Northwest Conference (NWC) Games to keep an eye on in January

As I did for the month of December I will be taking a deeper look into each schedule of every NWC team to see which games could be ones to watch. By "to watch", I mean games that have 2 top level teams, games that feature a good matchup of players, or games I feel like could be good games to watch.   January 2nd: Blaine vs Nooksack Valley (@ Nooksack HS)   This is going to be a great game early in the month, especially with these teams being in the top 6 teams. It will be interesting to see who steps up for the Borderites. It's been either [player_tooltip player_id='1587990' first='Lucas' last='Smith'] or [player_tooltip player_id='1580918' first='Matthew' last='Russ'] who have done the bulk scoring, with usually one if not both having 20 point games each night. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1416315' first='Carson' last='Lehnert'] can easily get hot and drop 5/6 three pointers during a game too. Bennett De Lange will likely be looked at to guard the best offensive player on the opposing team and I think he'll do a great job. Blaine doesn't have anyone who can stop [player_tooltip player_id='1485588' first='Brady' last='Ackerman'] down low, so we will see how much of a factor he is.   January 3rd: Squalicum vs Mount Vernon (@ Mount Vernon HS)   These are a couple teams who didn't have the best first half of the season but they are 100% not out of anything. Both teams have the ability to get on a roll and win multiple games in a row. Both of these teams are very guard heavy with Squalicum having [player_tooltip player_id='1382646' first='Ashton' last='Engelhart'], Xander Sledge, and Dylan Jacobs leading the way. Mount Vernon has Michael Johnson, [player_tooltip player_id='1417283' first='DeVari' last='Davis'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1450959' first='Quinn' last='Swanson'] to counter the storms guard trio. Swanson is a phenomenal shooter so whoever guards him has to make sure he doesn't get going, or he could drop 7/8 threes.   January 9th: Lynden Christian vs Anacortes (@ Anacortes HS)   Now this is a game that everyone should already know about. With Lynden Christian continuing their winning ways to start the season, I don't see them slowing down anytime soon. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1270689' first='Tyler' last='Sipma'] has been a fantastic leader for the Lyncs and [player_tooltip player_id='1587972' first='Griffin' last='Dykstra'] has stepped up in a big way. [player_tooltip player_id='1457515' first='Jeremiah' last='Wright'] will be the biggest key for the Lyncs, as Anacortes doesn't have anyone who matches up too well on paper, other than Jacob Hayes. Speaking of Anacortes, they are off to a hot start with their only loss coming from 4A school Lake Stevens and they only lost by 1 point. [player_tooltip player_id='1485542' first='Davis' last='Fogle'] has been bringing a HUGE spark for this Seahawks team that plays extremely well as a team.   January 12th: Lynden vs Blaine (@ Blaine HS)   It was on December 20th, 2021 (roughly 1 year ago), Blaine got a HUGE upset win against the eventual 2A state champion Lynden Lions. Now one year later they will meet once again at the same location. Can Blaine sneak out another win? The Lions have top 10 2024 player [player_tooltip player_id='1450490' first='Anthony' last='Canales'] to lead the way along with senior [player_tooltip player_id='1417278' first='Coston' last='Parcher'] to run the point guard and facilitate the offense. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1696692' first='Brant' last='Heppner'] is starting to make a name for himself this year while earning more playing time. With his 6'6" big body frame, he will be a big key for this Lions team. The Borderites will have to find someone to slow down Canales, who can score at all 3 levels.   January 16th: Lynden vs North Kitsap (@ ShoWare Center--Kent, WA)   The Lions will have 2 tough games in a span of 4 days with them traveling down to play North Kitsap in a conference game. North Kitsap is loaded with talent. [player_tooltip player_id='1450488' first='Cade' last='Orness'] has shown his ability to pass the ball, including a 17 assist game. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='1450502' first='Harry' last='Davies'] has been playing stellar for the Vikings, scoring 20+ points multiple times so far this year. With a lot of good role players surrounding those 2, North Kitsap will be hard to stop. Canales will have to be on the top of his game as well as Parcher. I've seen Coston's ability to score at will and take over games, maybe this will be one of those games.   January 27th: Sehome vs Lynden (Lynden HS)   Now this is a game that I have had my eye on all season long. These are 2 of the best 2A teams in the entire state and should be contending at state late in the season. The matchup between [player_tooltip player_id='1450490' first='Anthony' last='Canales'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1417280' first='Grey' last='Garrison'] is an intriguing one in my eyes. They play in similar ways and have similar frames. Another great matchup will be [player_tooltip player_id='1417278' first='Coston' last='Parcher'] on either [player_tooltip player_id='1416282' first='Mathew' last='Storms'] or [player_tooltip player_id='1270843' first='Grant' last='Kepley']. Parcher defends very well and will be able to contain 1 of the 2. That makes the opposite the key in this game. If they can contribute well and take over the game, it's possible we see a Mariners win. The Lions do always find a way to pull off the win, though.

As I did for the month of December I will be taking a deeper look into each schedule of every NWC team to see which games could be ones to watch. By "to watch", I mean games that have 2 top level teams, games that feature a good matchup of players, or games I feel like could be good games to watch.