When Port Townsend and Chimacum meet tonight at Memorial Field, they’ll be playing for little more than pride.
And that makes this game, dubbed the Quimper Quarrel, a nearly perfect rivalry match-up.
“You can’t have a better game than that, huh?” Redskins coach Nick Snyder said after beating Life Christian earlier this month.
“For Jefferson County, that is unreal. It will be a packed house, I know it will be.”
For a lot of reasons, this game is a gift to the North Olympic Peninsula.
First, it wasn’t scheduled to happen.
The Nisqually League now has nine teams and two divisions. Since the Cowboys and Redskins are in different divisions, they aren’t guaranteed to play each other every year.
Maybe it’s fate, or maybe it is destiny, but some higher power has intervened this season.
For Week 9 of the season, the Nisqually League scheduled divisional crossover games between the equals of the two divisions.
And it just so happens that Port Townsend (3-2, 4-4) and Chimacum (1-2, 3-5) are both firmly planted in third place in their respective divisions.
Another reason is these teams are similar and appear to be evenly matched.
Both play physical defense and operate run-heavy offenses.
They both lost to Klahowya and Eatonville, and defeated Bellevue Christian, Vashon and Life Christian Academy.
What’s more, some of the results have been eerily similar.
Port Townsend lost to Klahowya by six points and Chimacum lost to the Eagles by five. Eatonville beat both teams by a 42-7 score.
The Cowboys beat Life Christian 28-13 while the Redskins beat them 30-14. The two Quimper Peninsula teams also both notched blowout wins over Vashon and Bellevue Christian.
Furthering the similarities, the two head coaches, Shawn Meacham (Chimacum) and Nick Snyder (Port Townsend), each played for the team they now coach.
The difference in the game might be the health of Redskins quarterback Jacob King, who is batting a deep thigh bruise that has forced him to miss the last six quarters.
If King plays and is close to being fully healed, Port Townsend will have its most dynamic player who can at least come close to matching the production of Chimacum’s star running back Mel Thornton.
Thornton has rushed for 1,087 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. He also has 89 yards receiving and 45 yards passing for a total of 1,221 yards from scrimmage.
King has 624 yards rushing and 444 yards passing for a total of 1,068 yards.
King has 10 rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns.
Crescent at Lopez
There is a lot that rides on the outcome of this game.
The Loggers (2-2, 6-2) and Lobos (2-2, 4-2) have both been impressive this season, beating everyone on their respective schedules except 1B powerhouses Neah Bay and Lummi.
Now, they are facing off to grab the only remaining playoff spot in the Northwest Football League North Division.
The winner of this game, which will play on Saturday, will play the South Division’s No. 2 team, Evergreen Lutheran, on Tuesday at a site yet to be determined.
The loser of Saturday’s game will be left out of the playoffs.
Essentially, this is a playoff game for Crescent and Lopez.
Neah Bay
at Clallam Bay
With 14 straight wins dating back to last season, the Red Devils — still ranked No. 2 in 1B by The Associated Press — are tied for the second longest winning streak in the entire state along with Skyline of Sammamish. Only Bellevue’s 33-game win streak is superior.
The Bruins (1-3, 3-4) finally got over a streak of their own, four straight losses, by beating Tulalip Heritage last week.
But this isn’t the best time to face the defending state champions, as Neah Bay (4-0, 8-0) is playing its starters deeper into the game in preparation for the playoffs.
Crescent found out the hard way how prolific the Red Devils are last week when they were on the receiving end of a 96-12 beating.
Sequim
at North Mason
The Wolves (2-4, 2-6) can’t make the playoffs, but they can make advancing to the postseason difficult for the Bulldogs (3-3, 4-4), who are tied with Olympic for the Olympic League’s fourth and final playoff spot.
Port Angeles
at Kingston
Because they beat North Kitsap last week in the Pillage and Plunder Bowl, all the Buccaneers (4-2, 4-4) need to do to grab the second seed in the Olympic League is beat Port Angeles (0-6, 0-8).
The Roughriders have locked down last place in the league, but misery is said to enjoy company, so messing up another team’s season would probably feel kind of good.
Forks at Hoquaim
After falling one point shy of securing a playoff spot, the Spartans (2-3, 4-4) now must face the Grizzles (5-0, 8-0), the No. 4 1A team in the state.
Notes
■ Add Forks to the list of North Olympic Peninsula teams looking for a team to play next week.
Port Angeles and Sequim are still trying to lock down opponents for Week 10.
■ According to Crescent coach Darrell Yount, the winner of the game between Evergreen Lutheran, the Northwest Football League South Division’s second-place team, and the Crescent-Lopez winner on Tuesday will play North Division top seed Neah Bay on a neutral field on Friday, Nov. 2, or Saturday, Nov. 3.
The loser of Tuesday’s game will face District 4’s top-seeded team, Mary M. Knight, on Friday or Saturday, Nov. 2-3, on a neutral field.
■ Olympic League champion Bremerton is ranked in the most recent AP 2A poll, coming in at No. 10.