Eastlake (7-2) @ Kentwood (7-2), 7 p.m. Friday
The 4A district playoffs begin for Eastlake at French Field in Kent, against a team that junior quarterback Blue Thomas is more familiar with than most.
Before he became a two-year starter at signal-caller for the Wolves, Thomas was the first freshman to play varsity football at Kentwood in program history, seeing time in the defensive backfield during the 2011 season.
His old teammates will contend with a much-improved version of Thomas on the offensive side of the ball, where he will try to build on the past three weeks, when Eastlake has averaged just fractions under 50 points per game in three lopsided wins, including last week’s 51-21 victory over Roosevelt in the KingCo crossover round.
The Conks have won two straight, over Auburn-Riverside and Kentlake, after dropping their only two games of the season to Rogers (Puyallup) and Tahoma in consecutive weeks.
Skyline (8-1) VS. Thomas Jefferson (5-4), 7 p.m. Friday
The Spartans welcome in an SPSL foe for the district round and do so coming off a 28-14 win over Bothell for the conference championship lat week.
Skyline built a four touchdown lead before the Cougars crept back into things late in the game, and other than the regular season finale against rival Issaquah, has handled opponents thoroughly since the second week against Coeur d’Alene, a 38-23 win.
The Raiders from Auburn make the trip to Sammamish off a loss, 21-13 to Tahoma, but shutout Mount Rainier and Kentridge by a combined score of 62-0 in the previous two games.
Issaquah (6-3) VS. Union (7-2), 7 p.m. Friday
Issaquah’s offense got back on track in a major way after the loss to Skyline, blasting Redmond 48-31 in the crossover round to set a date with Union for a place at state.
In its last five wins, the Eagles are averaging better than 42 points per game.
The Titans from Vancouver earned their spot in the district round with last week’s 28-25 win over Skyview and have won six of seven since a lopsided loss to Portland-Jesuit in the non-conference.
Eastside Catholic (7-2) VS. Lincoln (8-1), 7 p.m. Friday
The Crusaders have controlled their last two foes in blowout wins, most recently 50-8 over Cleveland in the Metro crossover round last week.
With an eye still on a potential matchup with Metro foe O’Dea in the 3A state tournament, EC faces Lincoln with a spot in the final 16 on the line.
Their latest test comes against a Lincoln squad that has not lost since the first week of October and has won its last three games by 18 points combined.
The Abes own three wins over playoff teams, defeating Bonney Lake and Wilson.
