With one game in the regular season remaining on the schedule, plenty has yet to have been decided.
On the boys’ side, Auburn, Auburn Riverside, Thomas Jefferson and Kentlake are still fighting it out for the final playoff berths.
I trade e-mails with SPSL commissioner Doug Auburn earlier today for some clarifications.
Here’s what Dave informed me:

“All ties first go to a head to head advantage.  If one team has beaten another both times during the year they own the tie-breaker and would have the higher seed or advance.  If the teams split during the year they play off on Tuesday.  Sites TBD.  If all holds true to form we will have two tie-breaker games in the North, both girls, KW vs FW and Aub vs KL.  It looks as if these will be held at Tahoma on Tuesday 2/9.”

My initial question to Dave was this: If Kentlake upsets Kentwood tomorrow night, TJ falls to Federal Way (as expected) and Auburn knocks off Auburn Riverside, who advances? This would put AR and KL in a tie for the fifth and final slot.

Dave answered as follows:

“With the boys teams as you describe … one team holds the tie-breaker over another;  AR over TJ, TJ over Aub, Aub over KL, KL over AR.  Currently, AR has better record than Auburn but if Auburn wins they’ll tie and Auburn will hold the tie-breaker over AR.”

But what if TJ pulls off the mother of all upsets Friday night and knocks off FW?

“Then we would have a mini-tournament on Tuesday,” Dave noted.

The bottom line? Things could get really, really interesting tomorrow night around 9:30 p.m.

BOYS
1. Federal Way (13-1)
2. Gonzaga Prep (13-1)
3. Curtis (15-1)
4. Jackson (13-1)
5. Walla Walla (13-2)
6. Richland (13-2)
7. Skyline (12-2)
8. Kamiakin (12-3)
9. Lake Stevens (11-4)
10. Decatur (11-5)
Others receiving votes: Kentridge (11-5), Garfield (10-4), Foss (11-4), Lake Washington (11-3)

GIRLS
1. Auburn Riverside (16-0)
2. Issaquah (13-1)
3. Newport (13-1)
4. Woodinville (13-1)
5. Edmonds-Woodway (13-1)
6. Federal Way (12-3)
7. Chiawana (12-1)
8. Jackson (12-2)
9. Marysville-Pilchuck (12-3)
10. Kentwood (11-4)
Others receiving votes: Bellarmine Prep (11-5), Mount Tahoma (13-3), Lewis and Clark (9-5)

Jake Wilcox, a 2008 Kentwood High graduate and an SPSL honorable mention selection on the basketball court his senior season, has continued to have success at Green River Community College. Wilcox entered the week leading the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges in steals (53) assists (114, 7.13 per game).

Former Kentwood High football coach Tom Ingles is moving on once again.
Ingles stepped down last week as head coach of the Puyallup High program, where he went after coaching Kentwood from 1990-2003. Ingles is one of the state’s all-time winningest coaches and, quite frankly, a great guy who always was easy to work with.

While at Kentwood, he won a pair of state titles (2001 and 2002). He also won a state title at Liberty in 1988. A member of the Washington State Football Hall of Fame, Ingles has an overall record of 248-103. In 14 seasons at Kentwood, Ingles collected a record of 114-40.

I’d suspect Ingles will catch on somewhere. His wife, Zena, is a school administrator in California, so there’s a chance his next coaching gig may not be in these parts.

Congratulations are in order for 2008 Kentwood High graduate Brooks Abel, who recently signed on to play football at Utah State University in Logan.
Abel, a 6-foot-6 300-pound lineman, spent this past season playing at College of the Siskiyous in Northern California.
A few things I really love about this signing …

1) Abel hasn’t reached his potential and has a high ceiling, so the Aggies did well.
2) Abel received a three-year full-ride scholarship.
3) Some of you may remember, Abel earned a fifth year at Kentwood High. He endured his share of struggles during high school, both personally and in the classroom, but turned a corner his second senior season. Goes to show you what a second chance means to some kids. From what I hear, Abel blossomed into a leader with College of the Siskiyous and graduated with his two-year degree in a little more than a year. It’s quite a success story and Abel deserves a big pat on the back.

Jordan Barclay, a 2008 Kentridge High graduate, last week was named a Midwest Conference Swimming & Diving “Performer of the Week.” Barclay, who competes for Carroll University in Wisconsin, won five events and spearheaded a pair of relay victories in leading the Pioneers past Beloit College, 154-70. Barclay won the 50 butterfly (29.54), 50 backstroke (31.26), the 50 breaststroke (36.38), the 50 freestyle (27.79) and the 100 IM (1:08.75). Barclay also helped the Pioneers come away with victories in the 200-free relay (1:53.11) and the 200 medley relay (2:06.92).

CLASS 4A BOYS
1. Federal Way (10-0)
2. Curtis (11-0)
3. Gonzaga Prep (9-1)
4. Richland (10-0)
5. Jackson (9-1)
6. Decatur (8-2)
7. Kamiakin (9-1)
8. Skyline (8-1)
9. Foss (9-2)
10. Kentridge (8-3)
Others receiving votes: Walla Walla (7-2), Lake Washington (8-2), Lake Stevens (8-3)

CLASS 4A GIRLS
1. Auburn Riverside (11-0)
2. Woodinville (10-0)
3. Issaquah (9-1)
4. Newport (9-1)
5. Kentwood (8-2)
6. Federal Way (9-2)
7. Lewis and Clark (7-3)
8. Edmonds-Woodway (8-1)
9. Jackson (8-1)
10. Chiawana (9-1)
Others receiving votes: Bellarmine Prep (7-3), Monroe (9-1), Richland (8-2), Wenatchee (7-4), Kentlake (8-3), Marysville-Pilchuck (8-3)

It appears Kentwood basketball star Josh Smith, the team’s 6-foot-10, UCLA-bound center, will not be playing in the T-Mobile Invitational, which is slated for Dec. 29-30 in Birmingham, Ala.

“The doctor has not cleared Josh to play and he will be out another two weeks,” KW athletic director JoAnne Daughtry said in an e-mail.

Smith injured the patellar tendon in his right knee on Dec. 8 in a loss against Federal Way. The two-time SPSL North MVP came down awkwardly on the leg after grabbing a rebound in the fourth quarter, then motioned toward the bench to be taken out.
Kentwood has lost two of three games without Smith in the lineup.

BOYS
SPSL NORTH STANDINGS
TEAM               LEAGUE    OVERALL
Federal Way         4-0                7-0
Kentridge              4-2                4-2
A. Riverside         3-2                4-3
Kentlake               3-2               3-3
Auburn                3-3                5-3
Jefferson             2-3               4-3
Kentwood           2-3              2-3
Kent-Meridian    1-4             2-5
Tahoma                1-4            2-4

LEADERS

INDIVIDUAL SCORING
Name, school                   PPG.
1. Gary Bell, KR                   26.5
2. Ryan Rogers, AR            21.8
3. Christian Behrens, T     21.0
4. Cole Dickerson, FW      18.0
5. Mike Salazar, KL            18.0
6. Kevin Henderson, A     17.3
7. Isiah Umipig, FW           17.0
8. Barenton Ahmed, K-M    15.5
9. Jordan Walker-Thompson, K-M 15.0
10. Jeff Baklund, TJ         15.0

REBOUNDS
Name, school                   RPG.
1. Christian Behrens, T      12.2
2. Eric Radford, TJ             10.0
3. Nick Hammond, A         8.75
4. Cole Dickerson, FW     8.0
5. Spencer Hicks, TJ         8.0

ASSISTS
Name, school              APG.
1. Isiah Umipig, FW        6.00
2. Rowland Quinit, A     4.25
3. Gary Bell, KR             4.00
4. Scott Sanford, TJ        4.00
5. Iszia Johnson, A         3.75

GIRLS
SPSL NORTH STANDINGS
TEAM        LEAGUE    OVERALL
A. Riverside    5-0            7-0
Kentlake          5-0            7-0
Kentwood       4-1             6-1
Federal Way    3-2          5-2
Auburn           3-3           3-4
Tahoma        2-3            3-4
Jefferson         2-4          3-5
Kent-Meridian    0-5    0-6
Kentridge       0-6    0-7

LEADERS
INDIVIDUAL SCORING
Name, school                        PPG.
1. Morgan Comstock, KL         24.3
2. Mercedes Wetmore, AR    22.0
3. Kylie Huerta, KW               21.0
4. Briana Shannon, K-M    18.6
5. Isia Johnson, A                  18.0
6. Hannah Kiyohara, TJ    16.5
7. Sanda Milovic, KW           15.8
8. Ty Burgess, FW                 14.8
9. D. Huertas-Vining, FW 14.4
10. Brook Hinkens, AR    13.0

REBOUNDS
Name, school                   RPG.
1. Morgan Comstock, KL    13.3
2. Ty Burgess, FW               12.0
3. Unique Taufa’asau, TJ 10.5
4. Talia Walton, FW           10.4
5. Tanjunique Ajeto, FW    10.0

ASSISTS
Name, school                    APG.
1. D. Huertas-Vining, FW     4.0
2. Kylie Huerta, KW               4.0
3. Mercedes Wetmore, AR    4.0
4. Cody Sisco, KL                   3.5
5. Karen Carpenter, TJ          3.0

So here it is, folks, the second week of the Reporter’s Class 4A boys and girls basketball polls. The records in parenthesis are entering the week and do reflect anything that has happened during the last couple of days.
Also, remember these polls are voted on by several Sound Publishing sports reporters, not just myself.

Interestingly, Kentlake dropped out of the girls rankings this week despite winning two more games and still being unbeaten. The Falcons were at No. 10 last week. I’m not sure how they dropped out, however, if the Falcons continue their winning ways, look for them to crack the top 10 for good very soon. Kentlake will be challanged considerably once the new year is upon us with Federal Way, Kentwood and Auburn Riverside in succession.

Also of note was the drop of the Kentwood boys, which was at No. 3 last week and now is at No. 10, just behind Kentridge. Those two teams play Friday night (Dec. 18), so one of them likely will fall out by next week.

Any questions or comments, please send them my way.

CLASS 4A BOYS
1. Federal Way (4-0)
2. Gonzaga Prep (3-0)
3. Walla Walla (3-0)
4. Decatur (5-0)
5. Jackson (4-0)
6. Garfield (2-0)
7. Curtis (5-0)
8. Lincoln (3-1)
9. Kentridge (3-1)
10. Kentwood (2-1)
Others receiving votes: Lake Stevens (3-0), Skyline (2-0), Foss (3-1), Mount Tahoma (4-1), Davis (5-0)

CLASS 4A GIRLS
1. Auburn Riverside (5-0)
2. Lewis and Clark (2-1)
3. Newport (6-0)
4. Kentwood (4-1)
5. Issaquah (3-0)
6. Woodinville (3-0)
7. Mead (2-1)
8. Edmonds-Woodway (4-0)
9. Federal Way (3-2)
10. Jackson (3-1)
Others receiving votes: Chiwana (3-0), Bellarmine Prep (2-1), Garfield (1-2), Kentlake (5-0), Pasco (3-1)