Postseason up next for Wahkiakum and Naselle

Naselle and Wahkiakum are on to the postseason. The Mules locked up a first-round bye in the bracket, while the Comets will need to play into the championship, and they have a crossover matchup this week.

With the regular season in the books, both head coaches are looking forward to the next stage, and both teams hope to make a deep run through November to the championship game on Friday, Dec. 5.

Coming out of conference play, Naselle and Wahkiakum have been dominant. Both programs find themselves in the top 10 WIAA's 1B rankings, with the Mules at #3 and the Comets at #6.

Wahkiakum

The Mules capped their perfect regular season with another blowout win, improving their record to 9-0. Throughout the season, they have outscored opponents 545-96. The most recent victim of Wahkiakum's war machine was Winlock, which the Mules took apart 61-6 on Thursday, Oct. 30.

Head Coach Ryan Lorenzo wanted to send his seniors out with a bang, and he made sure they got on the scoreboard in their final game before the playoffs.

Quarterback Jayden Stoddard threw five touchdowns on seven completions for 212 yards. Preston West registered two rushing touchdowns, and Cameron Mendez punched in a two-yard TD. The receivers had a field day, as Cooper Carlson, Gage Robinson, and Emory Filkowski combined for five touchdown receptions and all of the team's receiving yards.

For a Mules team that has been dominant all season, the depth has had plenty of time to contribute, and Lorenzo said that sophomore Chris Stewart played excellent defense in the win against the Cardinals. Wahkiakum has also benefited from players stepping up when their number is called.

Senior wide receiver Parker Leitz has missed a solid portion of the season through injury, and though the Mules would love to have his playmaking out there, Filkowski and Robinson have stepped up to help fill the gap. Lorenzo said that by the time the playoffs roll around, Wahkiakum should be back to full strength, bolstered by Leitz and Joe Merz.

With a bye this week, Lorenzo said the focus is staying fit and making sure the team doesn't lose the sharpness they have honed throughout the season.

"[We want to] keep everybody healthy and keep game speed with the bye week," Lorenzo said. "[I'm] worried we are gonna come out a little slow, so we've got to make sure we prepare at game speed the next two weeks."

With so many overpowering wins this season, the Mules have had plenty of time to tinker and improve aspects of their game. Lorenzo has stressed the importance of improving every week. In the playoffs, it becomes even more essential. Throughout this season, Lorenzo said the most significant area of betterment has been the short game.

"Jay can sling it, and the boys can go get it, but we really needed to work on the short game and our run game," Lorenzo said. "We focused on that a lot this year and got better."

With nine wins in the books, Lorenzo and the Mules will look to make it four more. Now, they just need to wait for the final seeding to be decided this Sunday. The postseason can't come soon enough.

"I'm excited," said Lorenzo. "We have been trying to stay out of coast mode and have been trying to find ways to get better, even if they are small. The boys want competition and to be pushed. We are excited for new schemes and the new scenery!"

Naselle

For Comets' Head Coach Kevin McNulty and Naselle, there's one more game that needs to be won before their ticket to the bracket is punched. As the second team in the 1B Southwest District, the Comets need to play a crossover play-in game to get into state.

Naselle will match up with Charles Wright Academy on home turf this Friday, Nov. 7, in a win-or-go-home scenario.

"We're hosting, so I appreciate that," said McNulty. "We've been playing fairly well, although we've had a couple mental mistakes each game. This is the time of the season you want to fix all those things, and we're ready."

Naselle has won every game this season except its matchup with Wahkiakum, and the Comets' 8-1 record reflects how dominant they were against other opponents. The final game of the regular season was a 48-12 drubbing of Oakville, but it wasn't the tune-up for the playoffs McNulty wanted for his team.

"It was horrible weather, horrible field, and it was 40-0 in the second quarter with about six minutes, and then all it did was get worse," said McNulty. "The field got worse, the sidelines. We were in four inches of water. It was a mud pit."

Oakville is resurfacing the field at their school, so the game was played at an alternative field site. McNulty said there was a "monsoon" during halftime, and the team spent the break in the cold. Coming out of the intermission, the Comets didn't quite find their rhythm. McNulty said the Comets played well in the first half, but let go of the rope a little bit in the final two quarters.

Going forward, every quarter and every down will be important.

"Looking forward to the postseason because everything has to be on point," said McNulty. "If you don't, you're turning in your year. It's for real right now."

Heading into Friday's matchup with Charles Wright Academy, McNulty said his team is basically at full health, though some players have been battling sickness. The Comets were down a couple of starters against Oakville, but McNulty hopes they will be up to the playoff matchup this week.

It's one of the first times this season that it looks like the full complement of players will be available for selection. McNulty is hoping sophomore running back Gus Burkhalter will be able to carry a bigger workload, as the speedy back has been hampered by injury for much of the year. Luckily for Naselle, the players have exhibited a "next man up" mentality that has led to success. "Eli Gardner wasn't a kid that I planned on playing in the backfield, necessarily, full-time, but he's become one of the best backs in the league, and is always around the ball on defense," said McNulty. "Jason Gardner and Royce Hoff have done a nice job defensively. Leith's done a good job leading. Yeah, we're ready."

The Comets expect to be one of the final 16 teams battling for the trophy this season, but they just have one more game to get through to nab a coveted tournament spot.