District playoff previews

The Olympian’s South Sound prep football playoff games to watch Friday night:

Olympia (7-2) at Issaquah (6-3)

7 p.m. Friday, Issaquah High School

The skinny: Though they had to settle for the No. 3 seed out of the Class 4A Narrows League after being an early contender for the crown, the Bears got a good draw in the Eagles – a team they’ve already beat this season. RB Scott Gunther (161 carries, 1,407 yards, 18 TDs in seven games) rushed for four touchdowns in Week 5 as Olympia handled Issaquah, 32-14. Gunther (shoulder) returned to the Bears’ offense last week against Yelm after missing two games. He and QB/WR hybrid David Woodward (1,294 total yards, 14 TDs) have proved a lethal combo leading Olympia’s offense. LB Clay Markoff (84 tackles, 8 sacks) sacked Eagles’ QB Cam Humphrey on the opening play of the game during the first meeting. The Bears brought him down a total of seven times and limited Issaquah to 16 total rushing yards.

Olympian pick: Olympia, 35-27

Capital (4-5) at Columbia River (5-4)

7 p.m. Friday, Kiggins Bowl in Vancouver

The skinny: Since QB Cody Jenkins (23 of 41 passing, 433 yards, 9 TDs) came back from a right index finger injury, the Cougars have won three straight. After slipping to a 1-5 start, Capital has outscored its last three opponents – Mount Tahoma, North Thurston and Shelton – 117-25. Its 31-0 rout of Shelton last Friday locked up the fourth and final seed out of the 3A Narrows. The newfound offensive firepower has revived a Cougars team that posted four games of less than three touchdowns earlier in the season. WR Zach Smith (27 catches, 555 yards, 14 TDs) has been a reliable target for Jenkins since his return and also has two kickoff returns for TDs.

Olympian pick: Capital, 30-24

Mark Morris (3-6) at No. 1 Tumwater (9-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Tumwater District Stadium

The skinny: There hasn’t been a team yet that has played four quarters with the T-Birds. Tumwater remained perfect las week with a 49-21 rout of W.F. West, and picked up the No. 1 seed out of the 2A EvCo. The Wing-T continues to be unsolvable for opposing defenses – Tumwater has 10 players with more than 100 all-purpose yards this season. The T-Birds are averaging 492.8 all-purpose yards per game. Griffin Shea leads with 483 rushing yards, 161 receiving and 176 on kick returns. He is averaging 91.1 yards per game. Defensively, no team has put up more than 21 points against the T-Birds this season, led by Cade Otton with 89 tackles.

Olympian pick: Tumwater, 42-7

Rainier (5-4) at No. 5 Toledo (8-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Centralia High School

The skinny: The Mountaineers snatched the No. 5 seed out of the 2B Pacific last week with a 51-0 shutout of winless Chief Leschi, but will need to keep that momentum going to make a run at Toledo. The Indians’ only loss this season was to second-ranked Pe Ell/Willapa Valley, 35-13, in Week 2. They’ve since gone on a seven-game tear, outscoring opponents 246-85. Though, the Rainiers have a couple of offensive weapons. QB McKoy Bichler, an all-league pick, has 1,398 yards of total offense this season and 21 TDs. RB Ian Russell has posted 588 yards and 6 TDs.

Olympian pick: Toledo, 40-21

This story was originally published November 5, 2015 at 7:41 PM with the headline "District playoff previews."