8 Area HS Football Teams Ranked in WA Preseason Coaches Poll

Sports Illustrated over the years has greatly expanded and now includes high school sports coverage across the US, online. SI.com has now put out their WA State High School football rankings.

   The rankings come from a poll of at least 75 coaches across the state

In July, SI staff released their top HS football teams list in 4A, 3A, 2A, 1A, 2B and 1B (biggest to smallest schools).  This week, they compiled the results from an anonymous poll from 75 coaches scattered between these ranks. According to SI, the results pretty much mirror each other.

8 Tri-City or Columbia Basin teams are ranked.

In 4A, the only east-side school is Kamiakin, ranked 5th. Chiawana, Gonzaga Prep and Moses Lake got some votes but not enough to crack the top ten. Lake Stevens, the 2-time defending champs, is ranked Number One. Richland was noticeably absent.  There are fewer 4A schools east of the Cascades (20) than any other classification.

In the 3A Ranks, the Kennewick Lions were posted at #4, behind Bellevue, O'Dea, and Eastside Catholic. Mt. Spokane from Spokane is ranked 7th. No other east-side teams were ranked or got votes.

 In 2A, Othello is ranked 5th and Ephrata 10th.  Prosser was in the "received votes" category.

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 In 1A, it's become almost automatic, The Royal Knights (Royal City) are a clear favorite at #1, having won the last four WIAA State Championships, overall they've won 12. And, most of the games have not been close. Last year, they beat Nine Mile Falls (Spokane) 49-7. No other area 1A schools were ranked.

In Class 2B, the second-smallest (still playing 11-man football)  Okanogan is #1, while the Riverview Panthers (Finley)  come in 5th. Lind-Ritzville-Sprague was in the getting votes category.

And finally, in 1B,  which is 8-man football (don't snicker... there are 87 of these schools in WA)  while Neah Bay on the coast is #1,   Liberty Christian (Richland) is 4th, Almira-Coulee-Hartline (Grant County) is  5th, DeSales (Walla Walla) is 6th and Pomeroy is 8th.  Moses Lake Christian, a newer school, was in the getting votes category.