Tigard and Tualatin close the regular season against each other Friday night, and both programs need a win.
The Tigers (4-4 overall, 1-3 Three Rivers League) visit the No. 5-ranked Timberwolves (6-2, 2-2 TRL) at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, in the annual rivalry game between the two Tigard-Tualatin School District high schools.
Each team lost in Week 8, and the OSAA's post-Week 8 playoff projections show both squads currently in line for at-large bids in the 6A bracket.
A loss could change that math in a hurry.
Tigard head coach Will Whitley's squad arrives on a two-game skid. The Tigers fell 51-11 at No. 3 West Linn on Oct. 23, according to MaxPreps.
SI High School's state rankings noted that Tigard trailed 21-11 late in the second quarter before West Linn pulled away.
Your Oregon News reported that West Linn's defense held Tigard to 239 total yards and intercepted three passes. The Tigers started the season 3-0 with wins over South Medford, Sunset and Clackamas before dropping four of their last five.
Tualatin, coached by Dom Ferraro, carries the better record but enters with its own sting. The Timberwolves led No. 1 Lake Oswego 23-21 at halftime on Oct. 23 before the Lakers shut them out in the second half and won 42-23, according to the Lake Oswego Review.
Junior Easton Grubb returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, and junior running back Iden Rule scored on a two-yard run to give Tualatin its last lead. Junior quarterback Lincoln Keeney completed 17 of 28 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown in that game, while junior Brady Knips caught six passes for 92 yards.
The Timberwolves opened the year 4-0 with dominant wins over Mountainside, Sherwood, Glencoe and Milwaukie before a Sept. 18 loss to Milwaukie. They rebounded with a 62-35 win over West Linn and a 42-0 rout of Lakeridge before falling to Oregon City 42-23 on Oct. 16 and then to Lake Oswego, per OSAA records.
The playoff stakes are clear. The OSAA's post-Week 8 projections slot Tualatin as the No. 5 seed in the 6A state bracket, hosting No. 12 Lincoln in the first round. Tigard, ranked No. 20, is projected into the Columbia Cup bracket against No. 21 Glencoe. Oregon City sits among the next five teams out, meaning a bad result Friday could shuffle either local team's postseason path.
Lake Oswego and West Linn have already clinched the Three Rivers League's two automatic playoff bids. Friday's rivalry game is the regular-season finale for both Tigard and Tualatin.
Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Tualatin High School.
