By RayJaun Stelly, The Seattle Medium
Going back and forth, the inner-city rivalry between Garfield and Rainier Beach High School is alive and well. Since their first matchup during the 2014-15 season, both teams have won four games each against one another, and with Rainier Beach earning bragging rights last season with 41-0 shutout victory, fans from both sides expect to see nothing but fireworks come this Saturday, October 15 at Memorial Stadium.
Now entering their ninth matchup, both teams, who enter the game at 5-1, are looking to stay in contention for a regular season league title.
Garfield started off this season winning five straight games, as their high-powered offense and dominant defense has been nearly unstoppable so far this season. Offensively, the Bulldogs, led by quarterback EJ Caminong, have scored a total 233 points in their five wins, and defensively they’ve only allowed just under 16 points per game.
Rated a three-star athlete ranked by 247sports, Caminong – who holds scholarship offers from Washington State, Washington, Oregon State, and Colorado — has the Bulldogs scoring rapidly and effectively averaging 46.6 points in their five wins. Through week five, Caminong has completed 60 of his 109 passes (55%) and averaged 226.4 yards per game as he’s thrown for 1,132 yards and 11 touchdowns on the season.
Although he has an impressive resume, Caminong’s mindset is more about what he can accomplish rather than what he has accomplished. Coming off a disappointing loss to Eastside Catholic last week and the loss to Rainier Beach last season, Caminong would like nothing better than to bounce back with a win against Rainier Beach.
“My mindset is to bounce back, not just from the loss against Eastside Catholic but especially because of my performance last season [against Rainier Beach],” said Caminong. “Rainier Beach beat up on me last year and I definitely want to have a great game against them.”
The Vikings, who enter the game at 5-1 as well, have scored a total of 221 points in their five wins averaging 44.2 points per game, while their defense has allowed just 12 points per game.
Offensively, Rainier Beach is led by senior quarterback Chance Guadiz. The two-star athlete ranked by 247sports has thrown for 1,126 yards completing 71% of his passes and 12 touchdowns so far this season and holds an offer from the University of Puget Sound and has interest from Columbia, Dartmouth, Montana, Montana Tech, and Lawrence University.
Guadiz, who joined the Vikings last season after beginning his high school career at Kentridge, helped lead the charge in their 41-point victory against Garfield last season in his first dose of this inner-city rivalry.
“I’m going into this game like every other game, as if it’s a championship,” says Guadiz. “We know what’s at stake. It’s a big game but we won’t let the outside noise get to our heads. If we execute our gameplan, like we’ve done before, we will be successful on Saturday.”
While this game is one that alumni and football fans circle on their calendar each year, this year, due to the high expectations of both teams, is not only about bragging rights, but it is about playoff positioning, pride, and showcasing the talent that inner-city football in Seattle has to offer. With so many things hanging in the balance these two quarterbacks are eager and ready to lead their teams into battle.
When asked about this year’s game against each other, both players said that they look forward to the challenge.
“Playing against some of my former teammates is a big part of it,” says Caminong. “I played little league against and with a lot of the Rainier Beach guys so it’s always fun to play against them, but more importantly as a team we have to bounce back and win this rivalry.”
Guadiz, who is equally excited for the game, says that the game should be exciting because both teams have unfinished business.
“What I look forward to in this game is that we are two very good teams looking for something to prove,” says Guadiz. “Both of us are 5-1 and someone has to lose on Saturday. I look forward to an exciting game and showing what our team can do against Garfield.”
