From the Sidelines

Now that the boys and girls brackets are up for the 3A state tournament, we can take a closer look – and make some predictions.

First, some thoughts.

BOYS

Bellevue gets a tough draw. A winnable opening round game against Foster leads to a potential rematch with Enumclaw in the quarterfinal. The Hornets (24-0) are one of just three teams to beat Bellevue this year. If they do meet in the quarterfinals, it will be a lot like the Federal Way/Gonzaga Prep quarterfinal game in the 4A tournament – a game that looks like it should be the championship (that ironically, neither team won).

But what about the draw for Enumclaw? Talk about bad luck. You finish the season with a perfect record and your reward is a first-round matchup with Meadowdale (19-6) and possibly another showdown with Bellevue in the second round. Tough one for the Hornets.

One of the most intriguing first round matchups comes between Franklin (15-12) and Lakes (20-4). The Quakers are a great young team and Lakes has been strong all year. I’ve been flopping back and forth on which team I’ll pick to advance. Either way, I think Franklin comes back next year as one of the favorites to win it all.

Prediction
First Round
Glacier Peak (19-5) over Franklin Pierce (17-7)
Lakes (20-4) over Franklin (15-12)
Rainier Beach (22-3) over Bremerton (16-7)
Union (15-9) over North Central (15-11)
Enumclaw (24-0) over Meadowdale (19-6)
Bellevue (22-3) over Foster (16-8)
Shadle Park (20-4) over Renton (14-12)
O’Dea (20-7) over Mount Rainier (18-7)

Quarterfinals
Lakes over Glacier Peak
Rainier Beach over Union
Enumclaw over Bellevue
O’Dea over Shadle Park

Semifinals
Rainier Beach over Lakes
Enumclaw over O’Dea

Championship
Rainier Beach over Enumclaw

GIRLS

Not much to this one. All signs point to a Kennedy Catholic/Holy Names showdown in the championship game, with the teams ending up on the opposite side of the bracket. Without any local teams in the girls tournament, I’ll skip out on too much analysis here.

Prediction
First Round
Prarie (18-6) over Lynnwood (14-12)
Holy Names (22-2) over Yelm (18-7)
Shadle Park (16-9) over Capital (17-8)
Seattle Prep (16-9) over Bonney Lake (19-5)
Mercer Island (20-5) over Mount Rainier (18-6)
Kennedy Catholic (21-3) over East Valley (9-17)
Lakes (18-7) over Shorecrest (17-7)
White River (20-5) over Cleveland (18-7)

Quarterfinals
Holy Names over Prarie
Seattle Prep over Shadle Park
Kennedy Catholic over Mercer Island
White River over Lakes

Semifinals
Holy Names over Seattle Prep
Kennedy Catholic over White River

Championship
Holy Names over Kennedy Catholic

Here’s a look at the matchups for our area teams in this week’s Class 4A and 1A state basketball tournaments.

Class 4A at Tacoma Dome
Girls
Newport (19-5) vs. Kentwood (22-5), 3 p.m.
Tough first round matchup for the Knights, but if they can get past the Conks, they’ll be in business for a run as top-ranked and undefeated Auburn Riverside is on the other half of the bracket.
Kentwood, however, is no pushover. Led by diminutive five-foot point guard Kylie Huerta, the Conks employ the full-court press in spurts and can really make some runs. Huerta averages just under 20 points per game, is quick, has great dribbling skills, and according to our ace sports reporter in Kent, Erick Walker, she can really find her way to the basket in traffic. She was also the SPSL North Co-MVP this season.
Sanda Milovic, Liz Mills and Courtney Johnson all also average double figures for the Conks, who are led by first-year coach Dean Montzingo, who lead the boys team to a state title in 2004.
They won’t be fazed by the big state either – it’s the teams fourth straight trip to the state tournament.

Class 1A at Yakima Sun Dome
Girls
Bellevue Christian(18-5) vs. Chelan (17-3), 4 p.m.
Tough draw for the Vikings. The Goats (yes, that’s actually Chelan’s mascot) were on a roll to start the year 17-1 but lost their last two games before the state tournament. The Vikings also lost their last game, but before that had won seven in a row. Maren Haines is scoring 14.3 points per game for the Vikings, who hope to improve on last year’s seventh place finish.

Boys
Bellevue Christian (17-6) vs. Mabton (13-8), 7:30 p.m.
It’s a battle of the Vikings that Bellevue Christian should win. The Vikings from Bellevue can’t overlook this game though even with the looming specter of playing the winner of the huge Vashon Island/Chelan game in the second round.

Here is the complete schedule for the Sea-King 3A tournament. It should be a heck of a district tournament on both the boys and girls sides.

Boys

Tuesday at home-team sites (loser out)
Game 1 – Ingraham (7-15) at Franklin (12-10), 8 p.m.
Game 2 – Mercer Island (12-11) at O’Dea (16-6), 7 p.m.
Game 3 – Bainbridge (13-8) at Sammamish (14-9), 7 p.m.
Game 4 – Lakeside (8-12) at Seattle Prep (16-6), 7 p.m.

Thursday at Bellevue College
Game 5 – Winner Game 1 vs. Mount Si (16-6), 4:45 p.m.
Game 6 – Winner Game 2 vs. Rainier Beach (19-3), 8:15 p.m.

Friday at Bellevue College
Game 7 – Winner Game 3 vs. Chief Sealth (14-8)
Game 8 – Winner Game 4 vs. Bellevue (20-2)

March 2 at home-team sites (loser out)
Game 9 – Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6
Game 10 – Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8

March 2 at Bellevue College
Game 11 – Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 3 p.m.
Game 12 – Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 6:30 p.m.

March 4 at Bellevue College (loser out)
Game 13 – Loser Game 12 vs. Winner Game 9, 3 p.m.
Game 14 – Loser Game 11 vs. Winner Game 10, 6:30 p.m.

March 6 at Bellevue College
Game 15 – Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 14, 3 p.m. (3rd-4th)
Game 16 – Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12, 6:30 p.m. (Championship)

Girls

Tuesday at home-sites (loser out)
Game 1 – Bishop Blanchet (12-10) at Cleveland (14-6), 7 p.m.
Game 2 – Juanita (13-10) at Franklin (12-9), 6 p.m.
Game 3 – Nathan Hale (13-9) at Mount Si (13-10), 7 p.m.
Game 4 – Lakeside (12-9) at Bainbridge (10-12), 7 p.m.

Thursday at Bellevue College
Game 5 – Winner Game 1 vs. Bellevue (14-8), 3 p.m.
Game 6 – Winner Game 2 vs. Holy Names (20-2), 6:30 p.m.

Friday at Bellevue College
Game 7 – Winner Game 3 vs. Seattle Prep (14-7), 3 p.m.
Game 8 – Winner Game 4 vs. Mercer Island (18-4), 6:30 p.m.

March 2 at home-team sites (loser out)
Game 9 — Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6
Game 10 — Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8

March 2 at Bellevue College
Game 11 — Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 4:45 p.m.
Game 12 — Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 8:15 p.m.

March 4 at Bellevue College (Loser out)
Game 13 — Winner Game 9 vs. Loser Game 12, 4:45 p.m.
Game 14 — Winner Game 10 vs. Loser Game 11, 8:15 p.m.

March 6 at Bellevue College
Game 15 — Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 14, 4:45 p.m. (3rd-4th)
Game 16 — Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12, 8:15 p.m. (Championship)

The All-KingCo teams for 3A/2A were announced last Friday following the boys and girls championship matches. Here are both teams.

Boys
MVP – Aaron Bright, Bellevue
Coach of the Year – Wes Newton, Sammamish

First Team
Tanner Riley, Sr., Mount Si
Nate Sikma, Jr., Bellevue
Quinn Sterling, Jr., Mercer Island
Ryon Cunnigon, Sr., Mount Si
Kaj Sherman, Sr., Mercer Island

Second Team
Chandler Jenkins, Jr., Liberty
Daniel Wruble, Sr., Sammamish
Zander Nelson, Sr., Mount Si
John Steinberg, Soph., Sammamish
Dallas Smith, Jr., Mount Si

Honorable Mention
Belleve – Will Locke. Mercer Island – Brian Miller. Sammamish – Anthony Do, George Valle. Interlake – Ricky Aaron, Jeffery Kimmel. Mount Si – Justin Downer, Lucas Zupan.

Girls
MVP – Hailey Gullstad
Coach of the Year – Jamie Prescott, Mercer Island

First Team
Kimberly Baba, Sr., Juanita
Danni Sjolander, Jr., Liberty
Sarah Anderegg, Sr., Interlake
Hannah Lilly, Sr., Mercer Island
Catelyn Webber, Sr., Bellevue

Second Team
Kelly Meggs, Sr., Bellevue
Kate Cryerman, Soph., Juanita
Hailey Eddings, Jr., Mount Si
Kate DePron, Sr., Mercer Island
Jae Shin, Jr., Mercer Island

Honorable Mention
Mount Si – Stevie Riley, Traci Nelson, Karly Thompson. Liberty – Breanne Fachenrich, Aspen Winegar. Interlake – Litia Nguaumo. Bellevue – Alyssa Gilbert. Juanita – Molly Grager.

After speaking with Wes Warren today about his move to Montana Western, I posted an updated story on our Web site.

Here’s the full story:

Bellevue’s Wes Warren to Montana Western
By Joel Willits
jwillits@bellevuereporter.com
Bellevue defensive coordinator Wes Warren has accepted a coaching position with the University of Montana Western, an NAIA school in Dillon, Mont.

Warren, who just finished his 12th season on Bellevue’s staff, will be the team’s linebackers/special teams coordinator and recruiting coordinator.

“I kind of realized a couple years ago that I enjoyed coaching so much that if I didn’t make a lot of money in the profession, I’d still be happy,” Warren said. “I told that to Butch [Goncharoff, Bellevue's coach] a couple years ago and decided to do one more year because of the kids.”

Warren, whose younger brother Cam is a wide receiver at the University of Montana, was called by Montana Western after Bellevue’s season ended with a state championship victory over Liberty.

“We talked back and forth and I flew over and spent five days watching them do their winter conditioning,” Warren said. “It just seemed like a great fit.”

Warren, who did not play college football, noted a few area connections on the Montana Western staff. Offensive Coordinator Pohai Lee grew up in Oregon across the street from Liberty High School coach Steve Valach. Defensive Coordinator Travis Domser played at Eatonville under former Skyline coach Steve Gervais.

“They knew that me not playing college football put me as a guy that could have flown under the radar,” Warren said. “This is a great opportunity for me to get my feet wet.”

The Bulldogs, who went 4-6 last year, feature several players from the state of Washington, including three players from Liberty.

Warren is the second area coach to leave for the college ranks following last season. Interlake coach Sheldon Cross accepted a graduate assistant position with Washington State University in December.

Warren said he’ll miss Bellevue, where he was an all-conference linebacker, but he’s ready for the change that Dillon, a city of just 3,700, will bring.

“I just needed a change of pace for life,” he said. “When I saw how the coaches and players interacted at Montana Western, it reminded me of Bellevue in a way. This isn’t a business; I’ll get to maintain that relationship of working with kids.”

Warren will head to Dillon next week to officially begin his recruiting duties.

I chatted with Bellevue athletic director Brian Hercules for a minute last night following the Wolverine girls upset of No. 4 Mercer Island. I asked Hercules if there was any update on the rumored Bellevue-Skyline game next year.

Hercules told me there is still “nothing official” but we should know more next week. That’s when the principals and athletic directors vote on whether or not Eastside Catholic will join the KingCo 3A/2A. The Crusaders have to get 80 percent of the vote.

So basically, we still don’t know whether or not this game will happen. But like I said in previous posts, my sources tell me Bellevue wants this game to happen, so we’ll see.

Just learned that Bellevue’s defensive coordinator Wes Warren has accepted a job with the University of Montana Western to be their linebackers/special teams coordinator and recruiting coordinator. Warren, whose younger brother Cam is a defensive back at the University of Montana, just finished his 13th season on Bellevue’s staff.

Warren was an All-KingCo linebacker for Bellevue in 1997 and is a graduate of the University of Washington. He will be heading to Dillon, Montana next week to officially begin his recruiting duties.

I’ll catch up with Wes soon and get his thoughts on leaving the Wolverines.

Interlake athletic director Art Kuehn just confirmed that Saints star running back Brett Kirschner will sign with the University of Montana on Wednesday.

Kirschner, who helped lead the Saints to back-to-back Class 2A state playoff appearances, was being courted by the Air Force Academy, Washington State University and others before picking Montana.

The Grizzles were the FCS runners-up this season. Kirschner will join Bellevue’s Peter Nguyen, Cam Warren and Sean Conners on the Montana roster.

I’ve had numerous emails, phone calls and questions at events from folks wondering why Sammamish decided to opt-up to 3A, when its numbers would have made it a 2A school for the next two years. Many people have pointed out the success (and some say, school pride) that Interlake has found while playing in Class 2A the past two years, including two-straight trips to the football state playoffs.

Sammamish athletic director Pat McCarthy cleared things up today, explaining just why the Totems elected to opt-up to 3A. Mostly, it has to do with the uncertainty regarding playoff opportunities for the Totems.

Interlake, McCarthy said, is the only 2A school currently in District 2. If the Totems were to become a 2A school, playoff berths would have to be worked out with District 3 – which is currently in the process of adding multiple new teams. That uncertainty is part of the reason Sammamish decided to opt-up.

“We’re talking about a question of, if we make the playoffs, what is that going to look like?,” McCarthy said. “When you ask that question, there is no answer yet. We elected to, instead of not knowing what’s going to happen, not knowing what it’s going to look like, we elected to not go that way.”

McCarthy noted that it was a “really difficult decision” but said the Totems are happy to be in 3A.

“We at Sammamish have always been a 3A school,” McCarthy said. “We’ve always wanted to be a 3A school and that is where we have decided we fit best.”

Newport baseball coach Brian Fischer will not return to the Newport baseball program, according to Knights athletic director Gill James.

Fischer, who led the Knights to state titles in 1997, 2001 and 2006, has the opportunity to return to the team in 2011. Newport has hired Hal DeBerry to take over this spring. DeBerry spent last season, when the Knights reached the 4A state semifinals, as an assistant coach.

Here’s the full release from Gill James:

Newport high School baseball will be without the services of Brian Fischer this coming Spring 2010 season.  For personal reasons Coach Fischer will not be at the helm for the first time in 15 years.  The door has been left open for a possible return by Coach Fischer in the spring of 2011.  Newport has hired Assistant Coach Hal DeBerry to lead the Knights during the 2010 season.  Coach DeBerry brings and extensive baseball background along with having been on staff last year at Newport.

Under Coach Fischer the Knights won three state titles (97, 01 and 06).  Coach Fischer not only continued the success established by Coach Bob Albo before him but developed the Newport facility to one of the finest high school baseball field in the state.

I always appreciated Brian’s hard work and dedication to his sport.  Newport not only won a lot of games, but more important they won them the right way.  Coach Fischer has always had the highest expectations both on and off the field for players and coaches.  You can never replace a coach like Brian Fischer.  As an athletic director it is people like him that make my job so much easier.