Friday, Nov. 2
River Ridge (5-2, 6-3) at North Kitsap (5-1, 8-1), 7 p.m.
The Vikings roll into the district playoffs with a six-game winning streak. They gave up a couple of big plays to Olympic last week, but otherwise, the defense has been outstanding with five shutouts — although they lost a key player to injury in Colton Bower. The offense has a multitude of options in the running game, including Isaiah Kahana, Clayton Williams, Noah North and Riley Solis, and a pair of quarterbacks in Andrew Blackmore and John Jones, both of whom are capable of moving the football through the air. River Ridge leans most on running backs Kieran Hunkin (516 yards, 10 touchdowns), Brian Melloy and Tomas Manu (four touchdowns each), but that should play into the Vikings’ strength as a good run-stopping team.
Olympic (3-3, 3-6) at Eatonville (5-1, 7-2), 7 p.m.
The Trojans were a little banged up after last week’s game at North Kitsap, but if healthy, they should be able to go toe-to-toe with the Cruisers offense in this district playoff game. Both teams feature quarterbacks with more than 1,500 yards passing in Zeke Gillick and Tristan Schoepf. Olympic will also have to contend with sophomore running back Caden Jumper, a big bruiser who likes to run up the middle and has 10 touchdowns this season.
South Kitsap (0-8, 0-9) at Bremerton (2-4, 3-6), 7 p.m.
This is a Week 10 consolation game for two Kitsap teams that have not played one another in over a decade. Bremerton’s Rasheed Joiner enters the game with 1,101 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns, and he should be featured heavily in his final high school game. The Knights ground game features a number of capable options, including Ryan Saylor, Abraham Parish, Kelo Logova and Darick DeJesus.
Meanwhile, South Kitsap is looking to break a 19-game losing streak. At times, the Wolves have been capable of making the big play, especially in the passing game with big-play receivers such as Dajshon Keel. That could be the key for South Kitsap, as the Knights yielded 238 yards last week to Riley Cowan of Sequim.
Kingston (0-6, 2-7) at Evergreen (0-6, 0-9), 7 p.m.
The Bucs head for Highline Memorial Stadium in Burien to try to pick up their third win of the season, the first time reaching that mark since 2015. They will take on a winless Wolverines team that has generally struggled to move the ball this season and has averaged just 7.9 points per game.
Saturday, Nov. 3
Klahowya (4-1, 6-2) at Bellevue Christian (4-1, 5-4), 6 p.m.
A win for the Eagles means a berth in the 1A state playoffs. These two teams met up at the end of last season, and Bellevue Christian took a 14-7 win at Silverdale Stadium. But Klahowya is much improved this year, averaging 35 points per game and giving up just 16, especially on offense where Hunter Wallis now has 892 yards and 12 touchdowns and John Hartford has thrown for 1,369 yards and 17 touchdowns. Bellevue Christian has a solid quarterback in Mick Larsen, who leads the team with nine rushing touchdowns.
Central Kitsap (4-3, 6-3) at Squalicum (5-1, 7-2), 7:30 p.m.
The Cougars make the long journey up to Bellingham for this district playoff game. They will look to shake off last week’s loss to Gig Harbor with a victory that would put them in the 3A state tournament. If Alex Refilong and Elijah McGee can continue to be an effective 1-2 offensive combo, the Cougars should be able to punch their ticket to state.
—Mark Krulish is a reporter for Kitsap News Group. He can be reached at mkrulish@soundpublishing.com. Follow him on Twitter @MKrulishKDN.
