Football section coming Thursday

Just two days away now from our annual preseason football section, which will be included in Thursday’s edition. After we take a deep breath, we’ll tackle other fall previews for cross country (Sept. 9), volleyball (Sept. 10), girls swimming (Sept. 11) and girls soccer (Sept. 12).
Pouring over the 48 pages that will comprise our football section, there are three things that are especially compelling to me. In no particular order, here they are:

1) How quickly can Eisenhower rebuild with so much lost to graduation, and how well will Davis carry forward last year’s momentum with so much back.
The Cadets graduated 15 players with all-conference honors from their 11-1 team, and originally looked to have just three offensive starters back and four on defense. But Ike got a big boost this week when RB-LB Issac Sarate and OL-DL Bruce Smith were granted additional eligibility.
The Pirates have tons back, although ‘09 standouts C.J. McCray and Jackson Marquis, at this point, are not turning out. Davis still has eight returning offensive starters, seven on defense and a home game Friday against Eastmont to kick off the season.

2) How jumbled will the hierarchy in the CWAC be compared to last year? Or will the order be the same — Ellensburg, Othello, Selah and Prosser?
The program that appears most likely to rise is Prosser. Last year over the final three games, then-sophomore RB Isaac Anderson was unstoppable and amazingly durable with 96 carries and 564 yards.
All four have highly interesting — and tough — openers on Friday — Archbishop Murphy at Ellensburg, Selah at West Valley, Prosser at Kamiakin and Connell at Othello.

3) How well will La Salle transition into the SCAC West? All the coaches we’ve talked to expect the Lightning to contend immediately given its track record of dominance in the B-11 ranks. Two notes about SCAC West RBs: Zillah’s Chris Castillo has opted to not turn out this fall, and Highland’s Forrest Kopta is appealing at the state level an eligibility issue that has been denied locally.

We’ll begin to get some answers to these questions on Friday when the roller-coaster rumbles out of the gate. Enjoy the ride!

Cadets dominate first cross country poll

While in a fog of working on our annual preseason prep football section, there’s big news to report on other fronts. The preseason cross country coaches poll is out and Eisenhower appears poised for a double dose of dominance. The Cadets are ranked No. 1 in 4A boys and No. 2 in girls. The boys, in fact, are ranked 22nd in the Harrier Magazine’s national poll. Here’s the state poll:

BOYS
Class 4A: 1, Eisenhower; 2, Jackson; 3, Lewis & Clark; 4, Mead; 5, Ferris; 6, Auburn Riverside; 7, Walla Walla; 8, Issaquah; 9, Gig Harbor; 10, Skyline. Others: Wenatchee, Olympia, Redmond.
Class 3A: 1, North Central; 2, University; 3, Kamiakin; 4, Seattle Prep; 5, Mt. Spokane; 6, Blanchet; 7, Everett; 8, Bellevue; 9, Shorecrest; 10, Peninsula. Others: Columbia River, Camas.
Class 2A: 1, Sehome; 2, Mark Morris; 3, Lindbergh; 4, Ellensburg; 5, Bellingham; 6, Interlake; 7, Cheney; 8, Chehalis; 9, Lakewood; 10, Cedarcrest. Others: Selah, Kingston, North Kitsap, Squalicum.
Class 1A: 1, Port Townsend; 2, Nooksack Valley; 3, Lakeside; 4, La Center; 5, Riverside; 6, Lynden Christian; 7, Charles Wright; 8, Meridian; 9, Cashmere; 10, Seattle Christian. Others: Royal, Toledo, Freeman.
Class 2B-1B: 1, Northwest Christian (Lacey); 2, Republic; 3, Mossyrock; 4, Mt. Rainier Lutheran; 5, Tri-Cities Prep; 6, North Beach; 7, Northwest Christian (Spokane); 8, White Pass; 9, Waitsburg-Prescott; 10, St. John-Endicott. Others: Bear Creek, St. George’s, Davenport.

GIRLS
Class 4A: 1, Stanwood; 2, Eisenhower; 3, Bellarmine; 4, Eastlake; 5, Gig Harbor; 6, Tahoma; 7, Central Valley; 8, Redmond; 9, Richland; 10, Lewis & Clark. Others: Davis, Stadium, Arlington, Auburn Riverside.
Class 3A: 1, Glacier Peak; 2, Shadle Park; 3, Kamiakin; 4, Peninsula; 5, Lakeside; 6, Mt. Spokane; 7, Prairie; 8, Enumclaw; 9, Camas; 10, Columbia River. Others: Bainbridge, Seattle Prep, Capital.
Class 2A: 1, Sehome; 2, Kingston; 3, Lindbergh; 4, Cedarcrest; 5, Cheney; 6, Ephrata; 7, Bellingham; 8, Interlake; 9, Lakewood; 10, Deer Park. Others: North Kitsap, Squalicum.
Class 1A: 1, Northwest; 2, Riverside; 3, Lakeside; 4, Omak; 5, La Center; 6, Nooksack Valley; 7, King’s; 8, Chelan; 9, Meridian; 10, Cashmere. Others: Seattle Academy, Bellevue Christian, Ilwaco.

Class 2B-1B: 1, Northwest Christian (Lacey); 2, White Pass; 3, Northwest Christian (Spokane); 4, St. George’s; 5, Crosspoint Academy. Others: Asotin, Waitsburg-Prescott.

A look back at State Legion

After a week of covering the American Legion state baseball tournament, one thing stood out: It was tough on pitchers.
Kelso Pacific Tech gave up nearly 10 runs a game but prevailed in the five-day tournament thanks to an offense that pounded out 71 hits and scored 56 runs.
The Spokane Bandits, who eliminated Kennewick (13-11) and Yakima Valley (17-14) in slugfests, averaged 12.2 runs in six games but could not get by Kelso in the championship final, falling 17-14.
Over the final three days, 158 runs were scored in seven games and three teams were eliminated despite scoring 11 runs or more.
Kelso, which opens Northwest Region play Thursday against Missoula, averaged 11.2 runs scored and 9.2 runs allowed. For comparson, Lakeside Recovery won last year’s state title with 9.6 runs scored and 2.0 runs allowed.

For the Yakima Valley Pepsi Pak, leadoff hitter J.R. Weigel posted a team-best .467 batting average over six postseason games. He and Cory Urquhart tied for the team lead in runs with 10.
Thomas Wilcox hit .464 with 10 RBI, nine runs, four doubles and three home runs (12 for the season), and Urquhart batted .462.
Ethan Flory paced the team with 11 RBI, five of which came against Kelso with a grand slam. Kurt Lindemann homered twice and hit for the cycle in the postseason.

Final State Legion update

2010 AMERICAN LEGION STATE TOURNAMENT

WEDNESDAY
Game 1: Kelso Pacific Tech 14, Centralia Sobe-Toyota Lizards 3.
Game 2: Twin City Titans 9, Kennewick Bandits 0.
Game 3: Spokane Bandits 8, Lakeside Recovery 6.
Game 4: Yakima Valley Pepsi Pak 9, Yakima Pepsi Beetles 8.

THURSDAY
Game 5: Centralia 10, Lakeside Recovery 6 (loser out).
Game 6: Kennewick 8, Yakima 3 (loser out).
Game 7: Kelso 8, Spokane 6.
Game 8: Yakima Valley 6, Twin City 4.

FRIDAY
Game 9: Spokane 13, Kennewick 11 (loser out).
Game 10: Twin City 10, Centralia 6 (loser out).
Game 11: Kelso 15, Yakima Valley 12.

SATURDAY
Game 12: Spokane 17, Yakima Valley 14 (loser out).
Game 13: Twin City 11, Kelso 1.

SUNDAY
Game 14: Spokane 14, Twin City 2 (loser out).
Game 15: Kelso, 17, Spokane 14,  championship, winner to regional in Spokane.

State Legion pairings, regional recap

BELLEVUE REGIONAL

Game 1: Kennewick 18, Bremerton 1.
Game 2: Lakeside Recovery 6, Spokane Cannons 5.
Game 3: Bremerton 10, Spokane Cannons 6.
Game 4: Lakeside Recovery 10, Kennewick 7.
Game 5: Kennewick 15, Bremerton 2.

Kennewick Bandits 102 020 011 — 7 13 1
Lakeside Recovery 200 030 14x — 10 12 3
Jackson, McKimmis (7), Marston (8) and Morfin; Lawhead, Gale (7), Sampson (8) and Altchech.
Highlights: Mike Paulson (LR) 3-4, HR, 4 RBI, 3 runs; Spencer Rogers (LR) 2-3, 3b, RBI; Reid Dilley (LR) 2-3, 2 RBI; Matt Mendenhall (K) 3-4, 2 RBI; Spencer O’Neil (K) 2-4, 2 2B, RBI.

CENTRALIA REGIONAL

Game 1: Spokane Blue Devils 18, Yakima 0.
Game 2: Centralia 6, Bellevue 2.
Game 3: Yakima 6, Bellevue 5.
Game 4: Centralia 8, Spokane Blue Devils 5.
Game 5: Yakima 15, Spokane Blue Devils 8.

Centralia Sobe-Toy 100 013 120 — 8 19 3
Spokane Blue Devils 001 021 001 — 5 8 3
Witters, Burgos (6), Gueller (7) and McAlpin; Sargeant, Scholer (7) and Pfeffer.
Highlights: Brennan Casteel (C) 3 hits; Cody Ray (C) 3 hits; Chris Bishop (C) 2 2b; Cole Housden (C) 2 hits, 2 RBI.

SELAH REGIONAL

Game 1: Bellingham 9, Spokane Bandits 6.
Game 2: Yakima Valley 22, Sumner 5.
Game 3: Spokane Bandits 8, Sumner 7.
Game 4: Yakima Valley 11, Bellingham 2.
Game 5: Spokane Bandits 11, Bellingham 6.

Bellingham 020 000 000 — 2 7 2
Yakima Valley 300 100 43x — 11 11 0
Tripp, Dallas (7) and Frost; Smith, Vetsch (9) and Snider.
Highlights: Thomas Wilcox (YV) 3-4, 2 HR, 5 RBI; Ethan Flory (YV) 2-4, 2b, 2 RBI; Cory Urquhart (YV) 2-4, 2 runs; D.J. Smith (YV) 8.1 IP, 5 K, 0 BB.

COLFAX REGIONAL

Game 1: Longview 12, Wenatchee 4.
Game 2: Twin City 13, Pullman 3.
Game 3: Pullman 11, Wenatchee 6.
Game 4: Twin City 10, Longview 9.
Game 5: Longview 9, Pullman 6.

Highlights: A.J. Griffiths (TC) 5-6, 2b, 6 RBI; Drew Oord (TC) 3-6; Josh Rapacz (TC) 3-5, 3b; Tyler Wolf (TC) 2-5, 2b, RBI; Dustin Petragallo (TC) 3-4; Mikey Murray (L) 4 hits, 3b; Nolan Enriquez (L) 3 hits.

Legion regional pairings released

AMERICAN LEGION SUPER REGIONALS
July 24-25

SATURDAY’S PAIRINGS

Selah Regional
At Carlon Park
Game 1:  Spokane Bandits vs. Bellingham, 3 p.m.
Game 2:  Sumner vs. Yakima Valley Pepsi Pak, 7 p.m.

Centralia Regional
At Borst Park
Game 1: Spokane Blue Devils vs. Yakima Pepsi Beetles, 3 p.m.
Game 2: Bellevue vs. Centralia, 7 p.m.

Bellevue Regional
At Bannerwood Park
Game 1: Bremerton vs. Kennewick, 3 p.m.
Game 2: Spokane Cannons vs. Lakeside Recovery, 7 p.m.

Colfax Regional
At McDonald Field
Game 1: Longview vs. Wenatchee, 11 a.m.
Game 2: Twin City vs. Pullman, 3 p.m.
Game 3: Loser 1 vs. Loser 2, loser out, 7 p.m.

SUNDAY’S GAMES

Selah, Centralia and Bellevue will all have the same game times listed below. Colfax will plays Games 4-5 at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Game 3: Loser 1 vs. Loser 2, loser out, 11 a.m.
Game 4: Winner 1 vs. Winner 2, winner No. 1 to state finals in Selah, 2:30 p.m.
Game 5: Winner 3 vs. Loser 4, winner No. 2 to state finals in Selah, 6 p.m.

Final CWL standings

Here are the final Central Washington League senior legion baseball standings. Officials have determined that the Yakima Pepsi Beetles do NOT have to make up a doubleheader at Wenatchee on Thursday.

W    L    Pct.
x-Yakima Valley    19    5    .792
x-Twin City    18    6    .750
x-Kennewick    15    9    .625
x-Yakima    10    12    .455
x-Wenatchee    7    15    .318
Pasco    7    17    .292
Hanford    6    18    .250

x-qualified for super regionals.

Ike soph invited to elite grid camp

Kol Cassel, a sophomore-to-be at Eisenhower, is one of eight Washington prep underclassmen invited to the Football University’s Top Gun all-star camp next week in Williamsburg, Va. Nearly 1,000 players from around the country have been invited to the four-day camp.
Here’s the Washington list of invitees:

QB: Trey Wheeler, Liberty.
QB: Dylan Podolak, Enumclaw.
QB: Kol Cassel, Eisenhower.
RB: Visa Thach, Auburn Mountainview.
RB: Brandon Long, Shadle Park.
WR: Terenn Houk, Enumclaw.
LB: Joseph Mose, Kent-Meridian.
LB: Brandon Wells, Rogers (Puyallup).

From the Football University press release: Top Gun is the culmination of Football University’s 28-camp nationwide tour gathering the most elite performers from across the United States and allowing them to display their abilities together on one stage. Football University has an impressive alumni list that includes some of the top college football players in the nation such as, 2008’s No. 1 prospect and current Ohio State Buckeye Terrelle Pryor, 2009’s No. 1 prospect Bryce Brown, and 2010’s No. 1 prospect Ronald Powell, as well as U.S. Army All-Americans, Football University Youth All-Americans, and hundreds of Division I players.

So with prep football in mind, here’s a list of non-league season openers involving local teams on Sept. 3:

Eastmont at Davis, Zaepfel Stadium, 7:30 p.m.
Eisenhower at West Seattle, 7 p.m.
Selah at West Valley, 7:30 p.m.
Sunnyside at Grandview, 7 p.m.
Archbishop Murphy at Ellensburg, 7 p.m.
Naches Valley at East Valley, 7 p.m.
Zillah at Wapato, 7 p.m.
Prosser at Kamiakin, Lampson Stadium, 8 p.m.
Toppenish at River View, 7 p.m.
Highland at Kiona-Benton, 7 p.m.
DeSales at La Salle, 7 p.m.
White Swan at Mabton, 7 p.m.
Granger at Burbank, 7 p.m.
White Salmon at Goldendale, 7 p.m.
Cle Elum at Kittitas, 7 p.m.

Senior Legion standings

Here are the Central Washington League standings through Friday’s games of July 16. Below are the remaining games of the regular season. The top five teams advance to super regionals on July 24-25.

Central Washington League

W L Pct. Yakima Valley 15 5 .750 Twin City 13 5 .722 Kennewick 14 8 .636 Yakima 10 8 .555 Wenatchee 6 12 .333 Hanford 6 16 .273 Pasco 4 14 .222

Remaining games

July 17: Hanford at Pasco (2), 2 p.m.

July 17: Wenatchee at Twin City (2), 2 p.m.

July 18: Pasco at Twin City (2), 5:30 p.m.

July 19: Yakima at Yakima Valley (2), 6 p.m.

July 20: Wenatchee at Pasco (2), 2 p.m.

July 20: Kennewick at Twin City (2), 5:30 p.m.

July 20: Yakima Valley at Yakima (2), 5:30 p.m.

Note: Yakima and Wenatchee have yet to make up a rained out doubleheader from June 2. It will be rescheduled only if there would be an impact in the final standings.

Catching up on summer notes

It happens every summer — the days whiz by way too fast. June is gone and we’re already a week into July. In between some vacation time, a few items have cropped up in the notebook.

• The WIAA has hired Prosser grad Conor Laffey as its Sports and Activities Information Manager. He will oversee what used to be two positions — media relations and publications.

Laffey was a three-sport athlete at Prosser and a standout wide receiver in football who led the old Mid-Valley League with 56 receptions in 2002.

After graduating from Washington State, Laffey earned a master’s degree in Sport Management at Marshall University in West Virginia and then served as the assistant director of athletic communications at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida.

• Here are a batch of recent NWAACC letter of intent signees from local schools:

July 2 — Bailey Carlson, Ellensburg volleyball (Columbia Basin), Davis Engel, Ellensburg baseball (Skagit Valley), Jeremy Pynch, Riverside Christian soccer (Edmonds).

June 17 — Anthony Corbray, Davis track (Everett), Edwin Rainey, Davis track (Everett), Tim Roddy, Davis baseball (Centralia).

Also, Selah football player Quincy Davis is headed to Mayville State University in North Dakota.

• The Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association will induct seven members into its Hall of Fame later this month at ceremonies in Spokane and Seattle.

Dave Olzendam (Medical Lake, Rochester, Coulee-Hartline, and Newport), Dwight Pflugrath (Ritzville, Mansfield, Brewster), and Toivo Piippo (St. Joseph Junior High assistant) will be honored July 22 at Whitworth University. Bill Bakamus (Toledo, Coulee-Hartline, Mark Morris), Mike Downs (Bellevue Christian), Phil Lumpkin (Seattle Prep, O’Dea) and Steve McCallum (Mark Morris assistant) will be honored July 29 at Seattle Pacific University.

Both banquets begin with a social hour at 5 p.m. followed by dinner and the induction ceremony at 6 p.m. Tickets cost $30. To RSVP call 360-201-5218 or e-mail ddickson@bham.wednet.edu.

• Longtime Bremerton boys basketball coach Les Eathorne died on July 5. The 86-year-old suffered from congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Eathorne won 502 games — eighth-most in state history — over a career that lasted four decades.

As a player at Bremerton, Eathorne helped the basketball team win a state title in 1941 and later played at the University of Washington, before his career was interrupted due to military service.

Eathorne began his coaching career at Camas before going to Bremerton. After he retired from Bremerton in 1988, he served as an assistant at North Kitsap for a season and was the head coach at Olympic for two seasons.

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