Now it’s La Center’s turn. Thirty-eight consecutive opponents have tried, but not one has succeeded in beating the Archbishop Murphy Wildcats.
La Center will make its attempt at 1 p.m. Saturday at Everett Memorial Stadium.
John Lambert, who coaches the Southwest Washington team, said he wasn’t very aware of Archbishop Murphy while it was winning back-to-back Class 1A state titles. But now that the Wildcats are a 2A team, they’ve got his attention.
“I’ve been watching them on film and I’m really impressed,” Lambert said. “They could compete in most 3A or 4A leagues. They’re talented, quick, physical and they have a Hall-of-Fame coach (Terry Ennis).
“They’re well-coached and well-disciplined. It’s evident why they’ve won 38 in a row.”
Lambert has been searching for a weakness in the Murphy’s films. So far he hasn’t found one.
“Offensively, they pound it right at you, then suddenly, boom, they’re outside and running down the sideline for a touchdown.
“Defensively, no one has moved the ball on them. They’ve had some dominant performances. They are by far the best team I’ve seen this year.”
La Center brings a senior-laden team to the contest. Lambert said his club runs a similar offense to Murphy’s, but can’t match its size on defense with no lineman over 200 pounds.
“We’ve played teams which were bigger than us, but we were quicker,” he said. “This is the first time we’ve played a team that was bigger and quicker.”
Here’s a look at the weekend playoffs:
La Center at Archbishop Murphy
Kickoff: 1 p.m. Saturday at Everett Memorial Stadium
Records: No. 3-ranked La Center is 11-0 overall. No. 2-ranked Archbishop Murphy is 12-0.
Players to watch: La Center running back Aaron Carr rushed for 201 yards and two TDs in last week’s 24-8 victory over Mount Baker.
Archbishop Murphy quarterback Kyle Wilkins and running backs Shiloh Keo, Craig Duncan, Stan Smith combined to rush for more than 300 yards in each of the Wildcats’ past two games. Smith (1,359) and Keo (1,084) have both rushed for more than 1,000 yards and Duncan (985) is on the verge of matching them.
Breaking down the game: Archbishop Murphy is coming off three games in 10 days, but survived unscathed, extending its winning streak to 38 in a row. LaCenter beat Mount Baker with its defense, holding the Mountaineers to minus-18 yards on 12 first-half plays. Mount Baker finished with 101 yards passing and minus-31 yards rushing.
“We’re very proud of our defense,” DL Jason Gandy told the Vancouver Columbian. “We’ve been getting better throughout the whole year.”
La Center wound up with a 403-70 total offense advantage. But that defense hasn’t seen an offense like Murphy’s. The Wildcats main advantage over opponents is their team speed, which will be enhanced by the artificial turf at Everett Memorial.
Little-known fact: La Center is making its first state playoff appearance since 2002. It lost first-round games in 2002 and 2001. Archbishop Murphy won 1A state titles in 2002 and 2003.
Pick: Archbishop Murphy 28-7.
Kamiak at Skyline
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Saturday at Skyline H.S.
Directions: Drive I-5 south to I-405. I-405 south to SR 520. SR 520 east to Redmond Way exit. East on Redmond Way, which after a while becomes the Redmond-Fall City Road. Turn right on Sahalee Way NE. Left on SE 10th (school entrance).
Tickets: $7 adults, $5 students with ASB, senior citizens and elementary students.
Records: No. 9-ranked Kamiak is 8-3 overall. No. 5-ranked Skyline is 10-1.
Players to watch: Kamiak running back Austin Curran, who came into last week’s game with 500 yards rushing in seven contests, ran for a career-high 238 yards in the Knights’ 49-28 win over Meadowdale. Quarterback Mark Iddins completed 13 of 17 passes for 145 yards, giving him 2,079 yards passing this season.
Skyline quarterback Aaron Hasson, who came into last week’s game as the second-leading passer in the Kingco 4A with 1,604 yards, completed 14 of 19 passes for 235 yards and one TD in a 49-0 win over Tahoma. He also ran for 40 yards and a TD on seven carries. Running back Brett Kaluza, who led the Kingco 4A in rushing with 893 yards, left last week’s game in the second quarter with an ankle injury, but is expected to play against Kamiak. In his absence, Skyline was led in rushing by Tyler Pelluer (14 carries, 64 yards, four TDs). Wide receiver Tony Chidiac, who led the Kingco 4A with 691 receiving yards, had six catches for 98 yards against Tahoma.
Breaking down the game: Skyline, which has won 10 straight games since losing its opener to Lake Washington, holds most of the advantages against Kamiak. It has out-scored the Knights (407-300 points through 10 games), out-defended them against scoring (108-169), out-rushed them (1,935-1,760), out-defended them against the run (686-1,283) and out-defended them against the pass (928-1,040). The only area in which the Knights hold an edge is passing (1,934-1,730). So, Kamiak should have some success through the air. The key for the Knights will be having success on the ground. Skyline shut down the Tahoma running game, holding it to 51 yards in the first half. But Kamiak back Austin Curran is getting better every week and is coming of the best game of his career. If he can continue to improve, Kamiak could pull off an upset.
Little-known fact: This is Kamiak’s first state playoff appearance since 2002 and its deepest penetration since losing in the semifinals in 2000. Skyline, the 2000 3A state champs, failed to qualify last year after losing in the quarterfinals in 2002 and the semifinals in 2001.
Pick: Skyline 35-28.
Other games Saturday
1A state quarterfinal: La Conner vs. Friday Harbor at Mount Vernon H.S., 4:30 p.m.
B-11 state quarterfinal: Lind-Ritzville vs. Orcas Island at Mount Vernon H.S., 1:30 p.m.
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