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Almira/Coulee-Hartline's
Derek Isaak takes a shot against Tulalip Heritage in the
quarterfinal round of the 2009 Class 1B boys state tournament.
GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic
file |
Unfortunately, several challengers won't come close to
playing for the title thanks to a tournament draw that dropped many
pre-tourney title contenders into the same bracket.
"I think someone's looking out for us," said Duke Wood,
first-year coach at Moses Lake Christian, last season's state runner-up.
"Everyone's good (at state)," Wood said, "but some teams still stick out,
and most of those are in that (other bracket)."
Although the defending champ is missing, the other
seven teams earning state hardware in 2009 are back.
In addition to Moses Lake Christian, that group
includes top-ranked Rosalia (fifth in '09), third-ranked Sunnyside Christian
(seventh), fourth-ranked Cusick (sixth), Almira/Coulee-Hartline (third),
Tulalip Heritage (fourth) and Lake Quinault (eighth).
Rosalia, Sunnyside Christian and ACH are all in the
same bracket, joined by second-ranked Wellpinit and fifth-ranked Neah Bay.
"We go 22-0 and have to walk the gauntlet to the
championship game," Rosalia coach Rob Hudkins said. "But you can't worry
about potential opponents. The bottom line is that if you want to play on
Saturday, you have to beat good teams along the way."
And there are some darn good teams in this tournament,
starting with top-ranked Rosalia, which lost just one player off last
season's team and is considered by many to be the heir-apparent. The
Spartans, who won out after an opening-round loss to Cusick last season,
features the tall tandem of 6-foot-4 Jim Maley (19.8 points, 10.0 rebounds)
and 6-5 Nathan Richards (14.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 3.0 blocks).
But waiting for the Spartans down the road in this
bracket could be No. 2 Wellpinit (21-3), which features 6-2 Cody Flett (22.9
ppg) and 6-1 Kennedy Seyler (19.5), in the second round, and either No. 3
Sunnyside Christian (19-3), ACH (16-8) or Neah Bay (18-5) in the semifinals.
"When you have an undefeated team, everyone wants to
knock you off," he said. "You get everyone's best. But that's also because
everyone wants to win the championship -- just like we do."
Although the focus is on Rosalia's bracket, the other
side is by no means a cakewalk, with Cusick (19-6), Lummi (20-2) and Moses
Lake Christian (17-5) standing out but certainly wary of the obstacles in
front of them.
"On paper, you'd say the loaded bracket is down below,
but I don't believe that," Cusick coach J.R. Bluff said, whose team, like
Rosalia, brings back almost everyone, led by 6-3 forward Tyler Edwards (17.5
ppg).
"There's a lot of good teams in our bracket and there
are a lot of variables that come into play at state," Bluff continued. "Last
year, we were really fortunate to win our first two games. It's a matter of
showing up ready to play."
