Greyhounds splish, splash way past East Valley

Oct. 22—PULLMAN — With a soaked Hobbs Field resembling a frigid Slip 'N Slide, the Pullman Greyhounds celebrated a big Class 2A Greater Spokane League football victory in a condition-appropriate manner Friday.

After routing East Valley 46-0 to end a two-game skid, several Hounds (4-3, 3-2 GSL) ran and slid head first into the end zone where the team huddled for its postgame breakdown.

"The atmosphere (was) of a rainy game and poor weather conditions for fans, but as a football player, this is what you dream about," Pullman coach David Cofer said. "It's playing like little kids almost (in the backyard)."

Sludgin' and sloshin'

A steady rain all game long and temperatures dipping into the 30s made for miserable and slippery conditions.

It also resulted in some unusual plays.

In the second quarter, the Knights (1-7, 1-3) had a play similar to Mark Sanchez's infamous "butt fumble" with the NFL's New York Jets.

Although he didn't lose the ball like Sanchez, East Valley running back Shirlin Watt ran into the rear end of his own offensive lineman for a loss of five yards.

Call it the "butt tackle for loss."

In the fourth, Pullman punter Carlens Dollin fumbled the snap only to scoop it up and run 90 yards to the end zone. Unfortunately for the Hounds, the improbable touchdown was called back because of a block in the back penalty.

The two teams combined for half a dozen fumbled snaps in the first quarter alone.

Terran it up

Pullman running back Terran Page showed no signs of being slowed down by the poor conditions.

The junior piled up four touchdowns and 149 rushing yards for the Hounds.

"Our offensive line did a tremendous job; we didn't get any pressure and we opened up holes all night and (had) Terran Page coming out and running big," Cofer said. "We kinda told him, 'You can't cut in these conditions, just pick a hole and run straight,' and he embraced that."

Page bounded for scores of 25, 33, 13 and 35 yards, with the first three coming in a 26-point second quarter.

On the 13-yarder, Page spun out of a tackle for the score on one of his many broken tackles on the night.

Pullman also used several screen passes to keep the Knights off balance as quarterback Caleb Northcroft went 8-of-11 for 124 yards passing, all in the first half. He also had a diving 3-yard rushing score in the first quarter.

Honoring the seniors

The Greyhounds honored their 14 seniors before the game, among them captains Tanner Barbour (WR/DB), Cotton Sears (OL/DL) along with Max McCloy (TE/LB).

"They kind of opened up a bit and that's what I love about this profession is getting to see kids open up and play for each other, and I thought they really did that," Cofer said. "... I was just really proud of their leadership up to this point."

East Valley 0 0 0 0—0

Pullman 7 26 13 0—46

First Quarter

Pullman — Caleb Northcroft 3 run (Carlens Dollin kick).

Second Quarter

Pullman — Henry Preece 4 run (Dollin kick).

Pullman — Terran Page 25 run (kick failed).

Pullman — Page 33 run (Dollin kick).

Pullman — Page 14 run (kick failed).

Third Quarter

Pullman — Tanner Barbour 1 run (Dollin kick).

Pullman — Page 35 run (kick failed).

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — East Valley: Chaz Benedict 27-99, Ayden Swanson 4-(-19), Jesse Stevens 2-7. Pullman: Terran Page 9-149, Caleb Northcroft 5-(-3), Henry Preece 4-39, Tanner Barbour 4-38, Brady Coulter 3-7, Gavin Brown 2-(-21).

PASSING — East Valley: Stevenson 2-9-1-7. Pullman: Northcroft 8-11-0-124.

RECEIVING — East Valley: Dylan Gamble 1-6, Stevens 1-1. Pullman: Champ Powaukee 4-24, Barbour 2-34, Brown 1-52, Page 1-14.

Wiebe may be contacted at (208) 848-2260, swiebe@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @StephanSports.