A major Intermountain Conference match-up is slated to take place this Friday that will feature two of the fastest rising IMC squads, as the 5-2 Bend High Lava Bears, ranked #12 in the OSAA, will host the 5-2 Summit Storm, ranked #9.
We like to call it the ‘Parkway Series’ between Bend and Summit. A series which Bend has owned 8 years previously until Summit’s shocking and very controversial win in 2013 on the west side of town.
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A win Friday would guarantee a spot in the 5A playoffs for 3rd year Head Coach Joe Padilla’s squad. Consequently, a win by Bend would move them ever closer to the IMC Title.
“It [would be] a big win” said QB Creighton Simmonds, “because that puts us right in the title for the IMC, and that is where we want to be.”
All three Bend schools, Bend, Summit, and Mountain View have taken care of IMC business, Summit going 2-1 and Bend going undefeated as have the #2 ranked Mountain View Cougars, so no matter the result the playoff picture will be turned on its ear with two games left to go in the 2014 season.
Head Coach Matt Craven expanded on just what the playoff picture looks like for his team, as they practiced under threatening grey skies early Monday evening.
“The ironic thing is that we have 2 games to play, but it could be anywhere between a 3-way tie in the IMC, to a 1st, a 2nd or a 3rd place finish,” said Craven.
Bend stumbled last week, dropping their second game of the season to a tough and aggressive #7 Liberty squad out of west Portland that jumped out to an early two-score lead in the first minute of the ballgame, and wound up routing the Lava Bears 42-7.
Both Bend and Summit have had no problem moving the football this year.
Both teams come into Friday’s match-up averaging over 100 yards rushing a game, however Bend holds the advantage through the air, averaging 138 yards passing to Summit’s 91 passing yards per game.
Wide receiver Quinn Fettig (Sr. 6-1/180), who has caught 23 balls for 353 yards and 4 TDs this year, explained that getting yards against Summit’s tough, physical corners won’t be easy.
“They got 2 really physical corners who like to press a lot and they got 2 safeties who come down hill and make big plays, but we really think that we can take advantage of their pressing game” said Fettig.
The #9 Summit Storm meet the #12 Bend High Lava Bears Friday, at Punk Hunnel Stadium at 7PM on the campus of Bend Senior High School, in a rematch of last year’s meeting where the Storm won 17-14 in a controversial finish of the last 6-seconds of the game.
To add fuel to the fire, Bend wants to get even in more ways then one as the Lava Bears field was vandalized a few weeks ago, presumably by some Summit Storm fans. Or, perhaps it was another rival of Bend portraying to be related to the Storm.
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http://youtu.be/jY08aYlPwyk?list=UUx1YgUMQ0P0WDaWAVmnbAzA
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