Football: The Playoff Picture

We're in the final two weeks of the football regular season, so let's look at the playoff picture as of right now for the 4A and 3A Narrows, 2A Evergreen Conference and the 1A Southwest Washington Evergreen Division. The Week 10 district crossover games are coming up Nov. 2-3.

2A Evergreen Conference
Playoff berths: Three
Clinched: Tumwater (3-0 league)
In the mix: Capital (2-1), River Ridge (2-1), WF West (2-1)
Out: Black Hills (0-3), Centralia (0-3)
Lowdown: Three teams -- River Ridge, WF West and Capital -- are in a three-way tie for second place at 2-1 in EvCo play -- and all three teams have lost to league-leading Tumwater (3-0 in league). Tumwater can clinch its third straight league title and a No. 1 seed with a win over River Ridge Thursday. Depending on the Tumwater-River Ridge outcome Thursday, the winner of Friday's Capital-WF West game likely will be in second place. Because both the EvCo and 2A Greater St. Helens League have an even number of teams (six each) this year, the top three EvCo teams will face the top three teams from the 2A GSHL in the district crossover games. The No. 1 team from each league will host the other league’s No. 3 team and each league’s No. 2 teams will play each other. Winners of those games advance to the round of 16 into the 2A state playoffs.

3A Narrows
Playoff berths: Four
Clinched: North Thurston (4-0 league), Timberline (4-0), Shelton (3-1)
In the mix: Wilson (2-3), Lincoln (1-3)
Out: Foss (1-4), Mount Tahoma (0-4)
Lowdown: Must be nice to clinch a playoff berth in Week 6 -- that’s what Shelton, North Thurston and Timberline all did two weeks ago. Friday’s Lacey Showdown at South Sound Stadium between North Thurston and Timberline sets the tone for the league title. Should the Rams win, they will clinch the league title and top spot from the 3A Narrows, and if the Blazers win, they still need to beat Shelton to win the league title outright. This already is Shelton’s first playoff-bound since 2007. Keep in mind there could be a three-way tie for the 3A Narrows League title, and if that were to happen, head-to-head matchups would settle the potential tiebreakers for seeding purposes.

4A Narrows
Playoff berths: Four
Clinched: Bellarmine (4-0 league), Central Kitsap (4-1)
In the mix: Olympia (3-1), South Kitsap (2-2), Yelm (1-3), Gig Harbor (1-3)
Out: Stadium (0-5)
Lowdown: Bellarmine can clinch the league title with a win Friday over Olympia. A three-way tie for second place between Olympia, Central Kitsap and South Kitsap could happen even if Olympia loses to Bellarmine Friday and South Kitsap beats Central Kitsap in Week 9. The last time Olympia didn’t finish first or second in the Narrows came in 2004 (sixth place, 4-6 overall), and the Bears still have Yelm to close out the regular season. Speaking of Yelm, its message is simple: a win Friday over Gig Harbor (and a South Kitsap loss to 1-6 Stadium) keeps its slim playoff hopes alive while a loss would dash them all together.

1A Southwest Washington Evergreen Division
Playoff berths: Four
Clinched: Hoquiam (4-0 league), Montesano (3-1), Tenino (3-1)
In the mix: Elma (2-2), Forks (2-2)
Out: Rochester (1-4), Rainier (0-5)
Lowdown: If Tenino wants to host a Week 10 playoff game, an upset of No. 5-ranked Hoquiam inside Olympic Stadium Friday night is a necessary first step. It’s a daunting task trying to stop a Nolan Hoiness-led offense, and Tenino has struggled as of late, being outscored 90-13 in its past two games. Should Monte and Tenino remain tied at the end of the season, the Bulldogs get the No. 2 seed based on head-to-head and the Beavers will be a No. 3 seed. Elma (2-2) and Forks (2-2) face off Friday in Twilight Land and the winner of that game will have the edge for the final playoff berth.