11/28/2024
(Rentoin, WA) The WIAA State Fall Championship schedule is down to it’s final 2 weekends with the 12 Semifinal football games set to be played on Saturday. The Fall season Championships will conclude on Friday, December 6 and Saturday, December 7. On the 6th the 1B, 1A and 3A State Title games will be played and on the 7th the 2B, 2A and 4A games.
Below is a quick guide to the Semifinal games for this Saturday on November 30. We have the kick-off times, locations and a little information on each match-up. All the games are available to watch on the NFHS Network and is a subscription service.
The 4A match-ups the WIAA seeding committee nailed the perfect quarterfinal with seeds 1-8 playing. In the semifinals they were close with only 5 seeded Gonzaga Prep knocking out 4 seed Kennedy Catholic.
Upper Bracket #3 Chiawana vs #2 Sumner
Kick-off Time: 4:00pm
Location: Sunset Chev Stadium at Sumner HS
Link to Live Stream: Chiawana vs Sumner
Summary:
The Chiawana Riverhawks are 11-1 on the year and have rattled off 11 straight wins after getting beat handily in their opener at Rocky Mountain in Idaho. Since then the Riverhawks have been unstoppable scoring 393 points in the regular season cruising to the Mid-Columbia Conference title while giving up just 40 points. In the round of 32 Chiawana rolled over Sunnyside 49-0 and then beat Puyallup 56-14 in the opening round of state. The Riverhawks then took down 2 time defending 4A Champs Lake Stevens in the quarters 48-21.
The Sumner Spartans are 11-1 as the 2 seed and played a pretty tough regular season schedule including their only loss at 6A West Linn in Oregon who were also 2 time defending State Champs. But the Spartans began the year with an OT win over Lake Stevens the defending 4A Champs and then bookended their season with a win over Graham-Kapowsin who played for the 4A State title last year losing to Lake Stevens. The Spartans beat Auburn 52-14 in the round of 32, fell behind Kamiakin early but came back to win 38-21 and advanced to Saturday’s semifinal knocking out Skyview 41-0.
Lower Bracket #5 Gonzaga Prep vs #1 Camas
Kick-off Time: 1:00pm
Location: McKenzie Stadium at Evergreen High School in Vancouver
Link to Live Stream: Gonzaga Prep vs Camas
Summary:
The Gonzaga Prep Bulldogs come in undefeated at 12-0 after rolling through the Greater Spokane League they handled the round of 32 with a big 41-18 win over Woodinville and then blanked Emerald Ridge in the opening round of State. The Bullpups advanced to the semifinal defeating 4 seeded Kennedy Catholic 34-28.
The #1 ranked Camas Papermakers are also 12-0 winning the Greater St Helens League with a hard fought win over Skyview who were eliminated last week in the quarters by Sumner. The Papermakers had no issues in the round of 32 beating Stadium 56-3 and taking the opening round of state 41-6 knocking out Curtis. Camas was tested last week in the quarterfinals beating a stubborn Arlington squad 35-21.
The 3A bracket had some big upsets in the opening round but after quarterfinals it has ended up nearly perfect like the 4A with the 1, 2, 3 and 5 seeds all in the final 4. In the opening round, 13 seed Seattle Prep knocked out 4 seeded Lakes and 10 seed Mount Tahoma pushed out the 7 Decatur.
Upper Bracket #3 Eastside Catholic vs #2 O’Dea
Kick-off Time: 1:00pm
Location: Memorial Stadium in Seattle
Link to Live Stream: Eastside Catholic vs O’Dea
Summary:
The 3 seeded Eastside Catholic Crusaders are 11-1 on the year with their lone loss to the team they are playing on Saturday, the O’Dea Fighting Irish, 20-0. The Crusaders will be looking for revenge in this one and righted the ship quickly reeling off 7 straight wins since the loss with a big 49-20 win over Mountlake Terrace in the round of 32. The Crusaders then cruised to a 37-6 win the opening round of state over Monroe and beat Lincoln (Tacoma) 20-7 in the quarters.
O’Dea the 2 seed went 11-0 and took the Metro League Championship with that win over Eastside Catholic. The Fighting Irish have no plans on stumbling at this point and look to repeat the match-up with the Crusaders they already played. O’Dea beat Liberty of Renton and had a 40 point lead by halftime in the round of 32, rolled in the state opening round beating Mercer Island 50-6 and then turned back a pesky Mount Tahoma 42-21 in the quarters.
Lower Bracket #5 Roosevelt vs #1 Bellevue
Kick-off Time: 4:00pm
Location: Memorial Stadium in Seattle
Link to Live Stream: Roosevelt vs Bellevue
Summary:
The 5 seed Roosevelt Roughriders are 8-3 on the season and have already set a new high in school history playing in their 1st ever State Semifinal. They got to the quarters one time in 2012. The Roughriders historic season has been one of surprise to many when they opened the season with a 12-6 loss to Camas who are now the #1 4A seed and undefeated. Roosevelt lost by 1 to Eastside Catholic settling for 3rd in the Metro and lost to O’Dea 49-30 in league play. Roosevelt handled the round of 32 with a 48-23 win over Capital, then beat Federal Way 40-0 in the opening round of state before advancing to the semifinals with a 49-21 victory over Seattle Prep.
Bellevue is the #1 seed and defeinding State 3A Champions. The Wolverines marched through the Kingco league with their tightest game a 42-27 win over Eastlake. In non-league play they had an impressive performance on the road at Lake Stevens beating the 2 time defending State 4A Champs. The Wolverines strolled into the state tournament with a 48-0 win over Shorecrest in the round of 32. But 16 seed Stanwood gave the Wolverines a scare in the opening round of state winning just 24-14. In last week’s quarters Bellevue was back on track with a 42-6 victory over Kennewick.
The 2A seeding committee nearly hit it perfect in the quarters with seeds 1-7 and the 9 advancing but there were a couple of upsets in the 2nd round. The 3 and 4 seeds were eliminated when #6 WF West beat #3 Franklin Pierce and #5 Archbishop Murphy edged out #4 Lynden. There is a chance for a re-match in the State final game where #2 Anacortes is still alive and they beat the top seed Tumwater for the Championship last season.
Upper Bracket #6 WF West vs #2 Anacortes
Kick-off Time: 3:00pm
Location: Oak Harbor HS in Oak Harbor
Link to Live Stream: WF West vs Anacortes
Summary:
The 6 seeded WF West Bearcats from Chehalis with an 11-1 record with their lone loss to top seed Tumwater 52-0 and they settled as the runners up in the EVCO 2A league. The Bearcats had some big early wins knocking off North Kitsap in their opener and running off 3 straight wins over 3A schools Capital, Timberline and Shelton. In the round of 32 the Cats ran by Sequim 56-3, then shut down Olympic 33-7. WF West then stunned 3rd seed Franklin Pierce with a convincing 27-8 win.
Anacortes was the story of the year in football last year and maybe the top sports story overall winning their 1st ever State Championship with a huge 60-30 win over Tumwater. This after the Seahawks failed to field a varsity team just 2 years prior. The 11-1 Seahawks are back and come out of that tough NW league where they lost once to the 5th seeded Archbishop Murphy Wildcats. Anacortes then had an eye popping back-to-back offensive output in their final regular season game and round of 32 with 77-0 wins in both games. The Seahawks then blanked Bainbridge in the opening round 46-0 and beat West Valley (Spokane) 55-13 in the quarters.
Lower Bracket #5 Archbishop Murphy vs #1 Tumwater
Kick-off Time: 2:00pm
Location: Tumwater District Stadium in Tumwater
Link to Live Stream: Archbishop Murphy vs Tumwater
Summary:
The #5 Archbishop Murphy Wildcats last played at Tumwater in 2016 when they beat the T-Birds in the quarterfinals and that was the final game for legendary Tumwater coach Sid Otton and he remains the winningest coach in Washington State history with 398 wins. The Wildcats would love to repeat history this Saturday and they have shown they can score points and they can battle it out in a low scoring free-for-all. Twice the Wildcats played behemoth Lynden with a 7-3 loss in a rain storm during the regular season and then last week in a 10-9 stunner to oust the Lions. AB Murphy also handed defending Champ Anacortes their lone loss of the season back in October 34-28.
The top seeded T-Birds have been laser focused this season marching thru any and all opponents to a 12-0 record. The T-Birds were embarrassed by their 60-30 loss in the Title game last year and so they would never forget their mission this year the team wore t-shirts with 60-30 printed on the back. This has worked so far and admittedly their league schedule does not prepare them for postseason so this year they went after as big opponents in non-league as possible. They began by thrashing 4A Puyallup 56-6 in their opener. They took on 4A Eastlake on the road and won 38-27 and they traveled to 4A Union blitzing them 56-10, They won their round of 32 game 70-8, then rolled in the opening round 44-0 and advanced in the quarterfinals with an astounding 70-6 win.
The 1A seeding committee was perfect into the quarterfinals with 1-8 advancing. In the quarterfinals 6 seeded Montesano upset apple cart when they got their revenge on #3 La Center. The Bulldogs also had to play in the play-in round since the 1a is a 12 team tournament. The top 4 got byes and 5-12 played in a loser out opening round.
Upper Bracket #6 Montesano vs #2 Seton Catholic
Kick-off Time: 4:00pm
Location: McKenzie Stadium at Evergreen HS in Vancouver
Link to Live Stream: Montesano vs Seton Catholic
Summary:
The Montesano Bulldogs is one of those teams that simply got better as the season rolled on. In their opener they were dominated by district rival La Center 35-7. Then 2A Ridgefield handed them their 2nd loss 21-18. The Bulldogs reeled off 4 wins before running into Rochester who took the air out of the ball and defeated Monte 16-12. The Bulldogs got back on track and are now 9-3 for the season. They handled Omak in the opening round 31-7 and then they had to face La Center in the quarterfinals. The Bulldogs had a short memory and ran by the 3 seed 21-10 to set up their showdown with Seton Catholic.
The Seton Catholic Cougars made a big run last year making their 1st state tournament appearance and advancing to the semifinal last year. This year they have followed the same path and want to take the next step and get to Husky Stadium. They are currently 11-0 winning the Trico league and taking the title over La Center with a 29-21 win on November 1st. The Cougs got the 2 seed and beat Chelan 56-7 in the opener and advanced with a thrilling 42-41 victory over Life Christian Academy in the quarterfinals. No doubt the way Montesano handled La Center has caught their attention.
Lower Bracket #4 Cashmere vs #1 Royal
Kick-off Time: 4:00pm
Location: Lions Field in Moses Lake
Link to Live Stream: Cashmere vs Royal
Summary:
The 10-1 Cashmere Bulldogs have done all they can do to get to this point except one thing and that’s the same thing no one has been able to do for years and that’s beat Royal. The Bulldogs placed 2nd in the South Central Athletic Conference with their only loss to Royal which was a convincing win 55-14. The Bulldogs in the meantime scored at least 35 points in the rest of their games. They blanked Granite Falls in the opening round of state 42-0 and then pulled away from an always tough Nooksack Valley team 38-12. Can the Bulldogs snap the Royal Knights run of 4 straight State Championships? They’ll get another shot on Saturday.
The Royal Knights are the 4 time defending State Champions and as a program have an even dozen big trophies in their trophy case. The Knights are the easy #1 seed and were the South Central Athletic Conference Champs. Royal’s offense has put up 686 points so far and have scored 70 or more 4 times with a 76 total run for 3 straight weeks. The Knights defense have given up just 74 total points so they win on an average of 62.4-6.7. Royal opened up state with a 76-6 win and then beat Lynden Christian 56-12 in the quarters. Royal is poised for #5 in a row, can anyone stop them?
The 2B seeding committee had a couple of hiccups in the opening round with 10 seed La Salle advancing and 11 seed Adna also moving forward. But after the quarterfinals the committee is off a smidge with the 1-3 and 5 seeds in the final 4. This is the only other State Championship that could be a repeat from last year. The 2A is the other bracket where both teams are still alive. The 2B defending Champions are the Okanogan Bulldogs and are coming in hot while Napavine would love to face-off with them again for a shot at redemption.
Upper Bracket #3 Napavine vs #2 Asotin
Kick-off Time: 4:00pm
Location: Fran Rish Stadium at Richland HS
Link to Live Stream: Napavine vs Asotin
Summary:
The Napavine Tigers played at Husky Stadium last year but fell short to the Okanogan Bulldogs settling for 2nd place. The Tigers did lose several starters from last year and they have gone through some growing pains this season with a 10-2 record. But they have built up some capital with 3 straight Championship appearances winning it all in 2022 defeating Okanogan. The Tigers were seeking challenges in their non-league games and that’s where both losses came as they dropped to Life Christian Academy 35-28 in the 2nd week and then lost to Montesano 35-19 in week 4. Both LCA and Montesano are 1A schools and Montesano is the 6 seed in this year’s tournament and has made it to the semifinals. LCA was the 7th seed and lost by a single point to the 2nd seed. So despite the pair of losses it would be dangerous to think the Tigers have taken a step back.
Asotin is not a team you think of in the football play-offs on a regular basis but you would be wrong. The Panthers have been many times early on as a 1B team and when they moved up to 2B have a State Title from 2006. Since then they have had several postseason appearances but this is their deepest run since then . Asotin earned the 2 seed by romping through the Northeast 2B league unblemished. The Panthers can run up the score but they can also face off in a grind it out, in the trenches type of game winning 4 one score games. Asotin defeated Cle Elum by 3 in the opening round and took out La Salle in the quarters 21-20 so no doubt they are ready to go down to the wire to pull out a win.
Lower Bracket #5 Freeman vs #1 Okanogan
Kick-off Time: 4:00pm
Location: Apple Bowl in Wenatchee
Link to Live Stream: Freeman vs Okanogan
Summary:
The #5 Freeman Scotties deropped down to 2B after years as a 1A power. Freeman comes into the semifinals 10-1 with their lone loss to the 2 seed Asotin back in September. Freeman has a 1A State Title from 2012 and now making their 1st run at the 2B level. Freeman was 2nd in the Northeast 2B to Asotin. But they have been on a roll and are on a 7 game winning streak with an impressive win this last week over 4 seed Onalaska in the quarters. The Scotties had to make the cross state drive on top of it to play at Centralia against the surging Loggers and came away with a huge win. Now they will have to get up again for the #1 seed and defending State Champs.
The #1 Okanogan Bulldogs have plenty of pedigree heading into the postseason with State Champion trophies at both the 2B and 1A level. The Bulldogs have been to 4 Championship games at the 2B level and are 3-1. They are 1-1 in 1A Title games so overall 6 appearances and 4 Titles. They are primed for another run making it back to the semi’s but earning the #1 seed. Okanogan’s numbers are crazy with their offense scoring 689 total points or 57.4 per game while the defense is giving up 8.1 points per game or 97 for the season. In their 1st two state play-off games they have outscored their opponents 112-8.
The 1B seeding committee missed on one in the opening round when 10 seed Garfield-Palouose defeated the 7 Entiat. However, after the quarters the 1B seeds are perfect with 1-4 in the semifinals. There will be a new Champion as Liberty Bell who won last year has moved up to the 2B classification so the top 4 will be scrambling to take hold of the big trophy. 2 seed Wilbur-Creston-Keller will certainly want to get another crack at it after losing at Husky Stadium to Liberty Bell.
Upper Bracket #3 Naselle vs #2 Wilbur-Creston-Keller
Kick-off Time: 1:00pm
Location: Lions Field in Moses Lake
Link to Live Stream: Naselle vs Wilbur-Creston-Keller
Summary:
The Comets of Naselle have been to 4 straight posteasons with their best finish taking 2nd in 2019. They are back in the final 4 and ready to take another run for their 1st football state title. Naselle won the Coastal 1B league and remain undefeated at 11-0. Naselle rolled in the state opening round game with a 70-0 win. In the quarters the Comets put up 60 but Pomeroy gave them all they wanted but it wasn’t enough as the Comets advanced with a 60-50 win. Can the Comets take that next step is now the question?
Wilbur-Creston-Keller or W-C-K is hungry to get back to the Title game and make amends from last season. The Wildcats don’t have a deep history of runs in football so being there last year and back in the semi’s this year they know this is a golden opportunity. W-C-K is coming into this game on a heater with a huge 94-26 win over Waterville-Mansfield and then cruised to a 56-12 victory in the quarterfinals over Garfield-Palouse. The Wildcats look ready to make another strong run.
Lower Bracket #4 Almira-Coulee-Hartline vs #1 Liberty Christian (Richland)
Kick-off Time: 1:00pm
Location: Fran Rish Stadium at Richland HS
Link to Live Stream: Almira-Coulee-Hartline vs Liberty Christian (Richland)
Summary:
Almira-Coulee-Hartline has 3 trips to the State Championship game in their history and they won it all twice. But it has been some time with their 1st in 1990 and their 2nd in 2007. They took 2nd in 2011 and now this is their first trip to the final 4 since 2011. A-C-H comes in with a 10-2 overall record and they play in the Northest 1B league. The Warriors have lost to the two top seeds and will have to get revenge on at least one of them to get to Husky Stadium. A-C-H dropped to Liberty Christian on September 20, 50-36. The lost to W-C-K on October 25, 30-24 so this is not out of the question for the Warriors to turn the tables.
The Liberty Christian Patriots from Richland began with a bang when they won the State Title in their 1st appearance in the tournament back in 2012. They made it back to the big game in 2014 but took 2nd. Since then they have 2 semifinal appearances but as the #1 seed their sights are set much higher. The Patriots are the Southeast 1B league champs and are 11-0. They blanked Ocosta 66-0 in the opening round of the tournament and then beat DeSales 56-20 in last week’s quarterfinals.
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