POULSBO — The real season starts Saturday for Neah Bay.
Two state titles in three years and three consecutive championship game appearances have devalued the regular season for the Red Devils.
As great as their undefeated (9-0) regular season was, they will be judged by how well they play in the Class 1B state playoffs.
First up are the Pateros Billygoats (7-3) on Saturday at 2 p.m. at North Kitsap High School.
Neah Bay coach Tony McCaulley used last week’s bye to scout some teams in Eastern Washington, including Pateros.
“They run the ball pretty good. That seems to be what they like to do,” McCaulley said.
“They can throw the ball; they have a quarterback that’s pretty good.”
With two weeks off since their last game, the Red Devils have been focused on conditioning and fine-tuning both sides of the ball.
One of the key aspects for Neah Bay in the state playoffs will be how well its offensive line opens up holes for speedy running backs Cole Svec and Chris Martinez.
Senior right guard Jarickson Kanichy, sophomore center Noah Rascon and freshman left guard Daniel Kilmer are
the starters.
“They’re doing pretty well. They’re young, all of them are first-year linemen,” McCaulley said. “We have to get our blocks down; we’ve been working on that.”
Ball security also will be crucial.
“As long as we don’t turn the ball over . . . we should be fine,” McCaulley said.
Pateros is coming off a 62-28 win over Selkirk.
The Billygoats faced a tough schedule, their three losses coming to fourth-ranked Republic, Odessa/Harrington and Entiat, all of which are in the 8-man football state playoffs.
The game will be broadcast on Forks Radio 1490 AM and online at www.forks1490.com.
Quilcene vs. Twin Valley
ABERDEEN — The Quilcene football team will seek what school athletic director Mark Thompson believes would be the first state playoff victory in school history when it takes on the Twin Valley Wolfpack at Stewart Field in Aberdeen at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Picking up a historic win at the storied venue is possible for the Rangers (7-2) if they stick to what has gotten them to this point: a power rushing offense and an opportunistic, play-making defense.
Senior Colten Pol is the workhorse out of the offensive backfield for Quilcene with 1,641 rushing yards, 184 receiving yards and 25 total touchdowns on the season.
Pol’s lead blocker on most of those runs, fullback Triston Williams, has more than 400 yards rushing himself.
Junior quarterback Eli Harrison has grown into a leadership role for the Rangers, providing a calming presence on the field and on the sideline.
He also has racked up nine interceptions from his free safety position on defense.
Junior Nate Weller anchors the offensive and defensive lines for Quilcene.
The Rangers and Twin Valley, a first-year combination of Lake Quinault and Wishkah Valley, share three common opponents on the season, two of them state qualifiers in Lopez and Evergreen Lutheran.
Quilcene opened the season with a 64-20 loss to Lopez and Twin Valley had similar trouble in a 54-14 loss to the Lobos.
Both teams dispatched Mary M. Knight with ease, the Rangers taking down the Owls 52-14 and the Wolfpack winning big 56-6.
The one outlier among the common opponents is Evergreen Lutheran.
In its season opener, Twin Valley tripped up Evergreen Lutheran 28-18 while Quilcene was blown out 54-14 by the Eagles later in the season.
Saturday’s winner will advance to face the Neah Bay-Pateros victor in next weekend’s 1B quarterfinals.
