NASELLE — Jeff Eaton spent Wednesday night helping drag the elk that his brother, Randy, shot in the Pacific County woods earlier in the day.

“It was about 40 minutes behind a gate,” explained the Naselle football coach. “It’s a family affair when somebody gets an elk. It’s automatic that you’re going to help.”

Eaton’s going hunting again tonight — for another playoff victory.

His 10th-ranked Comets (9-1) travel to Curtis High School in University Place to take on fourth-ranked Tacoma Baptist (10-0) in a Class 2B first-round state playoff game at 7 p.m.

Naselle advanced to the state quarterfinals in 2007 and made history by booking a trip to the semifinals in the Tacoma Dome last season, where it fell to eventual champion Napavine 18-13.

The Comets have three playoff victories in the past two seasons. So not much intimidates them and their popular head coach when it comes to the postseason. It’s all part of what Eaton calls “the really fun time.”

“My dad and my brother say I’m smiling all the time,” Eaton said. “This is the really fun time, when your kids are rewarded for the hard work. It’s always nice to be one of the teams still standing in November. I remember the not-go-good times, too, though. So I treasure these.”

In fact, Eaton ran into former quarterback Kyle Burkhalter — older brother of Austin Burkhalter, his current starting QB — during Wednesday night’s elk adventure.

“Kyle said, ‘I remember when we got pummeled when I was a freshman, Coach.’ I guess that’s why I cherish these times. I’m happy to be here and so are the kids,” Eaton said.

The Comets-Crusaders matchup is one of six games involving local football teams this weekend. In 1A state action, Toledo (9-2) travels to third-ranked Cascade Christian (10-0) at 7 p.m. tonight, while Rainier (8-2) hosts Glide (7-2) in an Oregon 3A state first-round contest at 7.

On Saturday, Clatskanie (4-6) plays host to Toledo, Ore. (6-3) at 1:30 p.m. in another Oregon 3A game, while Mark Morris (home vs. Interlake) and R.A. Long (at Archbishop Murphy) have 2A state first-round games this afternoon (see separate previews, Page B1).

If the Comets expect to upset Tacoma Baptist, they’ll have to stop the best multi-dimensional offense they’ve faced this season.

“We feel like we have a good plan in place. We watched their South Bend game and some others, and we feel like we will be able to move the ball on them,” Eaton said. “But the question is whether we can stop them. They attack you with the pass and with the run. I don’t think we’ve seen a team this year that has attempted double-digit passes on us. So they’ll probably come right at us through the air.”

Austin Burkhalter starts at safety for the Comets, while corners Logan Scrabeck and Jesus Martinez round out a quick, rangy and athletic secondary.

Naselle will come at the Crusaders with a balanced ground game. Scrabeck leads the charge with 902 yards and 14 touchdowns, while fullback Alan Erickson has just under 600 yards. Nathan Carlson, despite missing the first four games, has piled up 556 yards in six games.

“And Austin has about 400 yards from the quarterback spot,” Eaton added. “We don’t have one real superstar, but we have four solid guys that get the job done.”

Naselle and Tacoma Baptist have four common opponents: Northwest Christian of Lacey, South Bend, Seattle Lutheran and North Beach. The Comets beat NWC 47-14, South Bend 22-8, Seattle Lutheran 57-6 and North Beach 59-14. The Crusaders won against those same teams 38-6, 34-20, 53-8 and 49-0.

Columbians primed

Rainier head coach Thor Ware has seen enough University of Oregon football games to know a zone-read spread offense when he sees one.

Although the Ducks aren’t coming to Chris Corl Field tonight for a first-round state contest, the Glide Wildcats are.

“They have a good quarterback (Landon Weimar) and they go four wide (receivers) most of the time,” said the Columbians’ seventh-year skipper. “I think we’ll have an advantage in size up front and we’ve got some pretty fast guys in the secondary (Carson Skeans, Marshall Dean and Riley Tripp), if they try to throw it around on us.”

Glide is the No. 3 team from the Sunset League. Its only losses have come against top-ranked Cascade Christian and seventh-ranked Gold Beach.

Cascade Christian eliminated Rainier from the state quarterfinals last season, 23-14.

Weimar, a junior, has passed for more than 1,700 yards and 15 touchdowns, and has 10 more rushing TDs. His favorite targets are Levi Bonnell and Drew Vickery, who have combined for more than 1,300 receiving yards and 11 TDs.

Glide’s top rusher is sophomore Justin Baughman.

The Wildcats’ spread offense will test a Rainier defense that hasn’t allowed a touchdown in five games — and only given up 12 first downs in that same span.

“Defense wins championships, as they say,” Ware said. “We think we have the best defense we’ve had here in seven years. They’re big, they’re quick and they’re knowledgeable. They watch a lot of film.”

Rainier, ranked fifth, boasts a defensive line that includes 287-pound Nick Huelter, 260-pound Curtis Kauffman and 267-pound Cameron Hall.

“They are big guys who can move,” Ware said.

Offensively, Kauffman — a senior fullback — leads the way with 1,549 yards rushing.