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Friday Night High(lights): Solid showing for Greater Spokane League's upper division; three Northeast A teams qualify for state bracket

dave nichols, the spokesman-review, spokane, wash.
·5 min read

Nov. 7—The clocks "fell back" early Sunday morning, which means two things: folks complaining about the darkness, and state football brackets being released after the Week 10 carnage.

Three of the four Greater Spokane League 4A/3A teams that were eligible got past their crossover matchups to advance to state, but the 2As weren't so lucky.

In all, 13 teams from our coverage area — including three from the Northeast A League — earned a spot in one of the six brackets.

While we're still waiting on a few days/times for state first-round matchups, let's go around the league (and elsewhere) and take a look at five things that stood out to us in Week 10.

Solid showing

Gonzaga Prep had a late scare put into them by Moses Lake, with the Mavericks scoring a touchdown with just more than one minute remaining Friday night.

But the wind helped carry a two-point conversion pass out of the end zone and the Pups persevered and survived with a 28-26 win.

For their effort, Gonzaga Prep (8-2) was awarded the No. 10 seed in the 4A bracket and plays at No. 7 Kamiakin on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Lampson Stadium in Kennewick.

Mt. Spokane overcame a slow start offensively and cruised past Lake Washington 35-13 at Union Stadium Friday. A 60-yard first-quarter interception return for a touchdown by Bradley Runge provided a needed spark and Rece Schuerman led the offense with eight catches for 98 yards and a touchdown.

The Wildcats (9-1) took the No. 6 seed in 3A and hosts No. 11 Stanwood on Friday at 6 p.m. at Union Stadium.

The winds really kicked up at Union Stadium on Saturday for Mead's showdown against Timberline (Lacey). Playing into the westerly wind rendered passing almost useless and held punt to under 20 yards on most occasions.

The Panthers went almost exclusively to the ground attack. Colby Price carried 19 times for 160 yards with an 89-yard touchdown run and the Panthers' defense limited the Blazers to 136 yards of offense in a 28-7 win.

Mead (8-2), the No. 12 seed, plays at No. 5 Bellevue, tentatively on Saturday at noon.

The only big school that didn't make it was Central Valley (4-6), which got out to a 13-0 lead then saw Kamiakin score five straight TDs in a 35-19 loss.

2A troubles

The 2A ranks did not fare as well.

The GSL second-place team, Clarkston (8-4), was dropped 17-7 at home by Ephrata, while third-place Shadle Park (6-5) traveled to Othello for a 48-14 loss.

That leaves West Valley as the only GSL 2A team in the state bracket. The Eagles (8-2) drew the No. 11 seed and travel to play No. 6 Anacortes, day and time TBD.

A quick nonplayoff kudo to Rogers, which saw Deon Kinsey carry 28 times for 141 yards with three touchdowns and the Pirates beat Ellensburg in a nonleague game to finish with four wins on the season for the first time since 2015.

Other qualifiers

1A: Riverside (5-5) upset Omak (8-1) 16-13 on Friday to punch its ticket. The Rams are the No. 14 seed and travel to Bellingham on Saturday to face No. 3 Nooksack Valley.

Lakeside (9-0) and Freeman (7-2) both had byes to the state field. The Northeast A champ Eagles earned the No. 2 seed and will host No. 15 Bellevue Christian (TBD), while the No. 12 Scotties play No. 5 King's on the road (TBD).

2B: Chewelah had a bye to state. The Cougars (7-2) are the No. 4 seed and avoid a first-round game in the 12-team field. Liberty (7-2) beat Lake Roosevelt and earned the No. 8 seed. The Lancers host No. 9 River View (TBD).

1B: Odessa (8-0) beat Springdale 62-26 and is the No. 1 seed with a bye to the quarterfinals in the 12-team field. Wellpinit (9-1) beat Entiat 62-20 on Saturday and claimed the No. 7 seed. It will host No. 10 Pomeroy (TBD). Almira/Coulee-Hartline (7-3) scored late to beat Wilbur-Creston-Keller 38-34 and in the No. 9 seed. The Warriors face No. 8 Naselle (TBD).

The other football

The girls soccer state brackets came out as well. Gonzaga Prep (16-3) drew the highest seed from the league in 4A, landing at No. 4. The Bullpups will host Wenatchee in a first-round game on Wednesday.

Lewis and Clark (14-5) is the No. 11 seed. The Tigers travel to No. 6 West Valley (Yakima) on Wednesday.

Ridgeline (13-3) is the No. 8 seed in 3A and hosts No. 9 Shorewood, while No. 10 Mead (15-4) travels to No. 7 Roosevelt. Both game day/times are TBD.

In 2A, West Valley (18-0-1) earned the No. 3 seed and hosts No. 14 Selah (TBD).

Gem State update

Sandpoint (6-3) is the only North Idaho team to reach a semifinal. Senior QB Parker Pettitt rushed for 128 yards with a touchdown, and threw a TD pass, to help No. 3 Bulldogs beat No. 11 Shelley 49-14 in a 4A quarterfinal on Friday. They will take on Skyline on Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Holt Arena in Pocatello.

Post Falls (7-3) fell to Rocky Mountain 22-0 in a 4A quarterfinal, and Bonners Ferry (9-1) lost to Weiser 35-25 in a 3A quarter. In 2A, Kellogg (6-4) was downed by Bear Lake 46-20 while Mullan (8-3) was dropped by Garden Valley 36-6 in 1AD2.