Week 9 football preview: Prairie vs. Battle Ground

When, where: 7 p.m. Friday at District Stadium, Battle Ground HS (non-league game).

Last meeting: Prairie won 49-13 on Oct. 29, 2010.

PRAIRIE (5-3)

Last week: beat Kelso 49-0.

Players to watch: QB Colin Seitz 106-161, 1740 yards, 25 TDs; WR Ansel Cecil 35-668, 13 TDs; WR/RB Jesse Zalk 28-585 receiving, 8 TDs; 40-300 rushing, 3 TDs.

Notes: This game has no bearing on Prairie’s playoff position. The Falcons have to wait for the Mountain View-Columbia River game to decide their playoff future. A Mountain View win gives Prairie the No. 3 seed to the 3A state preliminary round. A River win would force a three-way tiebreaker to decide the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds to the playoffs. … Seitz has thrown almost twice as many TD passes as the next highest QB in the region, and Seitz missed two games this season with a concussion. … Zalk has almost 900 yards from scrimmage this season. He also plays defensive back, punts and returns kicks. … Not known for its defense, Prairie has held opponents to 9 points or fewer in its five wins this season.

BATTLE GROUND (4-4)

Last week: lost to Heritage 21-20 in OT.

Players to watch: QB Ian Humphrey 47-104, 824 yards, 9 TDs; RB Tyler Bergeron 83-621, 4 TDs; RB Trevor Ingram 63-444 rushing, 6 TDs; 15-268 receiving, 3 TDs; WR Kevin Haynes 12-271, 3 TDs.

Notes: The Tigers look to get Humphrey back at full strength after missing last week’s game with flu-like symptoms. … Battle Ground must hope Evergreen beats Heritage to keep its postseason hopes alive. … Battle Ground is looking for its first winning season since 2003. … Ingram came up big in the second half last week, rushing for 137 of his 138 yards. … The Tigers have lost three in a row since a 4-1 start.

Bottom line: Nothing but pride and bragging rights at stake in this one. But that’s enough motivation. Battle Ground needs to control the ball to keep Prairie’s offense off the field.

Columbian’s pick: Prairie.

Fans’ pick: Battle Ground (60 percent).