O-H Titan football team makes its first bid for state

The Odessa-Harrington Titan football team has joined the Titan girls volleyball team in qualifying for state tournament play. They defeated King’s Way Christian of Vancouver, Wash. in the first round of the State 1B playoffs held last Saturday in Centralia by a score of 76-36.

In the other quarter-final game, Almira/Coulee-Hartline defeated Touchet, 52-8, in a game played Friday, November 18, in Moses Lake. Like the O-H game, this one went into the fourth quarter before the mercy rule was invoked due to reaching at least a 40-point spread between the two scores.

ACH and the Titans are therefore on track for a possible final-game showdown. But such a matchup, barring upsets in the two remaining playoff games, differs from the 2007 ACH vs. Odessa Tigers game in that Harrington has joined the fray. In addition, most of the team members from both 2007 squads have now graduated. So the dynamics of the two teams are quite different from what they were four years ago.

Another difference is that in 2007 the favored Tigers were upset by the Warriors and had to settle for second place. Should the two teams meet in the final game, as is expected, the undefeated Warriors will be favored to take the championship this time around.

Can the Titans pull off an upset? To be honest, the odds are not in their favor. They have lost two first-string players to injury. Harrington’s Stetson Sanford and Jake Tanke are both on the sidelines after a concussion and broken leg, respectively.

But Saturday’s game against King’s Way was also played without those two teammates, and the Titans did just fine. Facing ACH is another matter, however, as the Warriors have soundly defeated every team it has faced this year, including the Titans in a 64-20 drubbing at the end of October. The Titans have gotten tougher and more experienced since then, but so have the Warriors. It will be an interesting matchup.

Semi-final games

This Saturday, November 26, the semi-final games will be played to determine who the contenders will be for the number 1 and 2 spots in the state.

The Titans will play Neah Bay at Lions Field in Moses Lake in a game that starts at 3 p.m. (a 1A game will be played on the same field beginning at noon). Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for senior citizens and students with an ASB card.

The ACH Warriors will face Pomeroy at Edgar Brown Stadium in Pasco at noon the same day.

The two winning 1B teams will face off in the Tacoma Dome on Friday, December 2, at 4 p.m.