Focus on first game is key for Squalicum in state football playoffs

By now, Whatcom County football fans’ collective sigh of misfortune brought on by the state playoff brackets reveal has dissipated.

The draw for Squalicum, Meridian, Mount Baker and Lummi was rough. The Storm face a potential quarterfinal matchup with Tumwater, which would be a matchup of the Associated Press’ top two-ranked Class 2A teams, Baker got the NWC No. 2 seed and faces nine-win Kalama and Meridian and Lummi each face undefeated opponents.

But forget prognostication and hypotheticals, now it’s time to play football. Well, almost.

Squalicum, Baker, Meridian and Lummi open the state playoffs with Saturday matchups, and all but Squalicum hit the road.

Here are a few storylines heading into this weekend:

Will Squalicum be looking forward?

In two years playing under coach Nick Lucey, the Storm own a 3-1 postseason record. That one loss was to 2A power Tumwater.

For Squalicum, naturally, it’s easy to look ahead to a potential matchup with the team that ended its season last fall, but the goal this week will be focusing on a talented W.F West football team, not Tumwater.

The Bearcats are the type of team that could upset if not taken seriously. They own a 6-4 record. Three of their losses came against 2A State Playoff teams and the other was to Class 4A West Valley.

Can Meridian slow down Hoquiam in Part III?

The Trojans beat the Grizzlies last year 14-7 on the road, but Hoquiam returned the favor handing Meridian a 36-21 loss to open this year at home.

The team’s third meeting should be especially enticing and is full of quality playmakers.

Meridian has its own in Nick Dristas, Marcus McGuinn and Simon Burkett, but coach Bob Ames raved about Hoquiam’s explosive offense.

Headlined by junior quarterback Gregory Dick, Hoquiam is averaging 36.2 points per game, and while the Grizzlies are undefeated, three of their wins have been by 10 points or less. Meridian’s defense will need to be at its best in order to slow down Hoquiam.

This story was originally published November 12, 2015 at 10:46 PM with the headline "Focus on first game is key for Squalicum in state football playoffs."