Extra Point

By Justin Damasiewicz

It’s finally here, Bulldog fans.

You will get to watch your team face a challenging opponent.

You have held your breath all season hoping that Montesano would not stumble and lose a game they should not lose.

They did not.

Regular season, 9-0. District crossover win. State opening win. All 11 triumphs leaving no doubt which team was superior.

I managed to make it through 11 games covering this team, which has been favored in every single contest, and I did not jinx them into a loss by writing about how much better they were than every single opponent.

I know the coaches and players did their part, but I think I deserve some credit for that.

The fourth-ranked Bulldogs will make the long trip to Bellingham for a road game against the third-ranked Meridian Trojans.

Despite the issues with the way the WIAA (Washington Interscholastic Activities Association) decides pairings in the state bracket, Montesano actually got a pretty fair shake this season in that respect.

Charles Wright was an appropriate opening-round opponent for an undefeated, state-ranked top seed, and a number-3 versus number-4 matchup is pretty close to perfect for a game in the round of eight.

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, they now have to travel 187 miles to play a road game against a team with the same seed as them, just because of which side of the bracket they are on.

Huh?

I don’t claim to have all the answers, but doesn’t it seem just plain lazy on the WIAA’s part that this matchup isn’t played on a neutral field somewhere in the middle?

I will never understand why the governing body of high school sports in our state seems to continuously and blatantly disregard common sense in their various playoff systems, even when the answer seems to be so simple.

Unfortunately for Montesano players and fans (in all sports, not just football), the Bulldogs seem to generally be on the wrong side of the advantages doled out by the WIAA.

But I digress.

Meridian is good. It’s hard to say exactly how good, because six of their nine games were against their own league, and two of their non-league wins were one-score victories against bad Class 2A teams, Anacortes (3-6) and Blaine (1-9).

Two other teams in Meridian’s conference, Nooksack Valley and Mount Baker, also qualified for the state tournament, but both lost in the first round.

The Trojans do have one bright spot on their resume that the Bulldogs do not have — a win over a state-ranked opponent. Meridian beat Cascade Christian 34-29 on Sept. 15.

Meridian appears to have played a more difficult schedule than Montesano, but the Trojans average margin of victory (18.3) is significantly less impressive than that of the Bulldogs (37.8).

The best measuring stick we have is the lone common opponent, Hoquiam.

Meridian topped Hoquiam 63-21 and Montesano beat the Grizzlies 35-13.

Neither game was particularly competitive, although I think most who follow the Bulldogs and were in attendance the night they played the Grizzlies would agree that Montesano should have won by a lot more. They made some key mistakes and uncharacteristically stalled on offensive at inopportune moments.

I don’t know what is going to happen this weekend and I have decided not to make a prediction. I just don’t have enough information about Meridian to make a solid estimation.

I will, however, repeat what I have been saying since early this season.

It’s obvious that this Montesano team is special.

I can’t say that they will win the state title or make the semifinals, but what I can say with confidence is that they are capable of doing those things.

When you have a player like Carson Klinger, who changes the game when he’s on the field on offense, defense or special teams, you have a brilliant centerpiece.

Add multiple highly capable secondary rushing options like Dakoyta Reninger and Teegan Zillyett, an accurate deep ball passer who also has proved to be a capable runner in Trevor Ridgway, fast and handsy wideouts like Kobe Gallinger and Kooper Karaffa, you have a recipe for success.

Then you have the guys who do the dirty work that really put this team over the top.

When I think of all the different players I have seen make great plays on defense this season, it’s mind boggling. These guys don’t always get their name in the paper, but they are the gears that make this team turn. Just to name a few off the top of my head: Jared Wallace, Ben Sowers, Seth Dierkop, Gage Iverson, Shaydon Farmer, Tanner Nicklas, Kai Olson and most recently Brent Hollatz.

Top it off with a coaching staff who knows how to put it all together, and you’ve got something special.

Hopefully lots of people will be able to make the trip to Bellingham on Saturday and cheer on this squad. They deserve it.

Go ’Dogs!