Friday will come a day early this week - or at least it will seem that way.
A pair of high school football games affecting the Northwest Conference 1A postseason race have been rescheduled to Thursday, Oct. 25, meaning there will be five high school football games involving Whatcom County teams on Thursday and two on Friday.
Blaine's 7 p.m. game at Nooksack Valley now will be held Thursday, as will Meridian's 7 p.m. game at Mount Baker.
The moves became necessary because there is a chance that a three-way tie will need to be broken on Saturday, Oct. 27, to decide which three teams will advance to the postseason or in what order they will do so.
Mount Baker (7-1, 4-0 NWC 1A) currently sits atop the league standings with its unbeaten conference record. Blaine (6-2, 3-1) and Meridian (5-3, 3-1) each are a game back, and Nooksack Valley (5-3, 2-2) still has a shot to make it through with a win.
Here is a look at four possible scenarios from Thursday's games:
? Mount Baker and Blaine win: The Mountaineers claim the league title and an automatic berth to the Class 1A State Playoffs. Blaine would receive the NWC's No. 2 seed into the Northwest District playoffs based on its 34-27 victory over Meridian on Oct. 12. The Trojans, however, would receive the No. 3 seed into the district playoffs, and Nooksack Valley would be eliminated.
? Mount Baker and Nooksack Valley win: The Mountaineers would again claim the league title and automatic berth to state, but the Borderites, Trojans and Pioneers would all tie with 3-2 NWC 1A records. Each team would have a win and a loss in games against the other two, so those three teams would head to a Kansas Tiebreaker, scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday at Lynden Christian, to determine which two teams advance to the district playoffs and in what order.
? Meridian and Blaine win: The Borderites, Trojans and Mountaineers would tie for the league title with 4-1 records in NWC 1A play. Each team would have a win and a loss in games against the other two, so those three teams would head to a Kansas Tiebreaker, scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday at Lynden Christian, to determine which team gets the automatic berth into state and which two head to the district playoffs. Nooksack Valley would be eliminated.
? Meridian and Nooksack Valley win: The Trojans would claim the automatic berth to state based on their head-to-head win over Mount Baker, which would receive the No. 2 seed to the district playoffs. Nooksack Valley would receive the No. 3 seed, based on its head-to-head win over Blaine, which would be eliminated.
While whoever is crowned league champion will receive a bye from the district and tri-district playoffs, the NWC's No. 2 and 3 teams won't have long to celebrate making it into the postseason.
The Northwest District Playoffs will be Tuesday, Oct. 30, at the site of the No. 2 seed.
The NWC No. 3 seed will play the Cascade Conference No. 2 seed - currently South Whidbey - in a half game at 6 p.m. The winner would move to a second half game against the NWC No. 2 seed at 7:30 p.m.
Whichever team manages to survive will receive the Northwest District's No. 3 seed and will travel to play the West Central District's No. 2 seed on Nov. 2 or 3 for a spot in the state playoffs.
Reach David Rasbach at david.rasbach@bellinghamherald.com or 360-715-2286.
UPDATED WEEK 9 SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, OCT. 25
? Lynden at Squalicum (at Civic Stadium), 7 p.m.*
? Ferndale at Anacortes, 7 p.m.*
? Blaine at Nooksack Valley, 7 p.m.*
? Meridian at Mount Baker, 7 p.m.*
? Tulalip at Lummi, 7 p.m.*
FRIDAY OCT. 26
? Friday Harbor at Lynden Christian, 6 p.m.*
? Bellingham at Sehome (at Civic Stadium), 7 p.m.*
? Sedro-Woolley at Burlington-Edison, 7 p.m.*
*League game
Reach DAVID RASBACH at david.rasbach@bellinghamherald.com or call 715-2271.
