Four SE Eights teams earn start in state playoffs

A four-team delegation from the SE Eights will go up against the four teams from District 7 this week in a crossover round which proved to be the end of the 2010 trail for the SE. Last year Colton, St. John/Endicott and Garfield/Palouse were all turned back by SE foes in the first round.

This year, the SE league race ended in a close finish with Pomeroy, Touchet and Colton each cooking 5-1 records. The top three and Garfield/Palouse, which came close to tripping up Colton in the last round last Thursday, earned the slots for this week’s crossover.

Pomeroy and Touchet bagged the top seeds via an early-season draw which was done to resolve ties. Both those teams get home dates this week.

Colton and Garfield/Palouse will be on the road.

Hovering over this week’s crossover round is Almira-Coulee-Hartline which faces Wilbur-Creston in an all-NE match. The Warriors moved to 10-0 with a dominating win in the North-South game over Wellpinit last week.

Winners this week will advance to the quarter-finals.

POMEROY will host Northport, a team which was battered in non-leaguers early in the season in the southland. The Pirates will host after taking out St. John/Endicott 62-20 in the last league round last Thursday. The big score was booked with just two quarters on the board.

SJE’s Samuel Raynor threw a 42-yard shot to Cole McCanna in the first quarter, and McCanna scored the last Eagles TD on a 16-yard run in the second quarter.

Ryan Smith, Pomeroy quarterback, scored three times and threw for two more TDs.

Northport posted a 42-22 win over Selkirk last week.

TOUCHET, which topped the league until Pomeroy nipped them two weeks ago, will host Cusick, a 14-54 victim of Odessa/Harrington in the North-South playoff last week.

The Indians sustained a second loss last week in a 16-60 bow to Liberty Christian, the SE’s non-league circulator.

The cross-over game is booked at 1:30 Saturday.

The Panthers, a power in the playoff scene for the last two years, start the grid with a 6-4 overall record.

COLTON Friday will travel to Odessa to play Odessa/Harrington in the first round. The Titans will host with a 6-3 record.

Colton and Garfield/Palouse went down to the wire last Thursday at Palouse with the two teams cranking out a combined 42 points in a frantic last quarter. Final score was 52-48.

The Vikings scored the last TD, a 16-yard pass play from QB Anthony Floyd to Wyatt Mitchell. The score went into the books at the buzzer and the Vikes closed it out at that point because the four-point margin was out of conversion points range.

Colton Senior QB Josy Straughan totaled 14-16 for 256 yards passing with Jake Straughan booking 9-189 receiving.

Tailback Nick Robertson had a 7-142 night to lead a 25-240 rushing total for the Wildcats. Robertson scored the first two Wildcats TDs on runs of 43 and 84 yards.

The Vikings’ Riley Hodges scores six TDs.

Colton will make their third straight entry into entry into the playoffs when they roll to Odessa Friday night.

GARFIELD Palouse earned the SE number-four slot and will travel north to play Wellpinit, the 0-40 victim of the ACH dominators in the North-South round last week. Wellpinit starts with an 8-2 overall record.

LaCROSSE/ Washtucna finished out last week with a 40-0 shutout of Sunnyside Christian over three quarters. The Tigercats finished with a 6-4 overall record, including a 30-14 non-league win over Odessa/Harrington, Colton’s Friday night hosts.

Sawyer Hostetler scored two TDs for the Tigercats and John Holdren scored two.

QB Jake Aune, who hit a TD passes to Hostetler and Holdren, added a TD off an interception return.

Matt Stubbs scored the other Tigercat TD.

FINAL SE STANDINGS

Pomeroy 5-1 7-1

Touchet 5-1 7-2

Colton 5-1 8-1

Garfield/Palouse 3-3 4-5

St. John/Endicott 1-5 1-7

LaX /Washtucna 2-4 6-4

Sunnyside Christian 0-6 1-9