GRIDIRON GOALS: Local teams prepare for state football playoffs

COLUMBIA BASIN — State football playoffs have arrived, and four teams from across the Columbia Basin are preparing for games on Friday and Saturday.

Almira/Coulee-Hartline

The Warriors will make their seventh-straight postseason appearance when they take the field against No. 11 seed Concrete on Saturday, aiming for a deep playoff run after winning the 1B title two seasons ago.

ACH finished the regular season 8-2 and was given the No. 6 seed in the 1B State Football Tournament, having hosting privileges against Concrete. After a loss to fellow state-qualifier Wilbur-Creston-Keller on Oct. 13, the Warriors won their last three games of the regular season; including a 50-8 win over Waterville-Mansfield in the Week 10 Crossover.

    ACH freshman Max Grindy, left, and junior Grayson Beal, right, celebrate after a touchdown against Liberty Bell.
  

There are three teams in the 1B state playoffs that ACH has played this year; No. 1 Liberty Bell (64-34 loss), No. 2 WCK (50-30 loss) and No. 8 Wellpinit (40-14 win).

For the 6-3 Lions, a 64-0 win against Oakville in last week’s crossover punched Concrete’s ticket to the state tournament, finishing the regular season as the winners of three of their final four games.

Kickoff between the Lions and Warriors is Saturday at 1 p.m. at Lions Field in Moses Lake.

    ACH sophomore Brady Roberts (21) returns a kickoff for a touchdown against Liberty Bell on Sept. 16. The Warriors have already played three teams that made the 1B State Football Tournament.
  

Ephrata

The Tigers had a bye for the final week of the regular season, having earned a berth in the 2A State Football Playoffs after winning the Central Washington Athletic Conference title with a 13-0 win over Ellensburg on Oct. 27. Ephrata earned a No. 13 seed in the 2A playoffs, setting up a road matchup against No. 4 North Kitsap. 

North Kitsap enters the postseason with a 9-1 mark, winning their past eight games. The Vikings’ lone loss this year was to now-No. 1 seed Tumwater, a 34-14 contest Sept. 8. The Vikings, who won the Olympic league this season, have outscored their opponents 343-70 during their eight-game win streak.

    Ephrata senior Hans Roberts slips past the East Valley (Yakima) defense during a game against the Red Devils on Sept. 22.
  

Ephrata is back in the playoffs for the second straight season, finishing the regular season 6-3. In the 2022 2A State Football Playoffs, the No. 15 seed Tigers nearly defeated No. 2 W.F. West, falling 29-28.

Kickoff between the Tigers and Vikings is at 1 p.m. Saturday.

    Ephrata senior Walker Fulk, left, and sophomore Brady Hendrick, right, celebrate after Fulk intercepted a pass against East Valley (Yakima).
  

Othello

The No. 14 Huskies have a rematch on the schedule in the first round of the 2A State Football Playoffs, traveling to No. 3 Enumclaw on Saturday. Othello and the Hornets met in last season’s 2A playoff quarterfinals, with Enumclaw winning 20-17.

After a 1-2 start to the year, Othello won its final six games of the regular season, outscoring its opponents 230-97 during that stretch. A 45-43 game against Prosser was a key win for the Huskies, allowing them to earn the CWAC’s second state bid after finishing the year with a 5-1 record in the league.

    Othello senior Alex Mendez, in red, stiff-arms a Kelso defender.
  

On the opposite sideline, the undefeated Hornets are coming off a 77-0 win over Sammamish in the Week 10 Crossover to earn their berth to state. Enumclaw is averaging 46.4 points per game, and its defense has shut out opponents in half of its games.

Kickoff is at 1 p.m. Saturday at Enumclaw Stadium.

    The Othello defense has held opponents to 16.6 points per game during its six-game win streak.
  

Royal

The quest for a fourth-straight state championship begins Friday afternoon for the No. 1 seed Royal Knights, who host No. 16 Eatonville in a rematch of the 2021 1A state title game; a game Royal won 41-0.

Royal remains unbeaten as they enter the playoffs, completing the regular season with a 9-0 record after defeating Naches Valley 42-0 in the Week 10 Crossover to advance to state. Quarterback Lance Allred completed 18 of 21 passes for 352 yards and four touchdowns in the win over the Rangers, adding another touchdown and 23 yards on the ground. 

    The Royal defensive line gets into the backfield against Othello on Sept. 8.
  

Eatonville is 6-4, recently narrowly defeating Castle Rock 15-14 in its crossover game after finishing in second place in the Evergreen 1A league. The Cruisers won their final three games of the regular season to get into the playoffs, defeating Elma 44-0, Hoquiam 40-0 and Castle Rock last week.

Kickoff is at 4 p.m. Friday at Royal.