Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Mead takes dramatic victory


Gonzaga Prep running back Jeremy Condon hurdles for extra yards. 
 (Brian Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)
Jason Shoot Correspondent

If players are going to put their coach on the brink of tears, it better be for a good cause.

Mead football coach Sean Carty’s eyes were a little wispy Friday night after his Panthers roared back from a seemingly insurmountable deficit to stun Gonzaga Prep 28-27 at Joe Albi Stadium in a Greater Spokane League football matchup.

“I almost lost it,” Carty said minutes after Todd Loncosty hauled in the go-ahead touchdown pass with 9 seconds remaining in the contest. “I love these guys. They never quit.”

Mead looked like it was on its way to defeat after Mat Barker gave G-Prep a 27-14 lead with a 36-yard field goal with 5 minutes left. Instead, the Panthers dominated play until the final whistle to storm back for the win.

Panthers quarterback Glen Reser connected with James Allen on a 4-yard pass to pull Mead within 27-21. The Panthers then forced G-Prep to punt after three plays on its next possession, giving Mead one final chance to come back.

Seth Moore converted on fourth-and-2 with a 5-yard run down to the Bullpups’ 5. Two plays later, Loncosty wiggled open in a crowd of players to catch Reser’s pass and gave the Panthers an almost improbable win.

“When we’re down there on the goal line, that’s the play we run every time,” said Reser, who completed 23 of 36 passes for 331 yards.

G-Prep opened the game with a 12-play, 73-yard drive that culminated with Jeremy Condon punching into the end zone on a 9-yard run for a 7-0 lead. Condon carried the ball nine times for 49 yards on the drive.

Mead’s offense sputtered on its ensuing possession and was forced to punt. Bullpups lineman Pat Enders raced in untouched to block the kick and teammate Travis Long pounced on the ball in the end zone to boost G-Prep’s lead to 14-0.

The Panthers cut their deficit to 14-7 late in the first half with Reser’s 25-yard touchdown pass to Matt Lynch.

Mead was forced to punt after three plays to open the second half, leading to Barnes’ 47-yard field goal for a 17-7 cushion. Two possessions later, Reser was intercepted by Aaron Page, who returned the ball 30 yards to Mead’s 7 to set up Condon’s touchdown run on the next play for a 24-7 advantage.

Carty said he isn’t concerned his team will suffer an emotional letdown next week.

“We’ve been in two overtime games already,” he said. “We just turn them on and they go out and run.”

Condon rushed for 87 yards on 19 carries for the Bullpups, and G-Prep quarterback Bryan Karwacki added 84 yards on 18 rushes.

Lewis and Clark 30, East Valley 22: The Tigers (6-1, 6-1) capitalized on a muffed EV punt snap to stave off the upset-minded Knights (3-4, 3-4) at Albi Stadium.

The play set up LC at the EV 34 and Taylor Eglet hit Austin Ehlo from 11 yards out for a 30-15 lead in the fourth quarter.

LC had led 23-7 at halftime on three Alex Shaw touchdowns and an Alex Gauper field goal after the Knights scored first on a 30-yard Lonnie Quirk pass to Dakota Lawson.

Quirk’s second TD pass, to Danny Marshall, and two-point conversion pass cut the deficit to 23-15 in the third quarter.

LC had 195 passing yards, Eglet connecting on 11 of 15 for 169. Gauper had two catches for 70 yards and Shaw ran 10 times for 79 yards, including a 50-yard TD scamper in the Tigers’ 16-point second quarter.

Quirk threw for 188 yards and Lawson had five catches for 79 yards.