Catching up with sports in Wahkiakum County

High school sports are abuzz across Washington, and for Wahkiakum High School and Naselle High School, that means that cross-country, football, and volleyball are up and running.

Let's take a look at where the Mules and the Comets are at in football and volleyball now that the regular season proceedings are fully underway.

Wahkiakum High School football

The Mules have had a mixed start to their 2024 campaign, going 2-3 in their first five games and holding a 2-2 record in league play so far. Competing in the eight-man Coastal 1B football league, Wahkiakum lost its first three games of the season. After a rough start, the Mules have started to find their footing.

The first loss came in a conference game against Neah Bay on Sept. 7, where the Mules were handed a 78-24 defeat. Their next game also proved challenging. In a rivalry game against Naselle, the Mules found themselves on the wrong side of a 72-6 beatdown at the hands of the Comets. The final early season defeat came against Ilwaco, but the Mules put up a fight, losing by a one-score margin 28-20 on Sept. 20.

Since the loss to Ilwaco, the Mules have had a resurgence. Wahkiakum trounced Oakville 52-20 in a home game on Sept. 27, and then notched their second win of the season against Ocosta on Oct. 4, beating the Wildcats 50-28.

Wahkiakum will next take the field against North Beach on Oct. 11 in a conference match. Wahkiakum is currently ranked 6th of the nine teams in the Coastal 1B league, while North Beach is ranked 8th and has yet to win a game.

Zooming out, Wahkiakum sits 21st in the WIAA RPI Rankings, out of the 54 schools in the 1B classification.

Naselle Football

The Comets have been shining brightly to start the season and with a perfect 5-0 record through their first five games, they will hope to continue their early season momentum.

Naselle's flying start to the season has seen them top the scoring stats for the Coastal 1B football conference. The Comets are averaging an eye-popping 75 points per game in league play while surrendering the fewest scores to opponents. Their stingy defense only concedes a league-best three points per game.

Among Naselle's impressive results are wins against Darrington, Wahkiakum, Sound Christian Academy, Evergreen Lutheran, and North Beach. The Comets have shown a knack for putting the ball in the endzone, and their three biggest wins were an 88-0 trouncing of Evergreen Lutheran, a 72-6 air raid against Wahkiakum, and a 78-0 stomping of North Beach.

In addition to being the class of the Coastal 1B league, the Comets are also one of the strongest eight-man sides in the state. The Comets are currently ranked #3 in the WIAA RPI Rankings and will look to prove that in their next game against Chief Leschi on Oct. 12.

Wahkiakum High School volleyball

The Mules are off to a kicking start in their 2024 season and have begun the season 6-3 overall at time of press. Competing in the 1B Columbia Valley Conference, Wahkiakum High School has also gotten off to a good league start, going 4-2, and currently sits third of the seven teams.

In the early going, Wahkiakum has scored wins over Ilwaco, Winlock, Oakville, Washington School for the Deaf, Pe Ell, and Firm Foundation. The three losses have come against Naselle, Willapa Valley, and Columbia Adventist.

Despite a 3-0 win against Pe Ell on Sept. 24, the Mules still sit behind Pe Ell in the conference rankings, though they share the same 4-2 league record. Taking a look at the bigger picture, Wahkiakum sits at 31 in the WIAA RPI Rankings, while Pe Ell is ranked 36. Columbia Adventist is pacing the conference with a perfect 6-0 league record, and they are ranked #20 in the state.

Wahkiakum will have a busy week this week. Though the result of their Oct. 8 conference game against Three Rivers Christian is not known at time of press, the Mules will get right back on the court Oct. 9 against Oakville in a home game.

Naselle volleyball

The Comets have had a decent start to the season, considering the quality of their league opponents. Though Naselle has started with a 5-4 overall record and a 4-3 record in the league, they are competing in one of the toughest 1B conferences in the state.

Three of their league peers are ranked in the top 10 in the state. Ocosta is currently ranked #5 in the state with a 7-0 record, Taholah is ranked #7 with a 6-1 record, and Willapa Valley is ranked #8 with a 5-2 record.

Naselle has played each of those heavy hitters this season, and those games account for their three league losses. They played Taholah on Sept. 10, losing 3-0, narrowly lost to Willapa Valley 3-2 on Sept. 17, and lost to Ocosta 3-1 on Sept. 26.

Their wins this season have come against Wahkiakum (3-0), Lake Quinault (3-0), Mary M. Knight (3-0), and Wishkah Valley (3-0). Naselle seems to be in a tough spot because they are blowing away the lower-ranked teams in their conference, but they were not quite at the top programs' level, at least in the early season.

The Comets will likely need to achieve a win against one of the top three teams in the conference if they hope to make a postseason push. The Willapa Valley game was close, and that should give the Comets some confidence that they can hang with tough opponents. Naselle is currently ranked 26 in the WIAA RPI Rankings.

They will played against Wishkah Valley on Oct. 8, and the result of the game is not known at the time of press. The next match on the schedule will be a rematch with Willapa Valley Oct. 10, and they will hope for a statement result.