Northeast 1B South powerhouses to square off for 1B title

COULEE CITY — For Almira/Coulee-Hartline (ACH) to repeat as Class 1B state champions it will have to do something it hasn’t done since 2015.

Beat Odessa.

Saturday’s championship game is a rivalry rematch between the two Northeast 1B South powerhouses. Odessa is the undefeated No. 1 seed and Almira/Coulee-Hartline is the one-loss No. 2. Naturally, the Warriors’ only defeat came against Odessa on Oct. 4.

It’s about as familiar of a final game as can be.

“Oh yeah,” ACH head coach Brandon Walsh said. “There’s no secrets. I’m sure they’ve added a wrinkle or two in preparation for us.”

What seemed like an inevitable rematch was solidified after the pair bounded through the state quarter and semifinals. The Warriors scored 13 touchdowns in their school-record romp over Crescent, 100-16, before dismantling No. 2 Naselle 82-28. Odessa was also offered little resistance on its way to the Tacoma Dome, outscoring opponents in its first two playoff games 136-14.

The playoff seeding committee certainly knew who the two best 1B teams were.

“It’s pretty cool ... It speaks well for our league,” Walsh said. “We’re proud of what we do and Odessa is too, rightfully so.”

ACH will need to stop — OK, never mind — slow down Odessa running back Marcus King. The Tigers run a veer, read option style offense and King is the focal point. King gashed the Warriors for 204 yards and four touchdowns during the regular season, and he’s showed no signs of regression.

King had seven total touchdowns in the two previous state playoff games, including a five-TD effort in the semifinals against Quilcene.

“It’s going to take a great team effort tackling wise to wrangle him,” Walsh said. “He’s such a hard runner.”

Despite the lack of recent success against Odessa, ACH is no stranger to beating great teams when it counts. In 2015, the Warriors shrugged off a Week 1 loss to Liberty Christian and stunned the undefeated Patriots in the state semifinals 82-70 en route to a victory over Lummi Nation in the championship game. Last season, the Warriors didn’t let a Week 1 loss to Sunnyside Christian affect them on their way to a record-setting championship win against those same Knights, 84-60.

“The goal is to peak in Week 14, if we can get there,” Walsh said.

ACH is there.

They’ll know how high the peak is come Saturday.