Seven straight wins, two weeks on top of the power rankings for the T-Birds

Timberline shocks North Thurston and causes a little bit of movement in the power rankings ahead of an important week of games with a lot of playoff spots and seeding on the line. Here’s a look at how the area teams compare heading into the last week of the regular season in my highly unscientific power rankings, complete with highly scientific ScoreCzar predictions…

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1. Tumwater T-Birds (7-1)
Last week: #1 (No change)
Previous game: Tumwater 27, River Ridge 12
Next game: vs. Black Hills (4-4) – Tumwater Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM
ScoreCzar prediction: Tumwater 27, Black Hills 10

Notes: With the win over River Ridge, Tumwater ran their winning streak to seven games and secured the 2A Evergreen Conference title. Now, can they end the regular season at #1 in the Oly Sports power rankings? They just have to get past rival Black Hills on Friday night.

2. Timberline Blazers (7-1)
Last week: #2 (No change)
Previous game: Timberline 24, North Thurston 0
Next game: vs. Shelton (7-1) – South Sound Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM
ScoreCzar prediction: Timberline 26, Shelton 24

Notes: Without sophomore QB Gabe Gutierrez, the Blazers shocked everybody by easily handling North Thurston to run their winning streak to five games and put them in the driver’s seat for the #1 seed out of the 3A Narrows League. All they have to do is not lose by more than 13 points to Shelton and the will secure that #1 seed. A win would give them the title outright but a loss would drop them into a tie with point differential being the tiebreaker.

3. Shelton Highclimbers (7-1)
Last week: #4 (+1)
Previous game: Shelton 55, Mount Tahoma 7
Next game: @ Timberline (7-1) – South Sound Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM
ScoreCzar prediction: Timberline 26, Shelton 24

Notes: The Highclimbers easily knocked off Mount Tahoma and got the passing game involved in the process, an aspect of their game that they will desperately need to be OK against Timberline and in the playoffs. But Shelton has a daunting task ahead of them, they have to beat Timberline by at least 14 points to get the #1 seed out of the 3A Narrows League. If they lose or win by less than 14, they will get the #3 seed and the difference between the #1 and #3 seed is huge. #1 seed hosts the #6 seed out of the Metro League while the #3 seed travels to the Metro’s #2 seed.

4. Capital Cougars (6-2)
Last week: #5 (+1)
Previous game: Capital 42, WF West 14
Next game: vs. River Ridge (5-3) – Ingersoll Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM
ScoreCzar prediction: Capital 28, River Ridge 8

Notes: Turns out my proclamation on Friday that Capital clinched the 2nd spot out of the 2A EvCo was wrong and despite a convincing win over WF West, the Cougars still have one game left to win before clinching a playoff spot. Assuming WF West beats winless Centralia, Capital has to beat River Ridge on Friday night at home or else face the prospect of a three way Kansas tiebreaker on Tuesday for one of two playoff spots available. (I’m not going to lie, I’m kind of rooting for the Kansas tiebreaker)

5. North Thurston Rams (6-2)
Last week: #3 (-2)
Previous game: Timberline 24, North Thurston 0
Next game: @ Mount Tahoma (0-8) – Mount Tahoma Stadium, Tacoma – Friday, 7:00 PM
ScoreCzar prediction: North Thurston 39, Mount Tahoma 0

Notes: What happened to the Rams? Neither the defense nor the offense showed up against Timberline on Friday night and they dropped their second game of the season and their first game in the 3A Narrows League. Assuming they beat winless Mount Tahoma this week, the Rams can claim a share of the Narrows title with a Shelton win over Timberline. But the Rams cannot get the #1 seed, the best they can do is #2. If Timberline wins or Shelton wins by less than 14 points, the Rams are the #2 seed. But if Shelton wins by more than 13, the Rams will be the #3 seed. You may ask why the Rams are #5 while Shelton is #3 despite losing to North Thurston, it’s simply because the Highclimbers still have a chance at that #1 seed.

6. Tenino Beavers (5-3)
Last week: #6 (No change)
Previous game: Hoquiam 41, Tenino 3
Next game: @ Rochester (2-6) – Rochester HS – Friday, 7:00 PM
ScoreCzar prediction: Tenino 30, Rochester 9

Notes: Despite dropping three straight games and two straight league games, Tenino has qualified for the playoffs and should be he #3 seed out of the 1A SWW Evergreen. They can still get the #2 seed but only if they beat Rochester (they should), Elma beats Montesano and they win a coin toss to determine the seeding between the three tied teams.

7. River Ridge Hawks (5-3)
Last week: #7 (No change)
Previous game: Tumwater 27, River Ridge 12
Next game: @ Capital (6-2) – Ingersoll Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM
ScoreCzar prediction: Capital 28, River Ridge 8

Notes: Two playoff spots, three teams. Assuming WF West beats winless Centralia, River Ridge has to beat Capital on Friday night to keep their season alive. They would force a three way tie for second and the three teams would take part in Kansas tiebreaker on Tuesday night.

8. Olympia Bears (3-5)
Last week: #8 (No change)
Previous game: Bellarmine 21, Olympia 0
Next game: @ Yelm – Yelm Tornadoes Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM
ScoreCzar prediction: Olympia 23, Yelm 13

Notes: Big game in Yelm this week between two perplexing teams. The 4A Narrows League playoff scenario is confusing and complicated. See The Olympian for the full scenario.

9. Yelm Tornadoes (4-4)
Last week: #10 (+1)
Previous game: Yelm 17, Gig Harbor 12
Next game: vs. Olympia (3-5) – Yelm Tornadoes Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM
ScoreCzar prediction: Olympia 23, Yelm 13

Notes: Yelm picked up a less than convincing win over Gig Harbor this week and broke their four game losing streak and kept themselves in the 4A Narrows League playoff race. Though the playoff scenario is complicated (see Olympia) the scenario for Yelm is simple: win and possibly keep your season alive or go home.

10. Black Hills Wolves (4-4)
Last week: #9 (-1)
Previous game: Black Hills 42, Centralia 17
Next game: @ Tumwater (7-1) – Tumwater Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM
ScoreCzar prediction: Tumwater 27, Black Hills 10

Notes: Black Hills picked up their first league win with an easy win over winless Centralia, but the Wolves are still out of the playoff picture and have just one game left, and they would like nothing more than to take home the Pioneer Bowl trophy in upset fashion.

11. Rochester Warriors (2-6)
Last week: #11 (No change)
Previous game: Rochester 41, Stevenson 14
Next game: vs. Tenino (5-3) – Rochester HS – Friday, 7:00 PM
ScoreCzar prediction: Tenino 30, Rochester 9

Notes: Rochester picked up their second win of the season knocking off Stevenson on Friday night. Now they get a Tenino team that has only scored 16 points in their last three games. Can they pull of the upset against a struggling team? Would really give them a lot of momentum heading into the off season.

12. Rainier Mountaineers (0-8)
Last week: #12 (No change)
Previous game: Montesano 70, Rainier 0
Next game: vs. Seton Catholic (1-7) – Rainier HS – Friday, 7:00 PM
ScoreCzar prediction: Seton Catholic 31, Rainier 22

Notes: Game of the week in the South Sound? Winless Rainier has a good chance to get their first win of the season against 1-7 Seton Catholic on Friday night. The two teams have been outscored by a combined 859-170 this season so it should be a really close game between two evenly matched teams needing a win to go out on a happy note.

Six wins in a row put the T-Birds on top. Can they escape the Oly Sports jinx?

Is the top spot of the Oly Sports power rankings becoming a curse? Capital lasted just two weeks, North Thurston lasted just two weeks and now Shelton drops after just one week. Tumwater could easily last the rest of the season if they can get past River Ridge this week, but have I already jinxed them? Can my highly unscientific rankings be cursed? We’ll see…

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1. Tumwater T-Birds (6-1)
Last week: #2 (+1)
Previous game: Tumwater 48, Centralia 0
Next game: @ River Ridge (5-2) – South Sound Stadium – Thursday, 7:00 PM

Notes: Six straight wins for the T-Birds move them into the top spot of the power rankings after Shelton took a tumble. Thursday’s River Ridge game is their last major test before the post season and it could be a really interesting, fun game to watch.

2. Timberline Blazers (6-1)
Last week: #3 (+1)
Previous game: Timberline 40, Mount Tahoma 6
Next game: @ North Thurston (6-1) – South Sound Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: Well, they’ve practiced against both Foss and Mount Tahoma leading into their game this week with North Thurston and have now won five straight games. But, and this is a big but, sophomore QB Gabe Gutierrez broke his arm and the Blazers will now turn to senior Chris MacNeil the rest of the way.

3. North Thurston Rams (6-1)
Last week: #4 (+1)
Previous game: North Thurston 21, Shelton 20
Next game: vs. Timberline (6-1) – South Sound Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: The defense came up big for the Rams once again stopping Shelton twice on the goal line in the second half including a controversial strip of the ball while Ralph Kinne was going into the endzone with less than three minutes left to play. But the Rams did get the win and are still undefeated in the 3A Narrows League with their also undefeated rival coming up next.

4. Shelton Highclimbers (6-1)
Last week: #1 (-3)
Previous game: North Thurston 21, Shelton 20
Next game: vs. Mount Tahoma (0-7) – Mount Tahoma Stadium, Tacoma – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: What a heart breaker for the Highclimbers. Ralph Kinne appeared to have scored the go ahead touchdown but the ball came out close to the goal line and was ruled a fumble and Shelton never got the ball back respond. North Thurston has a really good defense, but it is very concerning that the Highclimbers could not do anything in the air once the Rams started limiting the running game. But they do get a chance to work out some of the kinks against 0-7 Mount Tahoma this week before taking on Timberline in the regular season finale.

5. Capital Cougars (5-2)
Last week: #5 (No change)
Previous game: Capital 56, Black Hills 7
Next game: @ WF West (5-2) – Bearcat Stadium, Chehalis – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: The Cougars exploded for 56 points against Black Hills this week. Kai Van Sickle rushed for 294 yards and four touchdowns and the Cougars racked up 582 total yards. This week they face WF West with second place in the 2A Evergreen Conference on the line.

6. Tenino Beavers (5-2)
Last week: #6 (No change)
Previous game: Montesano 50, Tenino 7
Next game: @ Hoquiam (7-0) – Olympic Stadium, Hoquiam – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: Two straight big losses to really good teams has the Tenino Beavers reeling. The previously unstoppable offense has scored just 13 points in the last two games and next get a really good Hoquiam team at venerable Olympic Stadium.

7. River Ridge Hawks (5-2)
Last week: #7 (No change)
Previous game: WF West 44, River Ridge 26
Next game: vs. Tumwater (6-1) – South Sound Stadium – Thursday, 7:00 PM

Notes: No surprise that River Ridge lost to WF West on Friday. Despite how good the Hawks have played, there just seems to be a natural order for the 2A Evergreen Conference this season. Tumwater, Capital and WF West will compete for 1-3, River Ridge is fourth, Black Hills fifth and Centralia sixth. But the Hawks could upset the whole balance with a upset of the T-Birds on Thursday night. Can they do it? The offense is good enough but can the defense and special teams stop Andrew Brown? Probably not.

8. Olympia Bears (3-4)
Last week: #8 (No change)
Previous game: Olympia 14, Gig Harbor 0
Next game: vs. Bellarmine (6-1) – Ingersoll Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: Olympia’s strange season continues. They started 0-3 and have since played a slew of close games and currently sit at 3-1 in the 4A Narrows League, good enough for third place. But Bellarmine comes to town this week to give the Oly defense their toughest test to date.

9. Black Hills Wolves (3-4)
Last week: #9 (No change)
Previous game: Capital 56, Black Hills 7
Next game: vs. Centralia (0-7) – Tumwater Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: The Wolves have dropped three straight games and have only scored 13 points in the past two contests against WF West and Capital, which isn’t much of a surprise. The Wolves hope to get back to .500 when 0-7 Centralia comes to town this week.

10. Yelm Tornadoes (3-4)
Last week: #10 (No change)
Previous game: Bellarmine 56, Yelm 7
Next game: vs. Gig Harbor (2-5) – Yelm Tornadoes Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: 3-0 to start, but in four straight losses the Tornadoes have been outscored 174-41. Gig Harbor’s bad offense and good defense comes to Yelm this week and I have no idea which team will prove to be the better team.

11. Rochester Warriors (1-6)
Last week: #11 (No change)
Previous game: Forks 23, Rochester 0
Next game: @ Stevenson (3-4) – Stevenson HS – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: Rochester is struggling, no doubt. I’m more interested in their opponent, Stevenson. The Bulldogs either win by a ton or get stomped. What strange results. Their losses are 49-8, 46-6, 41-0, 44-0. Their wins are 50-0, 30-0 and 44-0.

12. Rainier Mountaineers (0-7)
Last week: #12 (No change)
Previous game: Hoquiam 63, Rainier 0
Next game: @ Montesano (5-2) – Rottle Field, Montesano – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: Oh boy, poor Rainier has to take on Montesano on homecoming, playing on their home field for the first time since the historic structure burned to the ground.

She’s been busy studying and taking notes to bring you her expert picks

It has been a couple of weeks since my daughter weighed in on the week’s slate of football games but she is back today with a fresh crop of heavily studied and research picks. At 18-16 on the season, I’d say she is doing a decent job as prognosticator…

Black Hills Wolves @ Capital Cougars
Her pick: Wolves
“Daddy, did you know Wolves have big sharp teeth called fangs? They’re bigger and sharper.”

North Thurston Rams @ Shelton Highclimbers
Her pick: Highclimbers
“They’ll climb up and cut down a tree.”

Tumwater T-Birds vs. Centralia Tigers
Her pick: Tigers
“Tigers are faster…and they have sharp teeth.”

Timberline Blazers vs. Mount Tahoma T-Birds
Her pick: Blazers
“They’ll cut down a tree, too.”

Rainier Mountaineers vs. Hoquiam Grizzlies
Her pick: Grizzlies
“Grizzly Bears have big, sharp claws.”

Tenino Beavers vs. Montesano Bulldogs
Her pick: Bulldogs
“They have sharp teeth.” (She is all about sharp, pointy things)

Rochester Warriors vs. Forks Spartans
Her pick: Spartans
“That’s a funny name, daddy!”

Olympia Bears @ Gig Harbor Tides
Her pick: Bears
“Bears are fast and have sharp claws.”

Yelm Tornadoes @ Bellarmine Lions
Her pick: Tornadoes
“Tornadoes can blow down lions.”

River Ridge Hawks @ W.F. West Bearcats
Her pick: Bearcats
“They’re just better.”

Two really interesting and big football games in the area tonight when North Thurston travels to Shelton and Tenino hosts Montesano.

North Thurston and Shelton is a matchup between the highest scoring offense in the league (Shelton) and the stingiest defense (North Thurston). While Ralph Kinne and the Highclimbers have yet to see a defense like the Rams, the Rams have yet to see a running back like Kinne. Something’s got to give tonight for these two 3-0 3A Narrows League teams fighting for a league championship and seeding into the playoffs.

According to The Olympian, Tenino hasn’t beaten Montesano in over 20 years but the Beavers haven’t had a combo like Mac Shaw and Devante Harris either. Tenino lost their first game of the season last week to undefeated La Center who limited Shaw and Harris to just one touchdown. Meanwhile, Monte is 4-2 with their only losses coming to 1A powerhouses Hoquiam and Cascade Christian.

Here are the games happening in the Oly area…

Black Hills @ Capital – Ingersoll Stadium – 7:00 PM
North Thurston @ Shelton – Highclimber Stadium – 7:00 PM
Tumwater vs. Centralia – Tumwater Stadium – 7:00 PM
Timberline vs. Mount Tahoma – South Sound Stadium – 7:00 PM
Rainier vs. Hoquiam – Rainier HS Stadium – 7:00 PM
Tenino vs. Montesano – Beaver Stadium – 7:00 PM
Rochester vs. Forks – Rochester HS – 7:00 PM

And all the road games out of the area…

Olympia @ Gig Harbor – Roy Anderson Field – 7:00 PM
Yelm @ Bellarmine – Memorial Stadium, Tacoma – 7:00 PM
River Ridge @ W.F. West – Bearcat Stadium – 7:00 PM

The Highclimbers clinched a playoff spot but can they stay #1 against North Thurston?

Two number ones down, now it’s Shelton’s turn to see if they can hang on to that top spot in the Oly Sports power rankings. It’s pretty remarkable to see six teams still at 5-1 or better and a seventh at 4-2 and then there’s a 2-4 team that still has a fighting chance. But there will be some shakeup in the next few weeks when local teams actually start playing each other. And the big one the week is between Shelton and North Thurston with first place in the Narrows on the line….

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1. Shelton Highclimbers (6-0)
Last week: #3 (+2)
Previous game: Shelton 34, Lincoln 28
Next game: vs. North Thurston (5-1) – Highclimber Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: Ralph Kinne set the school’s single season rushing record and scored four more touchdowns and Shelton built a 28-7 lead at halftime. But for the first time all season, the Highclimbers were outplayed in the second half and it took a late turnover to give Jake Frakes an opportunity to hook up with David Ajamu for the game winning touchdown with just six seconds remaining. With the win, the Highclimbers clinched a playoff spot and now get to fight with Timberline and North Thurston for seeding.

2. Tumwater T-Birds (5-1)
Last week: #4 (+2)
Previous game: Tumwater 28, North Thurston 12
Next game: vs. Centralia (0-6) – Tumwater Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: The T-Birds are really on a roll. Since dropping the opener to Shelton, they have now won five straight games knocking off Timberline, Capital and North Thurston along the way. Andrew Brown has been fantastic in all phases of the game. The only bump in the road the rest of the way might come from River Ridge, though a rivalry game can always be interesting.

3. Timberline Blazers (5-1)
Last week: #5 (+2)
Previous game: Timberline 41, Foss 8
Next game: vs. Mount Tahoma (0-6) – South Sound Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: Timberline’s only hiccup so far came at the hands of those surging Tumwater T-Birds and with win over Foss, the Blazers clinched a playoff spot. After Friday’s spanking of Foss, the Blazers get another tuneup against Mount Tahoma before finishing with North Thurston and Shelton.

4. North Thurston Rams (5-1)
Last week: #1 (-3)
Previous game: Tumwater 28, North Thurston 12
Next game: @ Shelton (6-0) – Highclimber Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: The defense didn’t play too bad allowing just 14 points, but two Tumwater special teams touchdowns did the Rams in. Still, it was a non-league loss and the Rams have already clinched a 3A Narrows League playoff spot and play Shelton and Timberline the next two weeks before finishing with Mount Tahoma.

5. Capital Cougars (4-2)
Last week: #6 (+1)
Previous game: Bellarmine 24, Capital 14
Next game: vs. Black Hills (3-3) – Ingersoll Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: Kai Van Sickle rushed for 130 yards and a TD and the Cougars played a tough game against the #3 4A team in the state, holding Bellarmine to their lowest score of the season. Still, the Cougars have lost two of their last three games with only a win against a bad Centralia team between their two losses. And they have a relatively tough schedule remaining with Black Hills, WF West and River Ridge still left on the docket.

6. Tenino Beavers (5-1)
Last week: #2 (-4)
Previous game: La Center 40, Tenino 6
Next game: vs. Montesano (4-2) – Tenino HS – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: Tenino had their first test of the season against an undefeated La Center team…and failed. But it was a non-league, road test. This week they get their first home, league test against a good Montesano team that has only lost to #6 Hoquiam and #5 Cascade Christian.

7. River Ridge Hawks (5-1)
Last week: #7 (No change)
Previous game: River Ridge 41, Centralia 34
Next game: @ WF West (4-2) – Bearcat Stadium, Chehalis – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: Winless Centralia gave the Hawks a tough test, but backup running back Chris Leiba scored the game winning touchdown in the fourth quarter to spare the Hawks from an embarrassing loss. Brad Wallace scored three times but was forced from the game when he required stitches to his finger. But the Hawks and their struggling defense have a scary road ahead with WF West, Tumwater and Capital coming up.

8. Olympia Bears (2-4)
Last week: #8 (No change)
Previous game: Central Kitsap 17, Olympia 14
Next game: @ Gig Harbor (2-4) – Roy Anderson Field, Gig Harbor – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: Again, the Bears’ defense is giving the offense a chance to win a game. Last week the offense did just enough to knock off South Kitsap but this week came up short against Central Kitsap. The Bears are now 2-1 in Narrows League play and play two very winnable games against Gig Harbor this week and Yelm in the final week.

9. Black Hills Wolves (3-3)
Last week: #9 (No change)
Previous game: WF West 24, Black Hills 6
Next game: @ Capital (4-2) – Ingersoll Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: Black Hills has lost two straight games and the road doesn’t get any easier with Capital and Tumwater still left to play. But Centralia is there between the two!

10. Yelm Tornadoes (3-3)
Last week: #10 (No change)
Previous game: South Kitsap 45, Yelm 7
Next game: @ Bellarmine (5-1) – Memorial Stadium, Tacoma – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: The Tornadoes have lost three straight games and haven’t been remotely competitive in any of them and next visit #3 ranked Bellarmine. But Gig Harbor and Olympia are coming up and both of those games look possibly winnable.

11. Rochester Warriors (1-5)
Last week: #11 (No change)
Previous game: Montesano 44, Rochester 7
Next game: vs. Forks (3-3) – Rochester HS – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: Chin up Warriors, try to keep that coach there for more than one season and get something going.

12. Rainier Mountaineers (0-6)
Last week: #12 (No change)
Previous game: Forks 39, Rainier 0
Next game: vs. Hoquiam (6-0) – Rainier HS – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: No injuries, have fun boys.