Greater Spokane League champ Central Valley leads teams into playoff battles

All the football playoff seeds are set and the games get underway this weekend. Here’s a look ahead to the matchups of first-round games in Washington and quarterfinals in Idaho.

4A GSL-MCC playoffs

MCC No. 3 Hanford (5-4) at GSL No. 1 Central Valley (7-1), Friday at 7 p.m.: Central Valley earned its first outright Greater Spokane League 4A title since 2008, finishing undefeated in league for the first time since 1995. CV, which finished ranked eighth in the final state poll, averaged 39.3 points and gave up only 16.1. The Bears are led by tandem runners Hunter Chodorowski (647 yards, eight TDs) and Ryan Harper (7.66 per carry, four TDs). QB Grant Hannan is dual-threat signal-caller, with 273 yards rushing and 1,213 passing yards with 12 TDs. Hanford, the Mid-Columbia Conference No. 3 seed, gave up an average of 21.4 points, so it has a chore to shut down CV.

MCC No. 2 Chiawana (7-2) at GSL No. 2 Gonzaga Prep (7-2), Friday at 7 p.m.: Gonzaga Prep, ranked ninth in state, lost only to CV in league, averaging 41.9 points for and 17.7 against. Connor Halonen is a run-first quarterback with 808 yards (9.62 per carry) and five TDs. Halonen has options though: Kasey Anthony has 13 touchdowns with 597 rushing yards, while Washington Huskies commit Devon Culp has 560 yards on 47 carries, a 11.91 average. Chiawana outscored its opponents 326-97, although it did lose to 3A Kamiakin 26-20, which is no slouch.

GSL No. 3 Mead (5-5) at MCC No. 1 Richland (9-0), Friday at 7 p.m.: Mead earned its spot in the playoffs with a dramatic win on Tuesday in a three-way tiebreaker. The Panthers use a balanced attack and when GSL-leading passer Ryan Chan is on, he can light it up. He threw for 1,558 yards this season with 18 TDs, but also threw 14 picks. His favorite receiver is speedster Joe Heitman with 42 catches for 587 yards with seven TDs, while Kannon Katzer handles the running duties, finishing third in the league with 776 yards. The Bombers beat up their foes 397-83 and finished ranked second in the state. Richland routed Hanford 50-0 in its last game. Five players scored touchdowns and Cade Jensen threw for five TDs.

3A Week 10 playoffs

Metro Mountain No. 2 Bishop Blanchet (7-2) at GSL No. 1 Mt. Spokane (7-2), Saturday at Albi at 3 p.m.: The Wildcats, ranked 10th in state 3A, averaged 33.8 points and gave up just 12.7, finishing undefeated in league play. Brady Hill was fourth in the league in all-purpose yardage with 950 passing yards and 278 rushing yards. He threw eight TD passes and had five touchdown carries. The Wildcats allowed the fewest yards per game (247.2) in the league. Bishop Blanchet lost its first two games then ran the table, outscoring its opponents 264-153. Joey Riley has thrown for 1,342 yards with 19 touchdown passes.

GSL No. 3 Shadle Park (4-5) at Metro Mountain No. 4 O’Dea (7-1), Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Seattle at 3 p.m.: The Highlanders won a play-in game over Kennewick on Tuesday to earn a trip across the state. Xavier Wicks is a physical runner and amassed 852 yards – second in the league – on 151 carries with six TDs. Quarterback Connor Doyle was fifth in the league in passing with 915 yards and six TD passes. O’Dea, ranked second in 3A, has given up 96 points in eight games, an average of 12.0. Jamyn Patu has rushed for 1,259 with 17 touchdowns.

2A CWAC-GNL crossovers

GNL No. 2 Pullman (5-3) at CWAC No. 3 Prosser (7-2), Friday at 7 p.m.: Pullman lost to both West Valleys (Spokane, Yakima) in the middle of the season but closed with wins over Cheney and East Valley to secure the second seed to the crossovers. Jed Byers and TJ Newman form a formidable rushing duo, combining for six TDs in the last two games. Prosser comes in on a five-game win streak, allowing opponents more than 14 points just once in the run.

CWAC No. 4 Ephrata (6-3) at GNL No. 1 West Valley (9-0), Friday at 7 p.m.: The Eagles were runaway league champs, outscoring their opponents by an average of 35.3-11.9. Blake Transue is a prolific passer and good runner, accounting for 297 yards of total offense in a win over Shadle Park earlier this season. He’s also thrown for four TDs twice this season. West Valley has put up 28-plus points in eight of nine games. Ephrata can pout points on the board (302 in nine games, 33.5 average) but also gives them up, allowing 27 per game.

1A NEA-CTL crossovers

NEA No. 3 Freeman (6-3) at CTL No. 2 Cashmere (6-3), Friday at 6 p.m.: The Scotties started out 5-1 but were shut out in back-to-back games by Colville and Newport before rebounding with a 23-0 win over Riverside last week. When Freeman is going well, QB Desmond Parisotto and all-purpose stud Keegan Cottrell lead the way. Cashmere, second in the Caribou Trail League, started off 2-3 before winning its last four, including back-to-back 40-plus point efforts.

CTL No. 3 Cascade (6-3) at NEA No. 2 Newport (7-1), Friday at 6 p.m.: Tenth-ranked Newport has just one blemish – a 28-14 loss to No. 5 Colville. The Grizzlies get it done on defense, pitching four shutouts this season and holding opponents to 16 points or less in seven of eight games. Do-everything Koa Pancho racked up 300 yards from scrimmage with three TDs in last week’s challenge against Deer Park. Cascade has lost two of its last three.

District 5/6/7 2B

Davenport (7-2) at Northwest Christian (5-4), Friday at 7 p.m.: The Gorillas have scored 38 or more points four times this season, while holding opponents to fewer than 14 in five contests. Davenport topped NWC last week in the teams’ regular season finale 41-27.

Colfax (6-3) at Asotin (6-3), Friday at 7 p.m.: Colfax plays excellent defense, allowing single-digit scoring in five of nine games, including two shutouts. The Bulldogs have put up 40-plus points in their last two games. Asotin has won four of five, including a 42-16 win over Wilbur-Creston last week. Colton Ball rushed for 144 yards with four touchdowns in that one.

Lind-Ritzville/Sprague (4-5) at Liberty (9-0), Friday at 7 p.m.: Liberty is the class of the Northeast 2B and is ranked second in the state. It hasn’t been held to fewer than 20 points and has put up games of 50, 42 and 41 points. LRS started out 1-5 but has reeled off three straight wins.

Idaho

Madison (7-3) at Coeur d’Alene (7-2), Friday at 7 p.m.: The Vikings, tied with Mountain View for the top rank in state, host a 5A quarterfinal game. UW commit Colson Yankoff is one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the country, and he has plenty of other choices. Caleb Beggerly ran for 152 yards with four TDs on just 12 carries in CdA’s dominant 59-29 win over then-undefeated Post Falls on Oct. 20. Tight end Cole Ramseyer, committed to Boise State, had eight catches for 126 yards with two scores. The Vikings averaged 43.2 points and their defense got better as the season wore on, allowing 18 points or less in four of their last six games.

Middleton (7-3) at Sandpoint (3-6), Friday at 7 p.m.: A 4A quarterfinal game. Jaxon Pettite threw for 337 yards with five touchdowns when visiting Sandpoint knocked off Moscow 47-32 on Oct. 20.

Kellogg (6-2) at Gooding (8-1), Saturday at 12 p.m.: A 3A quarterfinal game. The Wildcats enter on a three-game winning streak. Gooding is ranked third in the state.

St. Maries (5-4) at West Side (7-2), Friday at 4 p.m. at Kibbie Dome: The Lumberjacks entered the playoffs limping, having lost their last two regular-season games. But they went down to McCall and surprised McCall-Donnelly in a 2A first-round game last week. West Side is ranked fourth in the state.