10/3/2023
Let’s take a look at where we stand in class 2B at the midway point of the High School football season. Ultimately 12 teams will advance to the 2B State football tournament. Last year the State Champions were the Napavine Tigers with a 41-27 win over Okanogan. Pe-Ell-Willapa Valley and Jenkins (Chewelah) both made it to the semi-finals.
Let’s take a look at the likely contenders at this point of the season. We take a look at the current standings and the RPI but remember the RPI is very early and is meant to be a full season measurement. We also have listed every league and their current standings below. Many leagues also crossover with each other to share their allocations to the state tournament and allow more schools to have a chance to qualify. We do not know how each league is set up so we are looking at all leagues with a general overview. Let’s get started!
The Central 2B league in SW Washington is divided into 3 divisions and where the current defending champs reside. The 15 team league is very competitive with the RPI ranks of 3, 4, 5, 6,8 and 9 are all in. Napavine is in the C2B North division and is 4-1, 2-0 and coming off their worst loss in years losing 47-6 to 1A power Lynden Christian. Prior to that the Tigers were showing little difference this year from last year rolling to a 4-0 record. In the 1st 4 games Napavine the #3 RPI chalked up 207 total points while giving up just 34. The Tigers got humbled and make them even more dangerous for the stretch run.
Just behind them is Raymond/South Bend at 4-1, 1-0 and the #6 RPI. RSB lost by a TD to Toledo in a non-league game. RSB made it to the quarters last year before getting ousted by PWV. PWV and Forks are both 4-1 and 2-1 on the year with PWV checking in as the 9th RPI team and made it to the semi-finals last year. Forks fell short of the round of 12 last year but were in the mix and will again be in the mix and currently ranked 8th in the RPI.
In the C2B South Toledo and Onalaska are at the top of the division with identical 4-1 records but the Loggers hold the advantage as their loss is non-conference and Toledo’s loss is to Ony. Onalaska is the 4 in the RPI and Toledo 5. Kalama is 3-2 and have not played a league contest yet but after winning the state title in 2017 and 2021 with a 2nd place in between they missed the tournament last year and are looking to make a post-season run and are currently #15 in the RPI.
And in the lower C2B East/West the Rainier Mountaineers are leading the charge with a 3-2, 2-0 and the top RPI for this division of 16. The others will have to turn around their 1st half efforts to catch Rainier but there is plenty of time to get a run going.
#2 RPI and state runners-up last year Okanogan is 5-0 in the CWB 2B all non-league games. The Bulldogs have taken on all levels including a pair of wins over 2A schools as they get primed for the final 4 games all conference contests. Manson is #10 in the RPI with a 5-0 and 1-0 in league. Manson clearly is aiming for Friday, Oct 20 when they battle Okanogan and could be 2 unbeatens going at it for the league Championship.
The Coastal 1B league has Lake Quinault leading the way. This league is looking for a break-out team and L-Q at 4-0 with an RPI o 14 might be that team. The 2nd half will be interesting if any of the other teams get a string put together to take a shot at the top spot but right now the rest of the league has their work cut out for them.
The EWAC East has 5 teams battling and currently River View who made it to the final 12 last year is in position to get back with a 4-1 record and the highest RPI in the division at 13. Tri Cities Prep checks in at 18 with their 3-2 record and will likely need to be dealt with to get to the tournament.
In the EWAC West there are 6 teams with #7 RPI Goldendale at the top with a 4-1, 1-0 record. The Timberwolves lone loss is a non-leaguer to #1 RPI 1A team Seton Catholic 22-7. The T-Wolves have rolled to a big advantage and will take an epic collapse for anyone to catch them.
The #1 RPI team is Northwest Christian (Colbert) in the Northeast 2B with a perfect 5-0 record. NWC(C) is looking to get to the tournament for the 1st time since 2016. Asotin is at 3-2 on the season but draws an 11 rank in the RPI is one potential challenger with the 4-1 Lind-Ritzville-Sprague another contender with the 14th RPI rank.
And in the NW 2B it’s Friday Harbor in charge in this 3 team league sporting a 3-1 overall record and an RPI of 17.
That is the quick look at all the 2B leagues and certainly a team not mentioned could still make a run. Do remember the standings are tabulated through the arbiter network which the officials enter the final score. Sometimes the scores are accidently entered incorrectly and not all the mistakes are noticed right away. The WIAA is encouraging each AD to check their scores and standings to make sure they are correct.
Also remember there is always a lot of hoot and hollerin’ about the RPI standings but these standings are meant to be a season long measurement so look for big changes and swings still to come, this is where they are right now based on the criteria fed into the computers that spit out the rankings.
Looks to us like there is a lot to be excited about for the stretch run of the football season so buckle up and enjoy the ride!
*Note the standings are as presented there may be some mistakes but the standings are part of the WIAA’s effort to launch a statewide standings, schedules and results website. It was launched this last summer and they continue to work on it but there are some mistakes that we have noticed and have passed on to the WIAA. Overall, it is a huge step in the right direction of trying to once and for collect all the basic information on one site.
Rainier
Ocosta
Ilwaco
Wahkiakum
North Beach
Toutle Lake
Napavine
Raymond
Forks
Pe Ell/Willapa Valley
Morton-White Pass
Toledo
Onalaska
Kalama
Adna
Brewster
Manson
Lake Roosevelt
Okanogan
Tonasket
Columbia (Burbank)
River View
Tri-Cities Prep
Mabton
Warden
Goldendale
White Swan
Cle Elum
Highland
Kittitas
Granger
Northwest Christian (Colbert)
Wilbur-Creston-Keller
Lind-Ritzville-Sprague
Asotin
Reardan
Liberty (Spangle)
Colfax
Friday Harbor
Coupeville
La Conner
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