High School Sports Blog

Mason Kelley covers High School Sports for The Seattle Times. Sandy Ringer and Josh Mayers are also frequent contributors to this blog.

November 3, 2009 at 9:05 PM

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Liberty coach Steve Valach talks about Camas

Posted by Mason Kelley

When third-ranked Liberty heads down to No. 10 Camas on Saturday, there is more to plan for than just the game.

First the Patriots had to set up the team breakfast sponsored by the parents. Then, after they leave around 11 a.m. and head down to Camas, there was an afternoon stop for lunch that needed to be arranged.

"There’s a lot of planning that goes into it to make sure the day is as normal, routine-wise, as it can be, so that the kids are ready to go like they would be any Friday," Valach said. "It throws curve balls at you, but that’s part of the fun of it, too."

This is not a typical preliminary round of 32 matchup. These two teams don't get the opportunity for a tuneup early round game. They are meeting in a tough test, what might be the most difficult matchup in this first round of postseason play.

The good news for the Patriots (8-1) is that they have been playing games that carried a playoff-type atmosphere for weeks. It started in Week 8 against Bellevue and continued last week against Mount Si, the third-place team out of KingCo 3A/2A.

"We feel like we’re battle tested enough to play a good team for sure," Valach said.

Valach also said there are plenty of similarities between the Patriots and Papermakers.

"They are really a well-balanced team," he said. "They run it well. They throw the ball ball well and Mount Si threw the ball well on us last week. I’m sure Camas is looking at that and saying these guys have some vulnerabilities to the passing game. I think we need to shore up our pass defense big time against these guys."

For more on Liberty's trip to Camas, check out our high-school football notebook in Thursday's paper.

There was some football played on Tuesday.

Ferris claimed the final 4A spot out of the GSL after winning a three-way playoff against Gonzaga Prep and University.

The Saxons knocked off the Bullpups, 14-7, and the Titans, 10-0. They will play at Wenatchee (9-0) on Friday at 7 p.m.

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Kelly: B/C Nathan Hale shocked the world by taking the Metro Sound Division. They were the 3rd best team, but b/c of a fluke Ranier Beach win over... Posted on November 4, 2009 at 11:35 AM by ESDLifer. Jump to comment

How is it that Camas the #2 seed from their region has a much more difficult matchup (Liberty) than the #3 seed Columbia River (Nathan Hale)? Posted on November 4, 2009 at 9:00 AM by mdkelly. Jump to comment

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Liberty coach Steve Valach talks about Camas

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