Colville unseats Pullman
PULLMAN – The Colville Indians staked their claim for conference supremacy Friday night as they upset the defending Great Northern League champion Pullman 21-12.
The loss marks the first time the Greyhounds (5-1 overall, 2-1 GNL) dropped a game on Hobbs Field since 2003, when Medical Lake beat them.
More significant, it marks a shift in power since last season – when the Greyhounds played the Indians for the league title on the same grounds, and beat them 35-0.
“It’s a sweet feeling right now,” said senior running back John Roberts, who had touchdown runs of 5, 37 and 94 yards for the Indians (6-0, 3-0). “We really came together and stepped up tonight.”
The Greyhounds got off on the wrong foot early on when Derek Heim sent a 9-yard punt off the side of his foot. Colville’s Trevor Fox fielded the ball at the Pullman 21-yard line and returned it inside the Greyhounds 5.
The next play, Roberts punched the ball into the end zone, and just like that the Indians had a 7-0 lead.
After Roberts added a second first-quarter touchdown with 3:20 remaining to make it 13-0, the Greyhounds finally appeared to be hitting stride when they drove the ball down to the Indians 5 as the first quarter expired.
But two plays into the period, sophomore running back Cody Weber couldn’t handle a J.T. Levenseller handoff on fourth down, and the Greyhounds turned the ball over on downs.
That turned out to be the story of the game for the Greyhounds, who couldn’t stop hurting themselves. Pullman committed five turnovers, three of which came inside the Indians 15-yard line and a fourth coming at the Indians 29.
“That’s not us,” said Greyhound head coach Bill Peterson. “We had too many mental mistakes early on. We didn’t play Greyhound football in the first half.”
The second half didn’t go much better.
Down 13-6 with 1:23 remaining in the third quarter, the Greyhounds had a fourth-and-4 on the Indians 6-yard line. Levenseller tried a quarterback keeper, but got nothing, and once again the Greyhounds turned the ball over.
The next play, Roberts took the ball 94 yards for a touchdown, and the Greyhounds never posed much of a threat again.
“They’ve been great champions,” Colville head coach Randy Cornwell said of the Greyhounds, “and that’s what makes this so special.”