Story Photos
 Andrew Moenck dives to try to block a W.F. West punt during last week's playoff game. Mark Morris hosts Blaine on Saturday. Bill Wagner / The Daily News
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Football playoffs: Monarchs happy to be home
Friday, November 14, 2008 2:21 PM PST
By Rick S. Alvord and Ben Zimmerman
Printable version
E-mail this articleFamiliar turf, familiar beds and mama’s home cooking. Sounds trivial when it comes to when and where a team plays in the high school state football playoffs. But as for the Mark Morris Monarchs, they’ll take all of the minor conveniences they can get their hands on.
“The kids are definitely excited to get to play on their home field and sleep in their own beds,” said Monarchs head coach Shawn Perkins, whose team earned the right to host Saturday’s Class 2A state first-round game against Blaine (3 p.m., KEDO-1400) by nabbing the No. 2 seed from the Southwest District.
“It’s sure a lot better than driving four or five hours to your playoff game, and not getting to sleep in your own bed. Plus, I think it has been a while since Longview has hosted a state playoff game, so everyone is pretty pumped up about that,” Perkins added. “Our kids are ready and up for the challenge. It should be a fun game.”
According to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) Web site, the last state playoff football game (not a qualifying game) held in Longview was on Nov. 20, 1987, when Lake Stevens shut out Mark Morris 43-0.
Perkins said he is looking forward to seeing how his Monarchs match up in the trenches against what appears to be a physical bunch of Borderites.
“I think it’ll be a good battle. It’ll come down to who can take control of both sides of the ball up front,” he said. “Offensively, they keep it simple and take what the defense gives them. The (Casey) McCabe kid does a nice job. He’s got over 1,000 yards, so that says something about their offensive line.”
The Monarchs are coming off a 23-14 victory at home against W.F. West in the Southwest 2A District crossover playoffs. The balanced Monarchs put the Bearcats away down the stretch when junior fullback Braydon Poole (14 carries, 94 yards) rumbled 32 yards to set up a clinching 5-yard touchdown run by wingback Travis Kinder (10 carries, 55 yards) with under two minutes remaining.
For the second straight year, Mark Morris was the lone Greater St. Helens League team to advance to state, as Hockinson, Woodland and R.A. Long each lost last week.
Here’s a glance at the five local teams involved in the Washington playoffs:
Napavine (8-2) vs. Toutle Lake (8-2)
What: 2B state first round
Where: Toutle
When: 7 p.m. Friday
At stake: Berth in state quarterfinals next weekend against Adna or Concrete.
Napavine snapshot: The Tigers are familiar foes for Toutle Lake. They beat the Ducks 27-10 in Toutle on Halloween. ... Napavine has won seven games in a row, the longest streak among the Central 2B League’s three state playoff teams. ... Tigers are ranked 10th in state. ... Napavine had the highest-scoring offense in the CBL at 36.6 ppg. ... Turnovers were a key factor in the first meeting between these teams, as Napavine scored a touchdown off a Ducks fumble and returned an interception for a TD. ... The Tigers held Toutle to a season-low 175 yards in that game. ... Napavine’s Willamette Fly offense is “a glorified Wing-T,” head coach Josh Fay told the Centralia Chronicle. ... The Tigers average 380 yards per game on offense.
Blaine (6-4) vs. Mark Morris (7-3)
What: 2A state first round
Where: Longview Memorial Stadium
When: Saturday, 3 p.m.
At stake: Berth in state quarterfinals next weekend against Interlake or Lynden.
Blaine snapshot: The Borderites went 4-4 in the 13-team Northwest 1A/2A/3A Conference, which included a 4-2 record against other Class 2A teams in league. ... Blaine was one of six teams in the league to hold opponents to an average or 20 points or fewer per game. ... The Borderites have not won a state playoff game since 1995, but are making their second consecutive state appearance for the first time in school history. ... Scored 33 unanswered points and did not allow any points by the South Whidbey offense in a 33-2 victory on Friday that clinched a state berth. ... Casey McCabe rushed for 198 yards and three touchdowns in the win. McCabe has rushed for more than 1,000 yards this season.
Orting (10-1) vs. Castle Rock (8-2)
What: 1A state first round
Where: Rocket Stadium, CR
When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
At stake: Berth in state quarterfinals next weekend against Kalama or Cascade Christian.
Orting snapshot: The Cardinals possessed far and away the most explosive offense in the Nisqually 1A/2B League, scoring 46.9 ppg. ... Orting, ranked sixth among Class 1A teams by The Associated Press, suffered its only loss of the season against Nisqually champ and fourth-ranked Cascade Christian, a possible second-round foe. ... The Cardinals have made 11 state appearances. Most recently, Orting lost to Montesano in the opening round of the ’07 playoffs. It also defeated Woodland in Round 1 of the 2A playoffs in 2005 before losing to Pullman. ... Grant Angle had 175 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 19 carries in Orting’s 38-7 rout of Lynden Christian in a Class 1A Tri-District playoff game on Tuesday. ... Offensively, Angle (132 carries, 1,044 yards, 12 TDs), Braden Cordes (66 carries, 642 yards, 14 TDs), quarterback Nick Wilkins (144-of-248, 1,971 yards, 21 TDs, 9 INTs), receiver Jesse Bechtold (53 catches, 534 yards, 7 TDs) and receiver Janssen Powers (35 catches, 629 yards, 5 TDs) lead the Cardinals.
Kalama (8-2) vs. Cascade Christian (9-1)
What: 1A state first round
Where: Sunset Chevy Stadium, Sumner
When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
At stake: Berth in state quarterfinals next weekend against Orting or Castle Rock.
Cascade Christian snapshot: This team ended Kalama’s playoff run in 2007, beating the Chinooks 7-0 at Sunset Chev. ... The Chinooks will get their second crack at Cougars quarterback Ben Johnson. He led CC to victory in last year’s meeting and threw for 234 yards and four touchdowns in a seeding win over Vashon Island on Tuesday. ... Devin Ossman ran for 145 yards and a touchdown in that win, and Austin Mulcahey had four receptions for 143 yards and a pair of scores. ... CC allows 10.5 ppg. ... Beat Class 2A Eatonville (which beat Mark Morris this season) 48-28. ... Ranked fourth in state.
Naselle (6-4) vs. Seattle Lutheran (9-2)
What: B state first round
Where: Sammamish High School, Bellevue
When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
At stake: Berth in state quarterfinals next weekend against Tacoma Baptist or Willapa Valley.
Seattle Lutheran snapshot: The undefeated champions of the Sea-Tac 2B League beat Naselle 22-19 on Oct. 18, when the Comets were still ravaged by injuries. ... Naselle and Seattle Lutheran have two other common opponents. The Comets squeaked past North Beach 37-35 and needed overtime to beat Northwest Christian 20-14; Seattle Lutheran beat North Beach 35-29 and NWC 25-6. ... Seattle Lutheran scores 28.7 ppg and allows 16.4. ... Played a tough nonleague schedule, suffering a 27-0 loss against eighth-ranked Concrete on Sept. 27.
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