Day After Report: Week 8
Well, here we are. Week 8 is in the books. We had one result that completely changed the outlook of one league. Another league is real easy to figure out. And there is one league with one game left that is guaranteed to determine an outright league champion.
Thank God for football.
Here are the scenarios going into Week 9:
4A GSHL
Camas has clinched the top seed and at least a share of the league title. Will win the title outright with a win over Battle Ground.
Skyview and Union have clinched playoff spots. They play each other in Week 9. Winner is No. 2 and will host a Week 10 playoff game. The loser is No. 3 and will be on the road in Week 10. See? That was easy.
3A GSHL
Not so easy.
Several scenarios.
If Columbia River beats Mountain View, the Chieftains will be the league champions at 5-0.
If Mountain View beats Columbia River, the two will tie for the league title. But here’s another wrinkle. If that happens and Kelso beats Prairie, there will be a three-way tie for the league championship. All three teams would make the payoffs.
Some area officials have said in the past that they thought if there was a three-way tie for first place in either the 4A or 3A GSHLs and that all three teams would be going to the playoffs, then the seeding would be determined by a draw. However, on Saturday, two athletic directors told me they think there will a Monday tiebreaker because two teams will get home playoff games while the other team will open the playoffs on the road.
If there is a tiebreaker, the three teams would meet at a site to be determined to have a series of “mini-games,” played with overtime rules, with the teams starting at the 25-yard line.
We will keep you posted.
There also is a chance for a three-way tie for second place. If River beats Mountain View and Prairie tops Kelso, then Mountain View, Kelso, and Prairie would all be at 3-2. Then those three teams would meet in a tiebreaker for the final two postseason berths.
If Mountain View wins and Prairie wins, then Mountain View would get the top seed, River would be No. 2, and Prairie would be No. 3 — no Monday playoff necessary. In this case, Mountain View and River would both be 4-1, but the Thunder get the head-to-head tiebreaker. Prairie and Kelso would each be 3-2, with Prairie getting the head-to-head edge.
The final scenario would be a River win and a Kelso win, making the standings look like this: 5-0, 4-1, 3-2 for River, Kelso, Mountain View. No real math needed there.
2A GSHL
Mark Morris has clinched the top seed.
Ridgefield is in at No. 2.
Hockinson will be No. 3 with a win over Washougal or a R.A. Long loss to Mark Morris.
Trico League
It’s as if the schedule-maker knew all along. La Center. Woodland. Be there. Both teams 7-0 in league play. The game is for the championship.
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Now for some quick notes from Week 8:
SKYVIEW 42, BATTLE GROUND 7
The Storm scored three touchdowns in the second quarter to take command.
UNION 34, EVERGREEN 0
Titans have no problem in final tune-up before Week 9 showdown with Skyview.
No looking back: Columbian photographer Steven Lane had an excellent shot of Skyview wide receiver Daniel Thompson looking back over his shoulder as he raced to a 45-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
We used that photo as our “lead,” and our assistant Sports editor Tim Martinez came up with the catchy headline “No looking back for Skyview.”
Thompson, on Saturday via Twitter, thought it was funny because he was looking back yet the headline said no looking back. Perhaps Tim Martinez knew what I knew, Daniel.
Yes, on that play, you looked back for a split second, but for the season, Skyview has not lived in the past. Just forward thinking from the Storm.
Camas beat Skyview in Week 5, meaning Skyview no longer controlled its own destiny in the race for the Class 4A Greater St. Helens League championship. When Camas then beat Union in Week 7, that took away any shot of a three-way tie for first place. Camas grabbed the No. 1 seed with a win this week, and unless something really surprising happens in Week 9, Camas will win the league title outright, with either Skyview or Union in second place.
“When we found out we weren’t going to win league, we just said state is the next step,” senior lineman Grant Vargo said. “League was out of the question, but we still have to go big.”
“We have to prove ourselves still,” added junior defensive back Grant Stumpf.
No looking back, indeed. If a team loses one league game, the season is not lost.
Thompson shines: Of course, we understand if Thompson wants to look back on this game at least one more time. He was dominant with his three touches. The wide receiver had three catches for 111 yards. Two went for touchdowns and his other catch set up a touchdown.
Thompson and Skyview quarterback Jordan Berni took advantage of soft coverage for the first touchdown. Thompson said the coaches noticed the Battle Ground defensive backs giving too much of a cushion for the speedy Thompson. So they called the perfect play.
Berni passed to Thompson down the line of scrimmage, giving time for the linemen to get ahead of Thompson. With no defender around him, Thompson was able to get up to top speed in a hurry.
“I just followed my linemen,” Thompson said.
Easy touchdown for a 7-0 lead.
His second catch made it 28-0 with 19 seconds left in the second quarter. Berni found Thompson open toward the sideline around the 10-yard line. Thompson hit the brakes, allowing his defender to fly right by him. (Top Gun move, by the way. Maverick would be proud.) Thompson then was able to get going again, ran the next eight yards before diving into the end zone.
Berni’s best pass of the night was a post to Thompson in the third quarter that went for 45 yards to the Battle Ground 12-yard line. Two plays later, Berni ran in for a score.
Another shout-out to Kevin Haynes: With Battle Ground missing its starting quarterback, everybody in the stadium knew Kevin Haynes would see the ball a lot. Sure enough, lining up in a Wildcat formation for much of the night, Haynes carried the ball 23 times. And even though the defense was set up just to stop him, he still managed 85 yards. Not his greatest game, but still an amazing feat considering the circumstances. Skyview coach Steve Kizer wanted to make sure Haynes knew how much respect his defense has for him.
Evening downpour: It rained all over Clark County, even into the 7 p.m. games. But on the east side of Vancouver, it really started pouring right at 5 o’clock, kickoff for the Union-Evergreen game at McKenzie Stadium.
The rain was probably to blame for the 15 fumbles in the game. Most of the mishandles came on center-to-quarterback snaps. The Plainsmen put the ball on the turf 10 times, but lost possession only twice. Union fumbled five times, losing possession twice in the first quarter.
Points were hard to come by for a while: Union reached the Evergreen 8-, 7-, and 23-yard lines on its first three possessions but came away without points. The Titans lost two fumbles and were held on downs once. After being shut out a week earlier by Camas, it had to be frustrating.
The defense came up big, though. A fumble return by Kevin Grimsted on the first play of the second quarter put the Titans on the scoreboard. Then a blocked punt by Paul Gladkov set up a 7-yard score for Leon Siofele to make it 14-0.
The marching band refused to yield: Evergreen was called for unsportsmanlike conduct when halftime festivities went long. Way long. We were told it was approximately 28 minutes.
…
Skyview and Union are 3-1 going into Week 9’s game at Kiggins. Winner plays a home playoff game in Week 10. Loser is on the road.
“Union’s a great program, but I have faith in our coaches,” Vargo said.
Union coach Cale Piland is looking forward to the challenge.
“It’s become a pretty good rivalry between the two schools,” Piland said. “I know they’ll have a good plan going in. Their kids will be ready.”
For what it’s worth, Skyview managed 17 points in a 42-17 loss to first-place Camas. Union had a better defensive night against the Papermakers but could get nothing going on offense in a 22-0 loss to Camas.
The Union-Skyview series is tied 2-2. The Titans won non-league games in 2008 and 2009. Skyview beat Union in Week 9 in both 2010 and 2011 to win the 4A GSHL title.
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CAMAS 55, HERITAGE 21
Papermakers remain undefeated.
Hello champs: Perhaps it was anti-climactic. After all, Camas beat Skyview in Week 5 and Union in Week 7. So it was pretty much a done deal that the Papermakers were going to take the top seed from the 4A GSHL. Well, now it’s official.
With the win over the Timberwolves, Camas improved to 4-0 in league with one week to play. The worst they can do is tie for a league title, and they have already clinched the No. 1 seed. That’s three league titles in a row for the Papermakers, who won the past two 3A GSHL titles before moving to 4A.
Everything working for Camas: Defense. Offense. You name it.
Here’s what the Camas defense did in the first half against Heritage:
First drive: Colton Dowd intercepts pass on third play.
Second drive: Six plays, 11 net yards. There was a quarterback sack in there.
Third drive: One first down, then a third-down sack and a punt.
Fourth drive: Michael DiGenova intercepts a pass on a fake punt.
Fifth drive: Four-and-out, loss of downs.
Sixth drive: Zach Eagle intercepts a pass on the first play, returns it 36 yards to the Heritage 3-yard line.
Seventh drive: Jay Allen rushes for a couple of first downs for Heritage, but half ends on a fourth-down sack.
And here are Camas’ scoring drives:
Two plays, 32 yards.
Six plays, 31 yards.
Eleven plays, 72 yards, three third-down conversions on passes of 16, 14, and 13 yards.
Two plays, 18 yards.
One play, 3 yards.
Three plays, 22 yards.
Six plays, 47 yards.
Kicking game, too: In case you are wondering, Camas kicker Roldan Alcobendas did not miss an extra point. After the Papermakers third touchdown, trouble with the snap prevented him from kicking.
Part of the frustration for Heritage was that the always dangerous Tim Hergert did not have a chance to return a kickoff because Alcobendas kept booting the ball to the back of – or out of – the end zone.
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KELSO 14, MOUNTAIN VIEW 12
Hilanders make enough plays to stun the Thunder.
Weird: Mountain View outgained Kelso 404 yards to 199. However, the Thunder could not convert in the red zone. They were inside the Kelso 10-yard-line three times and came away with nothing on those drives.
“Where are we? We are in the twilight zone,” Mountain View coach Adam Mathieson said. “Our kids battled. It was just one thing after another. Just one of those nights.”
What does it mean?: This result gave Columbia River at least a share of the league title. Mountain View can still get the top seed going into the playoffs but cannot win the league title outright. Had Mountain View won Friday, it would have set up two 4-0 teams for the league title in Week 9. Instead, Columbia River can win the title outright with a victory.
And if you read the top of this report, you know all the scenarios.
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PRAIRIE 72, FORT VANCOUVER 0
COLUMBIA RIVER 62, HUDSON’S BAY 0
Anyone remember Bob Uecker’s character in Major League? Harry Doyle, the play-by-play man for the Cleveland Indians? Remember how upset he was with what was happening on the field early in the movie? Yeah. let’s just move on.
Congrats: The Columbia River Chieftains opened the season 1-3 in the non-league schedule. Well, they’ve survived two down-to-the-wire league games and got two victories over Fort and Bay to reach 4-0. That’s at least a share of a league championship. Congrats to Prairie, too, for still being in the playoff hunt. If the Falcons beat Kelso in Week 9, at the very least they will be in a tiebreaker.
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RIDGEFIELD 55, R.A. LONG 27
Spudders have clinched No. 2 seed in 2A GSHL.
Welcome back: Michael Knox, who had a strong season in 2011, missed much of this season. Well, he did not miss Friday night. He rushed for 170 yards and four touchdowns and also caught a TD pass.
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HOCKINSON 36, ABERDEEN 7
Hawks look to clinch third seed with win in Week 9.
All-around game: Austen Johnson rushed for 102 yards, had 88 yards receiving, and scored three times to lead Hockinson.
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LA CENTER 35, TOLEDO 32
A game as good as the scores indicates.
Call it a comeback: The Wildcats trailed by 12 and did not have the ball with five minutes left in the game. But a fumble recovery set up one touchdown, and an onside kick recovery set up another. Just like that, La Center remained unbeaten.
La Center (8-0, 7-0 Trico League) will take on Woodland (7-1, 7-0) for the Trico title in Week 9.
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WOODLAND 34, WHITE SALMON 0
Beavers win big, even if they were looking ahead to Week 9.
League title on the line: The Beavers are looking for their first league title since 2007, when they won the 2A GSHL. It would mark a remarkable turnaround, too. Woodland was 0-9 in 2010.
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SETON CATHOLIC 21, KALAMA 20
SETON CATHOLIC 21, KALAMA 20
SETON CATHOLIC 21, KALAMA 20
SETON CATHOLIC 21, KALAMA 20
SETON CATHOLIC 21, KALAMA 20
That’s not a mistake, listing the score so many times. I figure when a team wins its first varsity football game in school history, it deserves more than one mention of the score.
More to come?: Erik Powell scored the game-tying touchdown on a pass from Will Noce-Sheldon with 30 seconds left, then Powell kicked the extra point for the win. Hope to talk to some of the Cougars this week for a possible column.
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That’s it for this week. Thanks to Paul Danzer for extra notes. Hope to have the statistics updated by Monday evening. Will let you know.
Oh, and while it was not a pretty win, you all should celebrate with me that the Raiders won on Sunday. That’s really the only team that matters, right?
