Gsl Football Tripleheaders Scheduled To Return To Albi

The 1998 Greater Spokane League football schedule has a radical old look that goes far beyond adding Mt. Spokane to the lineup.

The GSL is returning to Friday tripleheaders at Albi Stadium.

Change was inevitable with the Wildcats joining the lineup, but another motivating factor was eliminating the late school nights faced by teams playing the second game of Thursday doubleheaders.

Thursday games begin at 6:15. The only doubleheader in the nine-week schedule is in Week 5 when there is no school on Friday.

The only other quirk is in the final week when three games are on Thursday, one each at Albi, Central Valley and University, which gives some teams an extra day of rest before the playoffs that start the following Tuesday.

The Friday lineup goes at 3 p.m., 5:45 and 8:45. Every week either U-Hi or CV has a home game on Friday night at 7.

Coaches expressed concern about the 3 p.m. game, when Albi will be basically deserted. They discussed taking the 3 p.m. game to the open Valley field but administrators nixed that. Providing crowd control at a “neutral” school was the major stumbling block.

Junior varsity games are on Monday and freshman games Thursday.

There is also talk of putting a girls soccer game in Albi each Thursday before the football game. If the schedule works out, the game would involve the same schools as those playing football.

Dream Duals moving east

Four years ago, Scott Bliss’ dream of a wrestling Dream Dual became reality.

Now the event is following him to Spokane.

“I’ve gotten pressure from coaches to have it here ever since they started,” said Bliss, coach at Mead High. “It became easier once I came over.”

Bliss was Auburn’s coach when he conceived the Dream Dual idea, pitting the top teams in coaches’ eyes against each other in a tournament-like atmosphere.

Last weekend, 24 teams, six each in four classifications, were involved. Lakeside High won the 2A portion. East Valley finished second to Moses Lake in the rugged 3A class. Central Valley finished third in the 4A category.

The present plan is to alternate the Dream Duals between Spokane and Auburn. Next year is Spokane’s turn, although Bliss said the site is yet to be determined.

Bring on the tournaments

The Greater Spokane League wrestling dual meet season ends tonight, but the feature is at Lakeside High where the Eagles host Colville for first place in the Great Northern League.

“The beauty is that their tough kids match up against ours,” said coach Scott Jones.

Colville is unbeaten in five weights and Lakeside in six, including at 135 where the Eagles’ Adam Christen will face Jason Divis.

Beyond that wrestlers are thinking tournaments. District 8 4A competition will be Feb. 6-7 at Mt. Spokane High. District 7 3A Frontier wrestlers will travel to Moses Lake for a sub-regional with Mid-Valley League teams. Both tourneys feature 16 wrestlers per weight class.

Great Northern wrestlers will compete Feb. 14 at Medical Lake, with the top three wrestlers per weight class qualifying for state.

Got milk, got money

The folks behind the milk mustache advertisements you’ve seen on billboards and magazines, especially here in Washington where the state dairy farmers sponsor WIAA events, are offering chances for free sports equipment for schools and a $7,500 scholarship. A nationwide search for a scholar-athlete is accepting applications, and a school’s collection of proofs-of-purchase from milk cartons can earn it up to $10,000 in sporting goods.

For more information on the program, also sponsored by Sports Illustrated, call (800) WHY-MILK or visit the Web site at www.whymilk.com.

, DataTimes