Castle Rock, Naselle and Toutle Lake earned top-10 rankings in their respective football polls on the CoachesAid.com Web site following the first week of competition.

Royal moved to the top of the Class 1A poll, followed by Montesano and defending state champion Cashmere. Castle Rock, ranked seventh, hosts Montesano in a rematch of last year’s district championship game at 7 p.m. Friday at Rocket Stadium.

Colfax, which was idle last week, is atop the Class 2B poll, followed by defending state champion Napavine and state runner-up Asotin. Adna is ranked fifth, Naselle sixth, South Bend is eighth and Toutle Lake ninth.

Skyline, Ferris and Bothell are the top three teams in the Class 4A poll, with Olympia ranked seventh. Defending state champion Bellevue leads the Class 3A poll, Union and Lakes round out the top three, and Camas is seventh.

Prosser is atop the Class 2A poll, followed by Archbishop Murphy and Ellensburg. The Evergreen 2A Conference is well represented in the poll, with Black Hills, Centralia and Tumwater ranked fourth, eighth and 10th, respectively.

Cusick is atop the Class 1B poll, followed by Lacrosse-Washtucna-Kahlotus, and Almira-Coulee-Hartline.

Mark Morris, CR, Toutle volleyball teams ranked

Volleyball teams from Mark Morris, Castle Rock and Toutle Lake are ranked in the top 10 in their respective divisions in a preseason poll compiled by the CoachesAid.com Web site.

Tumwater leads in Class 2A, followed by Selah, Black Hills, Pullman and Mark Morris in fifth. Centralia is ranked 10th, and teams to watch outside of the top 10 include Hockinson and R.A. Long.

Castle Rock, which finished second in last year’s Class 1A state tournament, is ranked second behind King’s. Onalaska is eighth in the poll, with Kalama and Stevenson listed as teams to watch.

Colfax, LaConner and Tekoa-Oakesdale hold the top three spots in the Class 2B poll, with Toutle Lake in sixth and South Bend in 10th. Adna, Mossyrock and Ocosta are among the teams to watch.

LaCrosse-Washtucna leads the Class 1B poll, followed by St.John-Endicott and Klickitat. Lake Quinault is ranked ninth, and Three Rivers Christian is among the teams to watch.

Skyview is ranked fourth in the Class 4A poll behind Mead, Kamiakin and Lewis and Clark, and Camas, Prairie and Union are among the teams to watch in Class 4A. Eastside Catholic leads the 3A poll, followed by Blanchet and Shadle Park.

Rainier ranked in Oregon Class 3A volleyball poll

Rainier has earned a No. 6 ranking in the first Oregon Class 3A volleyball poll.

Sheridan is atop the rankings, with Santiam Christian, Cascade Christian, Valley Catholic and Creswell rounding out the top five. Oregon Episcopal is eighth.

Blanchet of Salem leads the Class 2A poll, followed by Weston-McEwen and Elgin. Portland Christian is ranked 10th.

‘Pay to Play’ hits hard in King, Snohomish schools

More than a dozen school districts in King and Snohomish counties have seen huge increases in their pay-to-play participation fees for student-athletes this fall.

After several community meetings in the Lake Washington School District, it was determined to make it a priority to not cut athletic programs. As an alternative, participation fees at the high school level were increased from $100 to $275 per student, per sport. The increased fees are expected to save the district $600,000 in funds it didn’t have to cut from programs.

Other schools have turned to assistance from booster clubs to help cover the fee for students with families who can’t afford it. In some circles, this could be considered scholarships for public school students.

Kelly leaves White Pass to coach at River Ridge

After several years as the girls basketball coach at White Pass High School, which included seven state tournament appearances, Tom Kelly has left to become the new girls basketball coach at River Ridge High in Olympia.

Kelly led White Pass to a third-place finish in the 2006 Class 1A state tournament, and most recently guided the Panthers to a sixth-place finish in the 2009 Class 2B state tourney.

Kelly replaces Curtis Norwood, who resigned after two years at River Ridge.