State football: Newport, Colville do battle in 1A semifinals

The state football semifinal round is Saturday, and four area teams have a chance to qualify for the Gridiron Classic at the Tacoma Dome on Dec. 1.

1A

Two Northeast A teams have survived the playoff gantlet to reach Lions Field in Moses Lake for semifinal clashes.

In the early game, fifth-seeded Colville (9-2) takes on top-seeded Royal (12-0) at 1 p.m. The Indians cruised through league play undefeated and avenged a Week 2 loss to Meridian with a 42-22 win over the Trojans (8-4) last week in a quarterfinal.

In that game, Grant Michaliszyn rushed for 119 yards with three touchdowns and John Knight threw two touchdown passes to Jake Lindquist – including a 74-yarder.

Royal, the No. 1-ranked team in 1A, has outscored its opponents 673-33 this season. The Knights are three-time state champions and have won 53 straight – including a 55-6 rout of Mount Baker in a state quarterfinal last week.

The last time Royal lost was Nov. 22, 2014 – to Colville.

In the 4 p.m. game, 10th-seeded Newport (10-1) faces sixth-seeded Lynden Christian (10-2).

Newport used a crushing defense to edge Zillah 7-6 in last week’s quarterfinal. Adam Moorhead’s second-quarter 30-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Kirkwood stood up as the difference. The Grizzlies’ only loss of the season came on Oct. 12, 28-7 to Colville.

The Lyncs have only two blemishes to their record – back-to-back midseason losses to Meridian and Mount Baker. Lynden Christian topped Hoquiam 45-6 last week to reach the semis.

1B

The two best 8-man teams in the state play in the same division of the same league. Both have semifinal matchups on Saturday at the Apple Bowl in Wenatchee to determine if they’ll face each other for a state title.

Top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Odessa (12-0) – the Northeast 1B South Division champ – plays fifth-seeded Quilcene (11-0) at 4 p.m. The Tigers averaged 78.5 points this season.

Odessa routed eighth-seeded Neah Bay 71-8 in a quarterfinal last week as Pilot Weishaar had 11 carries for 237 yards with five touchdowns. The Tigers put up 44 points in the first quarter.

Quilcene edged fourth-seeded Sunnyside Christian 54-50 in a quarterfinal clash.

In the early game, second-seeded and No. 2-ranked Almira/Coulee-Hartline (11-1) takes on third-seeded Naselle (9-1) at 1 p.m. ACH and Naselle’s only losses were to Odessa.

In last week’s quarterfinal, ACH routed seventh-seeded Crescent 100-16. Maguire Isaak had five carries for 151 yards with three touchdowns and added a passing touchdown, while Hayden Loomis added 132 yards on five carries with three touchdowns and a 65-yard interception return for a score.

Naselle handled sixth-seeded Lyle/Wishram 69-38 in its quarterfinal matchup last week.