Week 9 prep football preview: GSL 2A showdown moves north; last 3A postseason spot up for grabs
It is Week 9 and there are still postseason spots to fill in the Greater Spokane League in the upper division and the in the 2As. It’s all you can ask for to have a competitive league.
As a result of Gonzaga Prep’s win over Mead on Friday, the 4A bids to the postseason are set – Gonzaga Prep is the top seed to the Round of 32, Mead is No. 2 and Lewis and Clark will face the Mid-Columbia Conference’s third-place team on Tuesday in the play-in game.
Here’s where things are still unsettled.
The 3As get two spots, and Central Valley clinched the top seed with its overtime win over Shadle Park on Friday. The Highlanders are tied with Mt. Spokane for the second spot, and hold the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Wildcats as a result of their Week 2 win.
All Shadle has to do is win and they are in, although they play the wounded Panthers. Mt. Spokane has to beat Cheney and Shadle lose for the Wildcats – who started the season 0-4 – to claim a bid to the Round of 32.
In 2A, undefeated West Valley and Clarkston have sewn up the first two postseason berths. As somewhat of a surprise, the league found out last week that it was allocated three spots in the Round of 32. That last berth comes down to one game – the winner of Rogers at Deer Park will move on.
It’s an intriguing game. Rogers is trying to make the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time in forever, while the Stags look to advance in their first year after moving up in classification.
Let’s take a closer look at all the Week 9 matchups.
All games Friday 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted.
Game of the week
Rogers (5-3, 3-2) at Deer Park (5-3, 3-2): The Pirates last week used two quarterbacks and several running backs, but the one big constant was junior receiver/kicker Alex Peabody, who accounted for 23 of Rogers’ points in a 41-7 win over East Valley. Rogers coach Ryan Cole thinks Peabody could challenge for league MVP next year.
The Stags have benefited from large doses of running back Shaun Naccarato – he had a 300-plus yard game earlier this season – and have the additional benefit of playing the game in front of their new home grandstand and press box.
GSL 4A/3A
Mead (7-1) at Shadle Park (4-4): Friday 8 p.m. at ONE Spokane Stadium. The Highlanders gave Central Valley all it wanted and more in last week’s overtime thriller and have to bounce right back against another tough opponent – one that might be looking to reassert itself after a close loss in a battle of unbeatens last week.
Mt. Spokane (4-4) at Cheney (2-6): Give the Wildcats credit. The started the season with a four-game losing streak (CV, Shadle, G-Prep, Mead) before reeling off four straight wins to get themselves back into contention. Quarterback Ryker Tweedy probably played his best game of the season in a win over Ridgeline last week, despite a couple of picks.
Central Valley (6-2) at Lewis and Clark (5-3): Thursday 7 p.m. at ONE Spokane Stadium. Folks are starting to notice the Tigers – they were the recipients of several votes in this week’s state media poll. Junior QB Ben Conklin has thrown for 300 yards-plus each of the last three weeks.
University (1-7) at Gonzaga Prep (8-0): The Bullpups are just looking to stay healthy this week while trying to complete an undefeated season.
Ridgeline (3-5) at Ferris (0-8): Friday 5 p.m., ONE Spokane Stadium. It’s the last league game for the Falcons’ record-setting tandem of QB Landon Garner and receiver Brayden Allen, who has 71 catches for 1,039 yards and 17 touchdowns this season.
GSL 2A
East Valley (2-6, 1-4) at West Valley (8-0, 5-0): A rivalry game to end the regular season, with the Eagles playing for an undefeated season and school league sweep – each of West Valley’s five team sports could finish the regular season with no league losses.
North Central (1-7, 0-5) at Clarkston (5-3, 4-1): The Wolfpack has one more shot at a league win this season, but it’s a long road to go – literally – for the season finale.
Nonleague
Pullman (2-6) at Riverside (2-6): Two similar teams playing out the string in a nonleague contest to end the season.
Others
Lakeside (3-4, 2-0) at Colville (4-4, 2-0): The district gets two 1A bids to the Round of 32, so both teams will move on. The Eagles had a rough go of it earlier in the season playing mostly bigger schools in their nonleague schedule and would like nothing more than to run their string of league titles to four.
Asotin (8-0, 5-0) at Northwest Christian (6-1, 4-1) : Saturday 5 p.m. at Gonzaga Prep. Looking for something to do Saturday night? Head out to Gonzaga Prep where two of the top 2B schools in the state face off in the regular-season finale.
If the sixth-ranked Crusaders top the second-ranked Panthers, the Northeast 2B will have a three-way tie for first (with Freeman).