Three to see: Week 8

No. 9 Timberline (6-1 overall, 4-0 3A Narrows) at No. 10 North Thurston (6-1, 4-0), 7 p.m. Friday, South Sound Stadium
This year’s Lacey Showdown has league title implications. Should the Rams win, they 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. The North Thurston-Timberline rivalry longest continuous rivalry in Thurston County; they’ve faced off every year since 1970. North Thurston’s strength is its running game, led by Mo Manning (515 yards, 14 TDs) and Brandon Belisario (508 yards, three TDs), and yet, the defense has given up an average of 12.8 points per game. Timberline will be without starting quarterback Gabriel Gutierrez, who broke his arm in the third quarter of last week’s 40-6 win over Mount Tahoma. In his place will be senior Chris MacNeil, who started four games in 2011. Lately, the defense has been a big game-changing factor, led by middle linebacker Brandon Wetzen (67 tackles, nine tackles for loss).

No. 6 Capital (5-2 overall, 2-1 2A EvCo) at No. 8 WF West (5-2, 2-1), 7 p.m. Friday, Bearcat Football Stadium
Playoff position is on the line in Chehalis. With River Ridge’s loss to Tumwater Thursday night, both Capital and WF West are in a tie for second place with the winner of tonight’s game grabbing the No. 2 seed heading into the final week of the regular season. Capital put up a season high in points (56) and total yards (582) in last week’s 56-7 win over Black Hills when Kai Van Sickle ran for 294 yards on 22 carries and scored four rushing touchdowns. While the Cougars heavily rely on their rushing attack, WF West’s offense is pass happy, led by quarterback Tanner Gueller. He accounted for 231 yards of offense in the Bearcats’ 44-26 win over River Ridge last week.

No. 6 Bellarmine (6-1 overall, 4-0 4A Narrows) at Olympia (3-4, 3-1), 7 p.m. Friday, Ingersoll Stadium
The Lions can clinch the 4A Narrows title with a win over the Bears, but a loss doesn’t mean Olympia’s playoff hopes are dashed. Since Michael Naipo’s season debut in Week 4, the Bears are 3-1 with Naipo in the Wildcat spot. He accounted for both of the Bears’ fourth-quarter touchdowns in a 14-0 win over Gig Harbor last Friday, scoring on a 3-yard run and throwing a 63-yard touchdown pass to Alex Johnson. Not many defenses have stopped Sefo Liufau and Bellarmine, which has averaged 42.2 points per game in its current five-game winning streak. Liufau, bound for Colorado, has completed 72.9 percent of his passes (105 for 144) for 1,498 yards and 16 TDs.

WEEK 8 FOOTBALL GAMES
Thursday's game
-- Tumwater 27, River Ridge 12

Friday's games
*All games at 7 p.m.
4A Narrows
Bellarmine (6-1) at Olympia (3-4)
Gig Harbor (2-5) at Yelm (3-4)

3A Narrows
Timberline (6-1) at North Thurston (6-1)
Shelton (6-1) at Mount Tahoma (0-6)

2A EvCo
Capital (5-2) at WF West (5-2)
Centralia (0-7) at Black Hills (3-4)

1A SWW Evergreen
Tenino (5-2) at Hoquiam (7-0)
Elma (3-4) at Forks (4-3)
Rainier (0-7) at Montesano (5-2)

Nonleague
Rochester (1-6) at Stevenson (3-4)