Blackhawks Hold Off EV In Nail Biter

Cheney’s football team got lucky Friday night and coach Tom Oswald was the first to admit it.

A 30-yard field goal attempt by East Valley’s Todd Hughes, ruled wide left on the game’s final play, enabled the Blackhawks to escape with a 19-16 victory in a game between Frontier League unbeatens.

Hughes’ kick capped a frenzied final 3 minutes of a game in which Cheney tried to squander what was once a 19-point lead.

Included was a gift safety that put the Knights in a position to tie.

“We didn’t deserve to win the game,” said Oswald when he, his staff and players were able to breathe again. “We didn’t do a thing in the second half.”

East Valley trailed by 13 points 9 minutes into the game. Cheney drove 65 yards on the strong legs of Earon Davis to score initially and used more than 6 minutes on its opening drive.

A recovered fumble on EV’s first scrimmage play resulted in a score 2-1/2 minutes later. But a muffed snap produced no extra point, which would loom potentially large later.

Another time-consuming drive in the second quarter resulted in Cheney’s final touchdown. Cheney missed a twopoint conversion try.

Thereafter it was all Knights.

“We lost focus, but just give them credit,” said Oswald. “They turned it around and hit big passes. I thought they did a nice job on offense.”

His generosity came as small consolation to the Knights, who, to a man, felt Hughes’ kick was good.

A 23-yard slant pass from Brian Lamarche to Kyle LeGrant following a 31-yard run by Jesse Ewell produced EV’s first hint of offense and a TD with 2:34 remaining in the first half.

The team had time for another opportunity were it not for Chris Collins’ 62-yard punt.

In the second half, the Knights defense, spearheaded by Jason Knopp, Jason Sharp and Ewell, held Cheney to 28 yards and no first downs.

Ewell capped a drive that included two more Lamarche completions for 50 yards and the score was 19-14 with 10:28 left in the game.

Another scoring drive ended at the Blackhawks 23 with 1:34 left, but the defense held once more, Collins ran 30 yards back into the end zone for the safety and EV had one last chance with 33 seconds to play.

Two pass interference calls set up Hughes for his try to tie.

“Maybe it was a bad decision not to punt,” said Oswald. “I had field goal in the back of my mind, but just didn’t want a chance to get it blocked.”

Davis rushed for 123 yards of Cheney’s 200 yards of total offense. Lamarche was 10 for 16 for 118 yards passing, including three catches by LeGrant for 77. Ewell rushed for 78 of EV’s 114 ground yards.

Cheney 19, East Valley 16

East Valley 0 7 0 9 - 16

Cheney 13 6 0 0 - 19

C - Davis 3 run (Collins kick)

C - Randall 4 run (run failed)

C - Randall 6 run (pass failed)

EV - LeGrant 23 pass from Lamarche (Hughes kick)

EV - Ewell 7 run (Hughes kick)

EV - safety, Cheney’s Collins ran through end zone

Colville 21, Post Falls 7

In an upset, Colville (2-3) handed Idaho’s No. 2 ranked A-2 school its first loss of the year. The Trojans are 5-1.

Colville 7 0 7 7 - 21

Post Falls 7 0 0 0 - 7

No other details reported.

West Valley 26, Pullman 14

The Eagles scored three second-quarter touchdowns against the Greyhounds to remain undefeated after two Frontier games.

The Eagles won with Ty Gregorak having a hand in all four scores and Justin Tichy gaining 129 yards on 26 carries.

Gregorak caught a touchdown pass from Riley Allen, ran in two others and passed 45 yards to Joe Andrews for WV’s scores.

The Eagles play at East Valley next week.

Pullman quarterback Matt Wilde completed 17 of 37 passes for 229 yards, half of which went to his backs.

Pullman 6 0 0 8 - 14

West Valley 0 20 6 0 - 26

P - Johnson 7 run (kick blocked)

WV - Gregorak 19 pass from Allen (Whitney kick)

WV - Gregorak 1 run (Whitney kick)

WV - Andrew 45 pass from Gregorak (pass failed)

WV - Gregorak 9 run (pass failed)

P - Johnson 2 run (Baxter pass from Wilde)

Clarkston 16, Riverside 14

Josh Martin’s 36-yard first-period field goal proved the difference in the Bantams’ first win this year.

Clarkston scored initially on Darin Larson’s 45-yard run. He added a third-period score for a 16-6 lead on the way to 137 rushing yards.

Riverside dropped to 1-2 in league following the narrow loss.

Clarkston 10 0 6 0 - 16

Riverside 0 7 0 7 - 14

C-Larson 45 run (Martin kick)

C-Martin 36 FG

R-Hansen 6 run (Baker kick)

C-Larson 6 run (kick failed)

R-Koesel 24 pass from Schurtz (Baker kick)

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo