Injured Wv Hosts Angry EV Knights

West Valley couldn’t have picked a worse time to host East Valley in a Frontier League football game.

The Eagles, though coming off a dramatic 20-14 win over Bonners Ferry, are hobbled by injury. The Knights, coming off a loss to Cheney, are angry.

“We have a personnel mismatch sizewise,” said Eagle coach Steve Kent. “We don’t lack in toughness and have good athletes, but if we have to go toe-to-toe we’re in trouble.”

Speedy WV running back Chris Hilsabeck is bothered by a hip flexor injury. Lineman-linebacker Jesse Oka has strained knee ligaments and won’t play.

At Bonners Ferry, Ryan Spivey took a helmet to his quadriceps muscle and sat out the second half. Lineman Ryan Soss played the second half but only after missing some of the first half because of a blow to the head.

Still, in a downpour, WV managed to even its record at 2-2 despite a dearth of offense and shaky tackling on defense.

Justin Demke’s interception of a swing pass and 30-yard touchdown run late in the game produced the winning score. A blocked punt resulted in a second-quarter score.

“It was kind of ugly, but anyway we made it,” said Kent.

Now the Eagles face a physical Knight team smarting from its 25-12 setback in Cheney.

“We need to run the option,” said Kent. “It is designed to negate a size mismatch.”

Having a healthy Hilsabeck wouldn’t hurt and his status is day-to-day.

Titan runners light up Sunfair

In their first showdown with defending state champion Mead, University’s cross country team got the upper hand.

Titan runners won varsity, sophomore and freshman races during the Yakima Sunfair Invitational.

Paired with the girls team score, the Titans brought home the combined team trophy as well.

“It was awesome,” said coach Bob Barbero. “All the kids ran well.”

U-Hi’s team-low 12 points, based in individual finishes in seven flight races, nearly doubled Gonzaga Prep’s best ever 23-point effort. Mead’s varsity placed fifth.

Titan runners were first in five races for one point each, had a third and fourth place for their total.

Dan Chavez, Kris Martin, Mark Davis, Jeff Rees and Mike Visintainer won flights 6 through 2. Seth Mott was fourth in flight 7 for best team runners and Matt Pierce was third in flight 1.

Three other runners had times faster than Pierce, including second-placers Bill Williams in the JV race, won by Mead and Trevor Newton in the sophomore race. Freshman Brandon Stum was second in the frosh race.

“They really worked hard last summer,” said Barbero. “That’s what’s showing. We’ve got to keep them healthy, but they’re sure looking good.”

Knights still chasing Newport

The Sunfair provided East Valley’s girls with a second look at Newport and the score didn’t look encouraging.

Looks can be deceiving.

Newport had a 26-43 victory based on flight positioning during the race.

The composite Knight times, however, were faster.

Just 40 seconds separated EV’s first time from its sixth, including Melissa Frostad’s 18:57 winner in the flight for number four runners. Frostad’s sister, Melanie who ran number one, timed 18:59.

Korinda Godwin, who won the flight for number six runners, had the third-best Knight time of 19:11 and Crystal Gerky, who won the flight for fifth runners, timed 19:23.

EV’s other runners, Ann Marie Adams and Cara Smith ran times faster than Newport’s third runner.

So the battle has been lost at Shoreline and Sunfair. But the war is not necessarily over when all runners are lumped together at state.

CV-U-Hi soccer showdown Friday

Greater Spokane League soccer is at the midpoint of its season, and Central Valley and University both entered the week undefeated.

The two Valley teams, which shared first place with defending champion Mead with 3-0 records, face each other Friday.

That was perhaps not unexpected for the veteran Titans.

The Bears, under new coach Craig Griffiths and with a handful of new players, have been the league’s surprise.

U-Hi defeated Ferris 1-0 last week in its first important league test. The Bears hosted the Saxons on Wednesday.

No matter that outcome, Friday’s 4 p.m. contest at U-Hi has playoff implications both teams who are among six currently in contention.

CV last week rallied from a 2-0 halftime deficit to beat Gonzaga Prep. Natasha Opsal came out of goal for the first Bear score, Shauna Smith made a penalty kick and Rebecca Kochendorfer netted the winner with nine minutes to play.

U-Hi’s Kara Jordan scored the only goal, at the 29-minute mark in University’s win over Ferris. The Saxons outshot the Titans 17-6, but the defense and keeper Shoni Trickel was up to the task.

, DataTimes