Six area teams aim for semis
When the Colville Indians play in the State 2A football quarterfinals Saturday, they will meet Tumwater and coach Sid Otton, the winningest high school coach in state history.
The Indians (11-0) are one of six area teams still alive in the state playoffs. In tonight’s games, Northeast 2B teams Reardan (10-0) and Davenport (9-1) seek to advance to the state semifinals, while Odessa faces St. John-Endicott in 1B.
On Saturday, Colville plays Tumwater at Albi Stadium and Gonzaga Prep will host Eastlake in a 4A quarterfinal.
4A: G-Prep foe Eastlake is a spread offense passing team that will test one of the state’s best defenses.
Lanky 6-foot-3 quarterback Ryan Robertson completed 136 of 235 passes for 2,092 yards and 20 touchdowns during the regular season. His favorite target was Justin Helwege, who had 46 catches for 880 yards and 10 scores.
Tanor Johnson, a quarterback/receiver, added 33 receptions for 478 yards. At QB he gained 137 rushing yards and finished with 10 touchdowns.
Running back Dane Steel complements the attack. He gained 730 yards on 152 carries and scored 12 TDs, and also had 16 catches for 162 yards and another score. Taylor Lappano, whose dad Tim is a G-Prep graduate, added 364 rushing yards.
“We’ve got to do a good job of disrupting their offense and not letting them get in a rhythm,” said Bullpups coach Dave Carson. “At this point we know what to do, but can we stop it?”
2A: Tumwater’s Otton is in his 39th year of coaching high school football, including four years at Colfax ending in 1973.
Otton has won more than 70 percent of his games and four State 3A titles at Tumwater and is approaching 290 wins. The Thunderbirds, now 2A because of reclassification, are 10-1 and have scored 40 or more points in seven of their wins.
Tumwater beat Steilacoom 55-7 last weekend behind the rushing of twins Zach and Matt Johnson, who combined for 254 yards and four touchdowns, all coming in the first half.
The Thunderbirds are from the Evergreen Conference, which had four state qualifiers. Tumwater, Centralia and W.F. West of Chehalis are still playing.
B: With reclassification, Reardan coach Eric Nikkola said this year’s 2B final eight is extremely strong.
The Indians’ foe, La Salle, poses a stern test tonight for the defending 2B champions.
Unbeaten in 11 games, the Lightning are led by running backs Lawrence Cacchiotti, who gained 226 yards and scored three times in a victory last week over DeSales, and Mike Vetter.
“No one has stopped their two running backs,” Nikkola said, “and they have a big front line. It’s got me nervous, to be honest with you.”
Reardan is comfortable defending the Wing T offense, Nikkola added, and his team has good running back in Jon Jayne and Jacob Ferderer.
Davenport (9-1) faces an Asotin team that has won seven straight games since opening with three losses. Included was a 14-13 win over Lind-Ritzville last week. Both teams have multifaceted offenses, the Gorillas’ led by Cory Christman.
St. John-Endicott and Odessa (both 10-1) have taken turns ranked at the top among 1B 8-man teams at various times during the season.