Friday, Oct. 30, 2009

Week 9 picks

What a cornucopia of prep events this weekend!

It all starts this afternoon at Wandermere Golf Course in Spokane, with the 4A/3A Eastern Regional cross country championships, which is one of the best events of the year -- regardless of sport.

I know, watching runners for 5,000 meters isn't everyone's cup of tea. But there's something about watching the top runners gut it out, and teams work together to pull each other through, that thrills me.

I think both the Southridge and Kamiakin boys pull through and grab state berths, as do the Richland girls, who will finally get over the hump and win that elusive regional title.

Then tonight at Lampson, there's a football doubleheader that includes all three Kennewick schools. It's the crossover round of the CBBN season, when the stakes couldn't be more clear -- win, and you advance to regionals; loser, and you get to play a meaningless Week 10 game that has the feel of a Nationals-Brewers game in September.

There are three other playoff games in the region -- in Wenatchee, Yakima and Walla Walla -- but the capper is the 8 p.m. Kennewick-Kamiakin matchup that should fill Lampson to the gills.

Finally comes Saturday, with CBBN district titles on the line in girls soccer (at Bomber Field, with Kamiakin taking on Richland), in volleyball (Southridge hosts the final day of competition) and in swimming (at Central Washington University).

Kamiakin-Richland is the best of the girls soccer rivalries in the region, and you know that will be a taut battle. The Braves have been playing much better of late and are looking to avenge a 3-0 loss to the Bombers from the regular season.

There were no surprises in Thursday's first round of the district volleyball tournament. The top seeds dominated, with only Kamiakin dropping a set among the home teams.

In fact, the only surprises Thursday came among the smaller schools: Grandview actually dropped a set to Wapato? River View, perhaps looking ahead to next week's SCAC district tournament, lost to Warden. And, oops!, Liberty Christian lost its second straight after clinching the South's top seed to next week's 2B district playoffs, this time to DeSales, allowing the Irish to grab the No. 3 seed and avoid three-time defending district champion Tekoa-Oakesdale in Round 1.

The district swim meet starts today, and Hanford should snag the lion's share of the 3A berths up for grabs. The 4As, though, should spread their berths among all the top schools, which should make for an exciting team race.

So, getting back to the reason for this blog (see the headline) ...

Went 12-2 last week, missing on Selah's miracle come-from-behind win over Prosser (OK, maybe not a miracle, but whenever a team has made the playoffs 22 years in a row like Prosser had, you just don't expect it to fold with its playoff life on the line) and Tekoa-Oakesdale/Rosalia's shutout of Liberty Christian.

That ups the season mark to 89-25.

Pasco at Eisenhower

The Bulldogs should just go with the Wildcat -- let's call it the Mad Dog for them -- the entire game. They had much more success running it last week against Kennewick than they did in their traditional sets. Either that, or go with the quick-strike passing attack that had them on the verge of upsetting Wenatchee in Week 3. In the end, though, the No. 1 question will be can they stop Ike RB Joe Fuerst? If they do, they can spring the upset. Trouble is, no one has yet this year. Eisenhower 35-24

Kennewick at Kamiakin

The biggie of the night. The Lions showed both sides of their game last week against Pasco -- the ugly side, when they couldn't stop anyone (hence, ranking 15th in the league in defense) and struggled to move the ball consistently in the first half; then the swan, when they stuffed Pasco's offense and rattled off three third-quarter touchdowns, with Trent Brown raining beautiful passes down on Pasco's secondary and receivers hauling every one of them in.

Kamiakin has been just as mysterious. The Braves seem to play best when they're down and desperate -- the offense gets into a hurry-up mode, quits thinking so much and just lets the athletes make plays. It's worked for them against Eastmont, against Walla Walla, against Richland, against Chiawana. They should just play a two-minute offense the entire game -- or at least until they build a big lead.

This is the game that has the most potential for an upset, and in fact, that's what I see happening in what should be another great chapter in their rivalry. Kennewick 28-21

Moses Lake at Walla Walla

Can I break out my old, trusty coin for this one? These are two evenly-matched teams with high-powered spread offenses and solid but not spectacular defenses. The only edge I see is on special teams, where Dylan Signorelli has been a clutch kicker for the Lions this season. That just might be enough of an edge to allow ML to eke out a win. Moses Lake 30-27

Eastmont at Southridge

A rematch from last year's playoffs, and I don't see it being any closer than last year's 42-21 Suns victory. Southridge's top-ranked defense should smother Eastmont's No. 14 attack, and the Suns offense has found its groove in the past two games. The only question is how much rust coated on that groove with last week's bye. Whatever rust should be knocked off by the second quarter, and the Suns cruise. Southridge 40-13

Richland at Wenatchee

The Bombers have played much better in the past month, and Wenatchee tends to play low-scoring games, relying on its defense and the spry legs of senior Jacob Sealby. That should mean a close game, but no cigar for Richland. Wenatchee 24-14

Davis at Hanford

The Pirates have two more chances to make good on my co-worker Ben Reynolds' prediction of two wins this season. Better luck next week -- the Falcons want to build some momentum going into their Week 10 regional playoff game. Hanford 26-16

Summit at Hermiston

The Bulldogs clinch a state playoff berth with a win and a Crook County loss to Mountain View. Both should happen. Hermiston 35-7

Ephrata at Prosser

The Mustangs typically are playing meaningless games at this point -- because they've already wrapped up a league title by now. These are strange times indeed at Fiker. Prosser 42-7

Othello at Selah

The Huskies have hit the snooze bar enough this season. It's time for them to wake up and face a playoff contender. This will be a good warm-up game for them to prepare for next week's CWAC title showdown with Ellensburg. Their running attack will be too much for Selah to handle. Othello 32-15

Kiona-Benton at River View

Both teams playing out the string -- the Bears trying to build for next year; the Panthers tuning up for next week's playoffs. That should make this game closer than the records otherwise would indicate. River View 38-24

Royal at Burbank

See above. The Coyotes finally got RB Forest Gordon back from injury, but it wasn't enough to save their season. Royal 42-15

Warden at Connell

The Cougars are all that stand between the Eagles and an outright SCAC East title. Connell 49-14

DeSales at Asotin

The Irish have played teams tough this year with nothing to show for it. That trend continues here. A loss pretty much knocks them out of playoff contention. Asotin 28-21

Liberty Christian at Dayton

OK, I said it before -- last week, in fact. But this is the week Liberty Christian finally finds an opponent it matches up well with and gets its first league win. Liberty Christian 20-14

Tri-Cities Prep at Colton

If Will Hoppes is 100 percent -- and judging from last week's game, he is -- then Prep pulls the "upset." He's got the other pieces surrounding him for the Jaguars to finally win their first league title. Prep 54-44

Til next time ...