NEAH BAY — Neah Bay has its eyes on a third consecutive state championship game appearance, but the Cusick Panthers have been masters of ruining plans this season.
Last weekend, Cusick trailed Liberty Christian 40-20 in the third quarter of a first-round state football playoff game in Pasco.
The second-ranked Patriots were about 20 minutes away from a rematch of last year’s 1B state title game against Neah Bay.
But the Panthers scored 34 straight points to win the 54-40.
Neah Bay’s senior class will never have the chance to avenge falling one play short of its second straight state title.
But Red Devils coach Tony McCaulley isn’t lamenting his teams lost chance at revenge.
“No preference, really,” McCaulley said this week about missing out on the chance to play Liberty Christian.
“The kids probably wanted Liberty Christian because of last year.
“But I watched that game [between Cusick and Liberty Christian]. Cusick is a scrappy team. They deserved to win. You’ve got to give them credit [for coming back].”
Besides, tonight Neah Bay finally gets its shot at the Panthers, who were a 1B state semifinalist last year (they lost to Liberty Christian).
Earlier this season, the Red Devils were set to travel nine hours, from the northwestern tip of the state to the Northeastern corner, to play at Cusick in an early season matchup between 8-man football powerhouses.
But that plan was ruined because the Panthers were inundated with injuries and had to cancel the Sept. 13 game.
“I wish we would have played them, but they were injured, so I don’t think we would have learned a whole lot.”
So, Neah Bay and Cusick were finally going to face off in the 1B quarterfinals Saturday afternoon at Silverdale Stadium in Bremerton.
But due to a tribal wedding in Cusick on Saturday, the Panthers asked if the game could be moved up to Friday night.
No problem, said Neah Bay.
“It’s fine with me,” McCaulley said.
“We’d rather play Friday because we usually play Friday. And we can scout on Saturday — if we win.”
The top-ranked Red Devils (9-0) have rolled through the season thus far.
Their two biggest tests have been anything but.
After Taholah backed out of the season opener, Neah Bay scheduled a game against Darrington, which ended up being ranked in the Associated Press 2B poll for much of the year.
Despite having only about a week to prepare for the 11-man game, the Red Devils pounded the Loggers 50-6.
In early October, they thrashed fourth-ranked Lummi 76-32.
They also have two blowout wins over another 1B playoff team, Lopez Island, including an 86-30 victory two weeks ago.
By bouncing back last week against the reigning state champs, Cusick showed that it isn’t a team likely to roll over for the Red Devils.
McCaulley said his team isn’t expecting an easy game.
“They hit hard,” he said of the Panthers.
“They’re not super big, but they’re aggressive.
“Our kids are extremely hungry. They know it’s one-and-done.”
By virtue of earning the west’s top seed in the state playoffs, Neah Bay was off last week.
For a team on a mission to win its second state championship in three years, the bye was a bit of a hindrance. But probably a necessary one.
“You hate having a week off,” McCaulley said, “but I think it was good for us.
“We got healthy. We had a good week of practice.”
Mostly overlooked during the Red Devils’ dominating season so far is that they have done so with their starting running backs missing chunks of time.
Cody Cummins and Tyler McCaulley have only played 10 combined games.
Tony McCaulley said Cummins should be 100 percent for Friday night’s game. He said Tyler McCaulley is close to 100 percent, and will be available for the game, but after a setback a few weeks ago, they are “being real careful.”
Cummins’ and Tyler McCaulley’s absences have given other players a chance to contribute.
Collin Haupt has become the feature back, running for 697 yards and 10 touchdowns, and others, such as Christopher Martinez, have been given more carries.
And Elisha Winck has done well filling in for Tyler McCaulley at fullback.
And, of course, Neah Bay still has quarterback Josiah Greene.
Greene, the 2011 1B state player of the year and the 2012 All-Peninsula MVP, has thrown for 1,281 yards and 21 touchdowns and rushed for 1,113 and 15 scores. Those gaudy numbers have come while rarely playing a full four quarters.
The Red Devils still look first to the run, but receivers Ezekiel Greene, Cole Svec and John Reamer provided reliable targets when Josiah Greene steps back to pass.
Game notes
■ Scoreczar.org predicts Neah Bay will beat Cusick 43-20.
■ The winner of Friday night’s will play the winner between Lummi and Wishkah Valley, who play Saturday in Aberdeen, next week in the 1B semifinals at the Tacoma Dome.
■ Friday night’s game can be heard on Forks 1490 or forks1490.com, and can be watched online at nw8man.com.
iPhone and iPhone users can listen to the game with the Forks 1490 app. Oly Archibald will handle play-by-play duties.
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Sports Editor Lee Horton can be reached at 360-417-3525 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.
