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Often draw is subject to bad luck

By Tim Martinez, Columbian Assistant Sports Editor
Published: November 10, 2009, 12:00am

There are undoubtedly some frustrated people in Camas this morning.

There are people who watched the Camas football team battle with fourth-ranked Liberty of Renton, only to fall to the Patriots 32-22.

Those same people are looking at the Class 3A state playoff bracket and noticing Columbia River still alive after a 41-18 win over Nathan Hale of Seattle.

Yes, that’s same Columbia River team that Camas routed 21-0 about a month ago.

These folks are wondering why Camas, the No. 2 team from the 3A Greater St. Helens League, drew 8-1 Liberty in the state preliminary round, while River — the No. 3 GSHL team — faced a 5-4 Nathan Hale team.

It was just the luck — good or bad — of the draw.

When the WIAA draws up a state tournament bracket, it has two basic goals: find an equitable way of determining a state champion and make sure teams from the same district don’t play each other in the first round.

Beyond that, matchups are subject to random luck.

Is the team that loses in the state championship match the second-best team in the state? Not necessarily. That team could have lost in the first round.

The state preliminary round games or bi-district tournaments are subject to the same issues.

There is just is no subjective way to “seed” these playoff games based on strength of league, past history or any other criteria. So the somewhat random selection process of the No. 1 team from one league playing the No. 2 or 3 team from another is the fairest way to set the matchups.

And sometimes, that just doesn’t seem fair.

Take the Hockinson girls soccer team for instance.

The Hawks have won the 2A GSHL the past three seasons — going undefeated in 2007 and 2008 — and then went on to win the district title, earning a first-round state playoff match in Clark County.

But each year in the first round of state, Hockinson lost. And not only did the Hawks lose, they lost 1-0 each time. And not only that, but they lost to a team that either went on to win the state championship (twice) or play in the state final match (once).

So if you folks in Camas are feeling frustrated, you’re not alone.

Here’s a look at this week’s state playoff matchup for local teams.

Girls soccer

The 3A GSHL flexed its muscles Saturday, showing it is one of the toughest leagues in the state for girls soccer.

If there is another league that could challenge the 3A GSHL for that title, it is the 3A Metro League.

Each league will send three teams each into the 16-team state bracket. And two of Tuesday’s first-round matches feature matchups of GSHL and Metro teams.

Union, the 3A GSHL champion, will face Lakeside of Seattle at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Doc Harris Stadium in Camas. Lakeside was the Metro’s regular-season champion, but a playoff loss to Bainbridge forced the Lions to battle back through loser-out matches to reach state. The Titans are very familiar with sixth-ranked Lakeside, beating the Lions in a seven-round penalty kick shootout last season in the first round of state.

Columbia River will play Holy Names at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Seattle’s Memorial Stadium. Holy Names was the Metro’s No. 2 team, but earned District 2’s top seed in the postseason.

Camas will play Bonney Lake, the 3A South Puget Sound League champion, on Tuesday in Sumner. The game time has not been announced.

In another odd twist in the bracket, if Union and Camas both win Tuesday, they will meet Saturday in a state quarterfinal match, likely at Camas.

Hockinson hopes to change its fortune in the 2A state playoffs when the Hawks face Lakewood, the No. 2 team from the 2A/1A Cascade League, at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Battle Ground.

La Center plays Orting in the 1A tournament. A game time, date and site will be announced today.

Volleyball

The Class 4A, 3A and 2A state tournaments will take place at the Toyota Center in Kennewick. The 4A tournament starts Thursday with Skyview opening up at 10:30 a.m. against Southridge of Kennewick.

The 3A tournament begins Friday, with three 3A GSHL teams participating: Prairie plays Everett at noon, while Camas plays West Valley of Yakima and Columbia River plays Meadowdale at 2 p.m.

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Hockinson meets Burlington-Edison at 10:30 a.m. Friday in the opening round of the 2A tournament.

In Yakima, King’s Way opens the 1B state tournament with a 9 a.m. match Friday against Trout Lake/Glenwood.

Football

None of this week’s first-round state playoff games involving local teams have officially announced game times or dates.

The games can be played on Friday or Saturday. The WIAA stipulates that any game involving a team that must travel more than 150 miles will be played on Saturday. Also, if a game involves a team that must has a play-in game or tiebreaker on Tuesday, that game also will be played on Saturday.

The two games that fit those criteria is Columbia River’s game at Meadowdale in the 3A playoffs, and La Center’s game against Meridian, Port Townsend or Nooksack Valley in the 1A playoffs. La Center’s game likely will take place in Battle Ground.

The Bethel-Skyview game and Capital-Union game — both will be played in Vancouver — don’t meet the aforementioned criteria. But these teams may elect to play on Friday or Saturday.

Tim Martinez is the assistant sports editor/prep coordinator for The Columbian. He can be reached by phone at 360-735-4538 or e-mail at tim.martinez@columbian.com

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