10/3/2023
Let’s take a look at where we stand in class 3A at the midway point of the High School football season. Ultimately 16 teams will advance to the 3A State football tournament. Last year the State Champion was Yelm in a stunning end knocking off Eastside Catholic 20-13. O’Dea and Bellevue were the semi-finalists.
Let’s take a look at the likely contenders at this point of the season. We take a look at the current standings and the RPI but remember the RPI is very early and is meant to be a full season measurement. We also have listed every league and their current standings below. Many leagues also crossover with each other to share their allocations to the state tournament and allow more schools to have a chance to qualify. We do not know how each league is set up so we are looking at all leagues with a general overview. Let’s get started!
The 3A-4A Greater Spokane League has Mt Spokane sitting on top of the standings trying to get back to the tournament. Mt Spokane was knocked out in the opening round last year 24-14 to Stanwood. The Wildcats are listed at 4-0 but had a non-conference game last week in Idaho but the result is not listed. Mt Spokane is the team to beat in the GSL with a 4 RPI. Ridgeline is in 2nd place right now at 3-2 and an RPI of 19. The Falcons are trying to qualify for the state tournament for the 1st time in their school history. Mead did qualify last year and was knocked out in the 1st round at Bellevue and they are still in position at 2-2 in league play.
In the 5-team GSHL it appears Mountain View is the team to beat as the Thunder has put up a 4-1 overall record and 1-0 in league play. They have a 9 RPI and the next closest RPI is 32. The other 4 teams have a combined 5-15 record so someone will have to turn it around quickly to make a run the good news is most all of the league games are still to be played.
Juanita is leading the Kingco 3A with an undefeated mark of 5-0 and 2-0 in league play with an RPI ranking of 8. Juanita is making a run and trying to get to the tournament for the 1st time since 2015. Bellevue was lone Kingco team in last year trying to defend their title from 2021 but got knocked out in the semi-finals, 28-27 by the eventual Champs Yelm. The Wolverines defeated Mead and Lincoln of Tacoma to get to the final 4 and right now they sit at 3-1 in league play and 3-2 overall and look to be in position to make another run. Lake Washington is also in position at 2-0 in Kingco play and 3-2 overall.
The Metro league is divided into divisions and in the upper division the 2nd most winningest coach in state football history, Monte Kohler has his Irish of O’Dea rolling especially after knocking off Eastside Catholic. The Irish lost to the Crusaders 35-28 in the semi-finals and got their revenge to push themselves to a 4-0 league mark and 6-0 overall with the top RPI in the Metro of 3. Garfield is also 4-0 in league play and 4-1 overall with their lone loss taking on the 4A defending champion Lake Stevens dropping 48-21 and a current RPI of 13. Eastside Catholic is 3-1 in league and overall with an RPI of 14 and no doubt will have much to say about the stretch run here in October.
The teams in the lower division of the tiered Metro league have Ingraham and Roosevelt both at 4-0 in league play and 4-1 overall. The Roughriders have an RPI of 18 and the Rams with a 27. West Seattle is hanging around as well with a 2-2 league record and a 17 RPI.
The Mid-Columbia conference was represented by Kennewick and Southridge last year. Kennewick is making another strong run with 3-1 league record, 4-1 overall and an RPI of 10. The Lions lone loss is to 4A Chiawana. The Lions got to the quarters last year and were knocked out by the eventual state Champs Yelm 36-27. Southridge is struggling this year and would have to make a huge turn-around. Meantime, Hermiston is sitting at 3-2 in league with an RPI ranking of 41.
The 3A NPSL is very competitive with 3 undefeated teams in league play, Auburn and Todd Beamer are both 3-0 while Auburn Riverside is 2-0. The 3A NPSL has not made a big dent in the RPI with Auburn at 31 and Beamer at 37. None of the NPSL teams made the final 16 last year, losing in the crossovers so it will be interesting if any of these teams can get back in the final 16.
Bainbridge Island is the lone 3A team in the 2A/3A Olympic league and they sit at 4-1 on the season. They will need to work their way into a crossover and likely have to come up with some big wins to get into the 3A tournament.
The Pierce County league is wide open. Mt Tahoma, Stadium, Lakes and Bonney Lake are all 2-1 in league play and Lincoln is 1-1. Last year Lincoln got to the quarters and lost a heartbreaker to Bellevue 22-20. Spanaway Lake got to the final 16 last year and were knocked out by E-C in the opening round. The Sentinels are struggling this year at 1-4. The Tigers of Stadium are the highest RPI ranking at 15, Lakes is 20, Bonney Lake 22, Mt Tahoma 25 and Lincoln 39. The PCL will get sorted out down the stretch here and should be some really good match-ups and would not surprise us if one of them makes a legitimate run.
The South Sound conference is home to the defending champs the Yelm Tornados and so far have given every indication they are not ready to give up the trophy. Yelm is off to a 5-0 start with an RPI ranking of 7. They beat 2 4A teams in non-league, Camas and Union and so far are 3-0 in league play outscoring their league opponents 173-20. Yelm remains the team to beat. Gig Harbor is also 3-0 and has the advantage of beating Capital, Peninsula and Timberline who are all 2-1 and tied for 3rd. So the Tides have that tie-break of head-to-head with all 3 and look to run the table to get to that final game against Yelm for the Championship. The Tides RPI is 11.
The Wesco is split in 3 divisions and currently has 4 of the top 6 RPI teams. Ferndale is #1 despite sitting at 4-1 and 2-1 with their lone loss to the #2 team Arlington who is undefeated at 5-0. This is an example of why the RPI is not for mid-season rankings as there is so much criteria that goes into the ranking system it simply means that Ferndale has faced tougher competition so far this year which gives them the edge on paper. Clearly Arlington is in the driver’s seat with the head-to-head win over the Eagles. Ferndale did get to the quarters last year before getting ousted by E-C. Arlington is trying to get to the state tournament and make a serious run something they have not done since their State Championship in 1982.
Monroe is #5 in the RPI with a 5-0 record. The Bearcats were knocked out in the opening round by Lincoln last year. Meantime, Marysville-Pilchuck is 6th in the RPI with a 4-1 overall record. They were last in the play-offs in 2019 and made it to the quarterfinals. Edmonds-Woodway is also 4-1 on the season with a 21 RPI. E-W’s best seasons were in 2006 and 07 with back-to-0back runs to the semi-finals.
That is the quick look at all the 3A leagues and certainly a team not mentioned could still make a run. Do remember the standings are tabulated through the arbiter network which the officials enter the final score. Sometimes the scores are accidently entered incorrectly and not all the mistakes are noticed right away. The WIAA is encouraging each AD to check their scores and standings to make sure they are correct.
Also remember there is always a lot of hoot and hollerin’ about the RPI standings but these standings are meant to be a season long measurement so look for big changes and swings still to come, this is where they are right now based on the criteria fed into the computers that spit out the rankings.
Looks to us like there is a lot to be excited about for the stretch run of the football season so buckle up and enjoy the ride!
| WIAA | League | Overall | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Name | CL | RPI | W | L | T | W | L | T |
 Gonzaga Prep |
4A | 19 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
 Mt Spokane |
3A | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
 Ridgeline |
3A | 19 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
 Mead |
3A | 29 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
 Central Valley |
4A | 34 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
 University |
3A | 46 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
 Lewis and Clark |
4A | 41 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
 Ferris |
3A | 64 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
 Cheney |
3A | 77 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
Mountain View
Prairie
Heritage
Kelso
Evergreen (Van)
Juanita
Lake Washington
Bellevue
Mercer Island
Liberty (Renton)
Newport
Hazen| WIAA | League | Overall | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Name | CL | RPI | W | L | T | W | L | T |
 Ingraham |
3A | 27 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
 Roosevelt |
3A | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
 O’Dea |
3A | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
 Garfield |
3A | 13 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
 Eastside Catholic |
3A | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
 West Seattle |
3A | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
 Chief Sealth |
3A | 36 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
 Rainier Beach |
3A | 47 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
 Ballard |
3A | 45 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
 Nathan Hale |
3A | 66 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
 Seattle Prep. |
3A | 33 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
 Bishop Blanchet |
3A | 28 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
 Lakeside (Sea) |
3A | 76 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
 Franklin |
3A | 70 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
 Lincoln (Seattle) |
3A | 63 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
 Cleveland |
3A | 67 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Richland
Chiawana
Kamiakin
Kennewick
Hermiston
Pasco
Southridge
Hanford
Walla Walla
Todd Beamer
Auburn Riverside
Auburn
Auburn Mountainview
Kent Meridian
Kentlake
Thomas Jefferson
North Kitsap
Bremerton
Bainbridge
Port Angeles
Sequim
North Mason
Olympic
Kingston
Mt. Tahoma
Stadium
Lakes
Bonney Lake
Lincoln
Spanaway Lake
Silas
Yelm
Gig Harbor
Peninsula
Timberline
Capital
Central Kitsap
North Thurston
River Ridge
Arlington
Marysville-Pilchuck
Ferndale
Stanwood
Marysville-Getchell
Mount Vernon
Oak Harbor
Cedarcrest
Cascade (Everett)
Everett
Meadowdale
Edmonds-Woodway
Monroe
Mountlake Terrace
Shorewood
Snohomish
Shorecrest
Lynnwood
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