This week marks the final week of league play for Class 4A and 3A Greater St. Helens Leagues and the 1A Trico League.
So we’ll take a look at those league races for the final playoff spots. With the 2A GSHL going another week, we’ll take a look at those races next week.
So let’s get to it:
4A GSHL BOYS: All six teams in the 4A GSHL will participate in the district playoffs. But the teams that finish first and second receive byes in the opening rounds of the district tournament.
Skyview enters the final week of league play having clinched at least a share of the league title. The Storm will secure the outright league title and the No. 1 seed to the district tournament with their next win or Kelso’s next loss.
That could happen Tuesday in Kelso when Skyview travels to play the Hilanders. Even if the Storm stumble Tuesday, they’ll get another shot to clinch on Thursday against last-place Heritage.
If Skyview beats Kelso Tuesday, then it will set up an interesting final night of league play with potentially four teams vying for the No. 2 seed to district — Kelso (5-3), Mountain View (4-4), Battle Ground (4-4) and Evergreen (3-5).
The pivotal game Thursday could be Kelso at Battle Ground.
4A GSHL GIRLS: Like the boys, the Skyview girls have clinched at least a tie for the league title. The Storm (7-1) need one more win for the outright title, but they have tough games with Kelso and Heritage this week.
Evergreen, Kelso and Heritage start the week at 5-3 in the battle for the No. 2 spot to district. Evergreen has the edge as the Plainsmen are the only team among the three who don’t have to play Skyview this week.
3A GSHL BOYS: There are only four district playoff spots for 3A GSHL teams. Union and Prairie are tied atop the league standings at 6-2, a full two games ahead of 4-4 Camas and Hudson’s Bay.
So, you’d figure the next Union-Prairie game would be the league champion.
The only thing is that Union and Prairie don’t play this week. At least, they aren’t scheduled to play.
The Titans and Falcons have met twice this season, with each team winning one. So the next time Union and Prairie meet, it may come in a tiebreaker game on Saturday.
Fort Vancouver (3-5) is now in a must-win situation following Saturday’s loss to Prairie. The Trappers’ goal is to make it to Friday’s game against Bay no worse than one game behind the Eagles. And that likely means beating Union on Tuesday.
3A GSHL GIRLS: Prairie (8-0) needs a win over Camas (6-2) tonight to lock down another league championship. If Camas falls to the Falcons, the Papermakers will play Union on Thursday, likely with second place on the line.
And even though Hudson’s Bay enters the week two games back in the pursuit for a playoff spot, the Eagles’ chances to stay alive are good, if they can beat Columbia River tonight.
If that happens, Bay goes into its final league game one game behind River. Bay plays winless Fort Vancouver, while River faces unbeaten Prairie.
1A TRICO BOYS: Stevenson (6-1) enters the final week of league in first place. But because of a makeup game Saturday against Ilwaco, the Bulldogs have three games on the schedule this week. La Center (2-6) enters the week with a chance to claim the fourth district playoff spot, but the Wildcats must sweep their two games this week.
1A TRICO GIRLS: Tuesday’s Ilwaco-La Center game at La Center likely will decide the league championship.
Girls bowling
On a very business Saturday in prep sports, something that might have been overlooked was the performance of the Prairie girls bowling team at the state tournament near Tacoma.
The Falcons placed third overall, the highest placing ever by a Clark County team at the Class 3A/2A state championship.
It capped a successful season for Prairie and an excellent postseason that included a district title. Class 3A/2A rival Mark Morris took home the state championship.
Added to their third-place finish, the Falcons also were academic state champions for girls bowling.
Congratulations to the Falcons.
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
