward the No. 1 seed and home-field in Week 10. Sunnyside will be much improved, but playing at Fran Rish will give Hanford the edge it needs. Hanford 28-26

Wapato at Kiona-Benton

Ki-Be should be pretty good under Charlie Hobbick, who put in the same spread offense that Hanford ran so well last season. This is a tough opener for the Bears, though, going up against a 2A team. Wapato 25-20

Kennewick vs. South Kitsap (Saturday)

Kennewick should be much improved this season, and the Emerald City Kickoff Classic will be where the Lions first show that improvement. This will be seen as a bit of an upset now, but by year's end, maybe not. Kennewick 28-21

Til next time ...