Prediction time: Kitsap Sun's Week 9 high school football picks
Each week during the high school football season, Kitsap Sun sports reporter Jeff Graham and a guest will try to predict the winner of each West Sound game. Just for fun, we'll throw in picks for the Seattle Seahawks, UW and WSU as well.
The guest picker in Week 8, former Kitsap Sun sports editor Chuck Stark, finished 9-1 to bring the guest picker's season record to 55-22. Graham also went 9-1 and is 52-25 for the season.
The guest picker for Week 8 is Bremerton High School graduate and former Stanford University/Olympic swimmer Tara Kirk Sell.
Thursday
Sequim (2-5, 2-4 in Olympic League) at Bremerton (6-2, 4-2), 6:30 p.m.: The Knights have lost two straight games, but will secure the league's No. 2 seed into the 2A district playoffs with a victory since they own the head-to-head tiebreaker advantage with Port Angeles. Look for Bremerton to right the ship. Graham: Bremerton; Kirk Sell: Bremerton.
Friday
Bainbridge (6-2, 4-2 in Olympic League) at Kingston (1-7, 0-6), 6:30 p.m.: The Spartans need a win to keep their 3A district playoff hopes alive. The Buccaneers have lost seven consecutive games, so Bainbridge should like its chances. Graham: Bainbridge: Kirk Sell: Bainbridge.
North Mason (1-7, 1-5 in Olympic League) at Port Angeles (5-3, 4-2), 6:30 p.m.: The Roughriders have clinched a postseason berth are likely to grab the league's No. 3 seed into the 2A district playoffs. The Bulldogs have lost six straight games. Graham: Port Angeles; Kirk Sell: Port Angeles.
Olympic (5-3, 3-3 in Olympic League) at North Kitsap (7-1, 6-0), 7 p.m.: North Kitsap clinched its fourth consecutive league title with last week's win at Sequim, while Olympic has won three straight games. Even if the Trojans lose to the Vikings, there's a good chance they'll earn an at-large district playoff bid. Graham: North Kitsap; Kirk Sell: North Kitsap.
Sumner (5-3, 5-3 in South Puget Sound League) at South Kitsap (1-7, 1-7), 7 p.m.: Sumner isn't as strong as it's been in recent seasons, so perhaps the Wolves can make this a game. In the teams' previous six matchups, the closest result has been 56-15. Graham: Sumner; Kirk Sell: South Kitsap.
Klahowya (5-2) at Sultan (5-3), 7 p.m. This is a nonleague game for the Eagles. These teams have played two common opponents this fall: Klahowya beat Coupeville 28-25 and Vashon Island 27-7, while Sultan beat Coupeville 46-13 and Vashon Island 40-0. Graham: Sultan; Kirk Sell: Klahowya.
Saturday
North Thurston (3-5, 1-5 in South Sound Conference) at Central Kitsap (2-6, 1-5), 4 p.m.: The Cougars finished 2-8 last year, so this is a chance to better that win total. CK is 8-0 lifetime against the Rams: Graham: Central Kitsap; Kirk Sell: Central Kitsap.
Washington (7-0) at Stanford (2-5), 4 p.m.: The Huskies escaped with a 15-7 home win against ASU last week despite not scoring an offensive touchdown. Blip on the radar or reason for concern? Graham: UW; Kirk Sell: Stanford
Washington State (4-3) at Arizona State (1-6), 5 p.m.: The Cougars have lost three straight, so even this matchup with the Pac-12 cellar-dweller on the road feels like it could be a difficult game. Graham: WSU; Kirk Sell: WSU.
Sunday
Cleveland (4-2) at Seattle (4-2), 1:05 p.m.: The Browns come to town with the stingiest defense in the NFL in terms of yards allowed per game. Seattle ranks 12th. Might be a low-scoring affair. Graham: Seahawks; Kirk Sell: Seahawks.
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Prediction time: Kitsap Sun's Week 9 high school football picks
