Shaw makes winning on the field a full-time pursuit

During the early stages of his East Valley football career, linebacker Spencer Shaw was tagged with the nickname “Halftime.”

It had nothing to do with any inspired messages delivered in the locker room at intermission, but because of his tendency to perform about half of the time during a football game, said coach Adam Fisher.

“All kids want to play, but on film you see guys take plays off for whatever reason,” said Fisher. “That’s unacceptable here.”

Shaw got the message. The not-so-flattering sobriquet spurred him to action in the weight room and greatness on the field.

“It motivated me to get better,” said the 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior linebacker. “I just decided I was going to give everything I’ve got.”

He established the reputation, beginning midway through last season, as a player who goes hard on every play. That exemplifies EV’s hell-bent approach to defense that has the Knights in the quarterfinals of the State 3A playoffs for the first time in 16 years.

“They fly around,” said Fisher. “As coach (Grady) Emmerson says, you may not make the play if you’re flying around, but somebody else will. If others are flying around, good things happen.”

EV altered its defense this year, but nothing much changed for the linebackers, said Shaw. He was taught to be physical, but simply learned that he needed to work harder.

“I lived in the weight room,” said Shaw. “Five days a week, usually. I made huge gains in a short amount of time.”

He squats 400 pounds, one of the school’s all-time totals, and bench presses more than 300. He and his teammates may not be the biggest players, he said, but their overall team speed and willingness to disregard their own well-being, turned them into the Greater Spokane League’s best defense.

“We learned to trust each other. That was the main thing,” said Shaw, “and to attack the ball.”

EV graduated a massive line with a Division I signee and record-setting running back from a team that finished 7-2 last year in the GSL. But this team, while young, has exceeded that.

“I’m not really surprised,” said Shaw. “We wanted to be the best team in the GSL and make a run for state. Those were our main goals.”