Weekend roundup: Kitsap teams take on the state’s best

Football

Klahowya (5-1, 7-2) at Zillah (6-0, 9-0), 6 p.m.

The Eagles will take a balanced attack into their first state playoff game since 2004. Sophomore Hunter Wallis broke 1,000 yards rushing last week — he now has 1,033 yards and 12 touchdowns for the year — and quarterback John Hartford is less than 100 passing yards away from breaking the school record of 1,558 set by George Harris in 2015.

This is the second time in school history the Klahowya football team has qualified for state.

Zillah is the No. 2 seed in the 1A state tournament and has only played one close game all year, a 21-7 victory over La Salle.

North Kitsap (5-1, 9-1) at Fife (8-0, 9-1), 7 p.m. at Sunset Chevy Stadium, Sumner

North Kitsap will look to keep the momentum gained from last week’s come-from-behind win over River Ridge rolling into the first round of the 2A state playoffs.

The Vikings were given the No. 10 seed after finishing second in the Olympic League, and thus, will have to hit the road. The game will be played at Sunset Chevy Stadium in Sumner.

The multi-headed backfield continued to yield impressive results last week as Isaiah Kahana rushed for 225 yards. But you never know who will be the featured back in any given week as it often depends on the game plan. Clayton Williams and Riley Solis have also gotten plenty of touches at times this season.

For the second week in a row, the Vikings will have to contend with a quarterback who likes to run the football. Fife’s Gannon Ginnis is his team’s leading rusher with 810 yards and 16 touchdowns, though he doesn’t appear to have the same electric speed as River Ridge’s Tomasi Manu. He looks more like another Gannon that North Kitsap has seen this year — Bainbridge’s Gannon Winker, a big, tall, athletic quarterback who can both escape the pocket and throw downfield.

Fife went 8-0 in the SPSL 2A Mountain Division and has some size and likes to run the ball. Their only loss is a non-league opener against Rainier Beach.

Girls Soccer

Overlake (7-1-0, 13-4-1) at Klahowya (6-0-0, 17-2-0), 5 p.m. at Silverdale Stadium

The Eagles walloped Tenino, 7-0, in the first round of the state tournament. Hope Martin and Kayden Eckley each scored a pair of goals and Alyssa Peters, Rylee Radford and Myla Clark all hit the back of the net as well. A win in this game would put Klahowya into next weekend’s semifinal round and a guaranteed top four finish in the 1A state tournament.

North Kitsap (10-2-0, 13-5-1) at Liberty (10-2-2, 14-2-2), 7 p.m.

The Patriots are quite the familiar foe for North Kitsap. It was they who eliminated the Vikings from last year’s 2A state tournament in the very same round. Liberty went on to win the state championship with 32-goal scorer Makenna Carr, who now plays for the University of Washington.

The Patriots are still quite good, but North Kitsap really put it all together in Tuesday’s 3-2 shootout victory over Mark Morris. If they’re peaking at the right time, this could be a match to remember.

Volleyball

Kingston and North Kitsap will take their swings against the state’s best at the 2A tournament at St. Martin’s University in Lacey beginning bright and early Friday morning, Nov. 9.

The Bucs take on Columbia River in their first game of the day at 9 a.m. A win would put them into the quarterfinals and a match against the winner of White River-Blaine. Kingston beat White River in five sets in the district tournament. A loss sends them on to a 3 p.m. match of the loser of the same game.

North Kitsap starts their day at 11 a.m. against Woodland. A win gives them a 7 p.m. match against the winner of Sedro-Woolley-Ellensburg, and a loss means a 3 p.m. game against the loser of that matchup.

Two wins are required to make it to Saturday.

Central Kitsap is still alive in the district tournament. The Cougars play North Thurston at noon, Nov. 10, at Bonney Lake High School. They have to win three matches to make it to state.

Girls Swimming

The state meets for each classification will take place this weekend at the King County Aquatics Center in Federal Way. In the 2A state meet, North Kitsap has the top seed time in six events, including two relays. Eleanor Beers is at the top of the 50 and 100 freestyle events, Brianna Hoffman is No. 1 in the 200 freestyle and Isabel Hendryx has the best seed time in the 100 backstroke.

Olympic’s Chloe Partsch has the top seed time in the 100 butterfly.

The schedule is as follows:

Friday, November 9