Friday Night (High)lights: And then there were two: Gonzaga Prep, West Valley carry GSL flag to state football playoffs
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association released the state football playoff brackets on Sunday, so the teams that moved on in the Round of 32 and crossovers at the lower levels found out their seeds and opponents for first-round games.
Some games didn’t have day/time/locations available before publication. Please visit spokesman.com/high-school-sports/schedule/ for complete state playoff schedules.
Survive and advance
The Greater Spokane League started the Round of 32 with nine teams involved between the three classifications. Only two survived.
Gonzaga Prep, the GSL 4A/3A champion, and West Valley, the 2A champ, both advanced to the state brackets in easy fashion – G-Prep beat Sunnyside 68-20 and West Valley handled Aberdeen 48-7.
The Bullpups received a favorable draw in the 4A bracket, earning the No. 3 seed. G-Prep finished the season ranked No. 3 in 4A by the state media and coaches association polls, and No. 4 in RPI.
This means they are guaranteed to host games in the first round and quarterfinals, and would only have to travel in the semifinals should they match up against No. 2 Lake Stevens.
Last year, after an undefeated regular season and easy win in the Round of 32 they were given the No. 5 seed and had to travel to the Seattle and Vancouver areas in back-to-back week, losing at Camas in the semis in a game they led in the fourth quarter.
In the first round, G-Prep draws No. 14 Curtis, which beat Kentwood 30-20 on Friday to advance. Curtis finished third in the Sound Puget Sound League, behind No.1 in the state Puyallup and No. 5 Sumner.
West Valley is ranked No. 10 in the 2A RPI and drew the No. 11 seed. They face No. 6 Lynden in the first round. The Lions finished third in the Northwest Conference behind No. 1 Archbishop Murphy and No. 5 Anacortes.
Bounced
The top two GSL 3A teams both lost in the Round of 32 in heartbreaking fashion. Cheney scored with 27 seconds left to get within a point of Ferndale at Roos Field and went for the win, but the 2-point conversion was stopped at the 1.
At the same time, Mt. Spokane scored in overtime to take the lead against Southridge, but the Suns scored and converted the 2-pointer to take the win.
The other five GSL teams? They lost by a combined score of 232-21.
Now, the other three 2A teams got a lousy draw in the Round of 32, getting matched up against the top three teams in the state, all undefeated league champions.