Bracket Breakdown: WIAA 2B state football tournament quarterfinal previews, stat leaders, game picks

Undersized Kalama center Kade Harriman not only has physical test in Onalaska up next, he also draws strength from grandmother Heidi Souvenir, who is battling cancer

Kalama High School football has seen its fair share of adversity this season: 

* Two losses in the first three games.

*Different player injuries - a broken leg, a broken collarbone, a torn hamstring, a season-ending concussion.

* CLASS 2B WASHINGTON TOURNAMENT BRACKET

But Chinooks senior Kade Harriman is facing the toughest challenge of them all.

On Sept. 12, one day after Harriman’s birthday, doctors found cancerous tumors in the brain of his grandmother, Heidi Souvenir. An ardent supporter of the Chinooks and the senior lineman, Souvenir is undergoing chemotherapy to fight the cancer, but "she’s been getting pretty sick,” Harriman said. "It still doesn’t feel real. I don’t think it has fully hit me."

Souvenir, who “loves coming and supporting” Harriman, missed several games after her diagnosis. But she was able to attend senior night, and Harriman hopes she can make it to the team's Class 2B quarterfinal game against Onalaska on Friday night in Tenino.

“I feel like I’m a completely different player (when she’s there),” Harriman said.

Harriman has leaned on the support of his teammates and community, which he says has helped him take his mind off the situation. On the field, it’s the Chinooks who lean on Harriman.

The center, who stands just 5 feet, 10 inches and weighs a mere 165 pounds, typifies the heart and fight Kalama has played with this season. Never one of the bigger kids on any team, Harriman was always drawn to the trenches.

“It’s just fun to battle and have the physicality on all those plays,” said Harriman, who is nursing a thumb injury and played last week through a cut on his finger.

Against an Onalaska team that prides itself on dominating the trenches, it will be Harriman - following the faithful advice of grandma Heidi to “always work as hard as I can” - trying to overcome one more obstacle. 

Editor’s note: Here’s a game-by-game breakdown, including top individual performers, outlook and score predictions of this weekend’s 2023 WIAA Class 2B quarterfinal matchups.

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NO. 6 TOLEDO RIVERHAWKS (9-2) vs. NO. 3 NORTHWEST CHRISTIAN OF COLBERT CRUSADERS (10-0)

Photo courtesy of Toledo athletics

1 p.m. Saturday at Freeman High School

Statistical leaders: For Toledo — QB Eli Weeks (1,086 passing yards, 12 TDs; 637 rushing yards, seven TDs), RB Ethen Carver (1,752 rushing yards, 19 TDs), WR Trevin Gale (30 catches, 507 yards, eight TDs). For Northwest Christian of Colbert — QB Titus Spuler (79-133, 1.397 yards, 28 TDs); RB Jaxson Hamilton (66 carries, 559 yards, nine TDs), WR Ryan Waters (47 carries, 479 yards, eight TDs; 25 catches, 406 yards, six TDs), DL Joseph Spuler (27.5 tackles, 13 TFL, 4.5 sacks), DB Jacob Bell (three INTs, two defensive TDs), DB Emmett McLaughlin (10 pass breakups).

What to watch for: The Crusaders have continuously improved over the past four years to reach this pinnacle. A team that averages a 41.9-point margin of victory has clicked on all cylinders all season, with Spuler spreading the ball around to eight different pass catchers. In NWC’s first state quarterfinal since 2018 — when it lost to eventual champion Kalama — the Crusaders face another Central 2B League foe in Toledo. The Riverhawks, fresh off a 21-12 win over 11th-seeded Tri-Cities Prep, and their run-first attack face a tough defensive front on a long road trip.

Pick: Northwest Christian of Colbert, 31-27.

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NO. 7 GOLDENDALE TIMBERWOLVES (10-1) vs. NO. 2 OKANOGAN BULLDOGS (10-0)

Photo by Joshua Hart

1 p.m. Saturday at Apple Bowl, Wenatchee

Statistical leaders: For Goldendale — QB Braxton Seaver (67-117, 1,075 yards, 15 TDs), RB Matthew Gray (124 carries, 1,496 yards, 20 TDs), WR Cameron Groves (33 catches, 593 yards, nine TDs), LB Matthew Gray (73 tackles, 10 TFL), DL Seth Wilder (10 TFL), DB Cameron Groves (six INTs). For Okanogan — QB Carter Kuchenbuch (25-54, 440 yards, seven TDs: 69 carries, 789 yards, 19 TDs), RB Steele Rico (86 carries, 580 yards, 11 TDs), RB David Huffstetler (65 carries, 577 yards, 11 TDs), WR Tanner Grooms (51 carries, 535 yards, nine TDs), DL Kasey Erickson (40 tackles, 12 TFL, six sacks), DB Tanner Grooms (five INTs).

What to watch for: The Bulldogs are on a collision course for a rematch of last year’s 2B state championship, outscoring opponents, 504-53, behind an intimidating defense and a balanced, misdirection-based rushing attack. Four different players, including Kuchenbuch, have rushed for more than 500 yards this season. The Timberwolves, who impressed 2B football fans with a 67-22 drubbing of Brewster in the first round, will try to be the first team this season to keep the score-line within 30 points against Okanogan.

Pick: Okanogan, 42-14.

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NO. 5 KALAMA CHINOOKS (8-3) vs. NO. 4 ONALASKA LOGGERS (8-2)

Onalaska's Kayden Mozingo cuts upfield as Kalama's Jackson Esary takes him down in a Central 2B League football game on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021, at Chinooks Stadium in Kalama. Kalama won 58-6. (Joshua Hart/For ScorebookLive) / Photo by Joshua Hart

7 p.m. Friday at Tenino High School

Statistical leaders: For Kalama — QB Aiden Brown (2,482 passing yards, 21 TDs), Brown (102 carries, 1,135 yards, 19 TDs), WR Ethan Brightbill (62 catches, 871 yards, nine TDs), WR Quin Hahn (34 catches, 511 yards), LB Drew Schlangen (94.5 tackles, five TFL, three INT), Dylan Jones (64 tackles, six sacks, three forced fumbles). For Onalaska — QB Kayden Mozingo (14-43, 353 yards, seven TDs; 141 carries, 1,632 yards, 24 TDs), RB Rodrigo Rodriguez (189 carries, 1,767 yards, 18 TDs), DB Cooper Lawrence (seven INTs, two defensive TDs).

What to watch for: The classification's hottest rivalry will get another chapter Friday as Kalama and Onalaska meet for the sixth time in the past three years. The Chinooks beat Onalaska, 44-36, in Week 6 - but received the lower playoffs seed and had to play Friday Harbor in the first round (while the Loggers enjoyed a bye). All of it has left program followers confused and irritated. With so much recent history and friction between two drastically different-styled teams — Onalaska’s smashmouth run style versus the run-and-gun Kalama approach — this one is certain to produce fireworks.

Pick: Onalaska, 48-46.

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NO. 8 RIVER VIEW PANTHERS (10-1) vs. NO. 1 NAPAVINE TIGERS (9-1)

Photo by Joshua Hart

5 p.m. Saturday at Tenino High School

Statistical leaders: For River View — QB Hyatt Clark (137-213, 2,295 yards, 35 TDs), RB Karson Rawlings (147 carries, 1,083 yards, 13 TDs), WR Trayce Teagle (33 catches, 661 yards, 10 TDs) and LB Teagle (nine INT) and DB Austin Eckhart (97 tackles, two blocked FGs) and DT Nate Clinton (85 tackles, eight sacks, 10 TFL). For Napavine — QB Ashton Demarest (91-175, 1,600 yards, 23 TDs; 86 carries, 777 yards, 13 TDs), RB Cael Stanley (65 carries, 500 yards, nine TDs), WR Karsen Denault (24 catches, 522 yards, nine TDs).

What to watch for: Powerhouse Lynden Christian (1A) and non-league Canadian team Carson Graham gave Napavine its stiffest tests of the season. That does not bode well for the rest of the 2B competition, which the defending champions have steamrolled — including a 40-point victory over No. 4 seed Onalaska. The dynamic Demarest and a well-seasoned, well-coached Napavine team starts its title run now. River View, which beat Asotin, 47-20, will need title-worthy performances from the classification’s best remaining arm in Clark and the talented crew around him.

Pick: Napavine, 42-12. 

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(Featured file photo by Candy Durgeloh)