R.A. Long will be close to full strength for the 63rd Civil War football game against Mark Morris on Friday after playing last week at Ridgefield without a handful of key starters.

Two starters who missed the game entirely — senior running back Thomas McCall (illness) and junior right tackle Jordan Camba (team reasons) — will play "for sure," said Lumberjacks coach Erik Bertram.

Senior linebacker/H-back Dylan Hopkins (leg) sat out the final three quarters of the 32-29 victory over the Spudders for precautionary reasons and will also play against MM.

Bertram said that junior middle linebacker Jerry Graham (shoulder) was "questionable" following a very physical practice on Tuesday. Graham is the leading tackler for RAL and "by far our best run defender," Bertram added.

Graham did not suit up for the Ridgefield game due to the shoulder injury.

"His shoulder was pretty tender today," Bertram said. "We turned up the volume at practice. I’m sure he’ll go, but who knows? It’s kind of scary to think of playing without him."

Bertram said he would not rest players with lingering injuries merely to conserve them for the do-or-die district playoff game that looms on Nov. 6 or 7.

"We’re going to go with everything we’ve got," he said. "Whoever is left for the playoff game, we’ll go with them."

Tell ’em why the Civil War

is one of the state’s best

Ron Newberry, the Washington content editor of CoachesAid.com, wants to know why Longview’s Civil War is, in his words, "one of the most intense rivalries in the state."

Newberry is asking MM and RAL fans to share their opinions on his Class 2A football forum. Log on to: http://www.coachesaid.com/forums

Mark Morris’ defense has a stingy streak going

Just how close is Mark Morris to being undefeated? Twenty-seven seconds close.

If you’ll recall, the Monarchs led Kelso 14-7 in the closing minute at Longview Memorial Stadium in a Week 1 nonleague battle. With Kelso driving into MM territory, quarterback Cameron Margaris hit Garrett Austin with a 22-yard pass on fourth-and-11 that somehow went through the hands of two Monarch defenders.

A sure interception was later dropped, and the Hilanders got a 6-yard touchdown run from Margaris with 27 ticks remaining. MM was penalized on the play and the ball was moved from the 3-yard line to just outside the 1. Kelso coach Pat Hymes called on star running back Lane Sari to win the game with a two-point conversion, and the senior bulled his way in to give the Hilanders a wild 15-14 victory to snap a two-game losing skid against the Monarchs.

A week later, MM traveled to Centralia and beat the Tigers 41-34 in a game with big-time offensive fireworks. Since then, the Monarchs’ defense has been nothing short of incredible.

In six games, it has allowed three touchdowns, one two-point conversion and a pair of point-after kicks. That’s it — 22 points total.

During that span, the offense has put up 247 points.