Bears overcome injury-ravaged Tigers with special teams

Maybe Lewis and Clark used up all its good karma on the way to the State 4A football championship last year, but to use that as an excuse for the Tigers’ 33-21 loss at Central Valley Friday night would be selling the Bears short.

In a matchup of unbeaten Greater Spokane League teams that traditionally slug it out, superior special teams – and a rapidly growing LC injury list – gave CV the edge before a full house at Sig T. Hanson Field.

Blaze Vela kicked four field goals and a 16-yard difference in punting average made a huge difference in field position for the Bears (3-0, 3-0), to say nothing of LC (2-1, 2-1) losing two more starters early in the game.

“They have a lot of kids out, we know that,” CV coach Rick Giampietri said. “But we hit them. It’s a blocking and tackling game when you play Lewis and Clark. It always is.”

The Tigers played the game without a half dozen injured starters, including quarterback Taylor Eglet on offense and linebacker Tyler Kody on defense. On CV’s fifth play, LC defensive end Joe Zimmerman went out with a shoulder injury and late in the first quarter the Tigers lost running back Levi Taylor, who had 52 yards on eight carries and a touchdown, with a sprained right ankle.

“I’m really proud with how we competed,” LC coach Tom Yearout said. “I’m obviously disappointed we lost, but we absolutely left everything on the field. We had a lot of kids playing in a big game for the first time that probably didn’t expect to be out there.”

Despite the adversity, LC had a chance until Greg Barnes returned an interception 41 yards for the clinching touchdown with 48 seconds left.

“We knew with their quarterback injured there would be a lot of pressure on the new quarterback,” CV defensive end Evander Cobbs said.

Under that pressure, quarterback Austin Ehlo, usually a wide receiver, threw two interceptions and lost a fumble among the four LC turnovers that CV turned into 20 points with a late field goal set up by a shanked 2-yard punt.

Giampietri was just as proud of his team, which fell behind 7-0 when LC’s Zach Robinson scored on a 22-yard interception return on the first play of the game and trailed 14-0 after the Tigers’ first possession.

“We couldn’t have had a worse start,” he said. “Then they settled down.”

After LC’s quick start, CV quarterback Blake Bledsoe scored on a 1-yard sneak and hit J.C. Agen with a 4-yard TD pass and Vela kicked 35- and 39-yard field goals to make it 20-14 at the half. The Bears got a big boost from 6-foot-2, 205-pound senior Taylor Price, who ran 20 times for 103 yards, much of it on second effort.

“It feels great,” said Price, who suffered a major knee injury at the end of last season and was hurt in the season opener. “It felt so good to get back on the field. My knee feels incredible.”

Vela’s fourth field goal, with 1:22 to play, came after a 2-yard LC punt.

“We could have been more effective in the red zone,” Giampietri said. “We could have put the game away earlier. It’s pretty amazing when you can say that against a good team like that.”

The Tigers averaged just 23.7 yard a punt and Ehlo finished 9 of 25 for 80 yards with two interceptions.

Mt. Spokane 48, North Central 6: Quarterback Travis Ward threw for three scores, and receiver Colten Williams added three touchdowns as the Wildcats (2-1, 1-1) routed the Indians (0-3, 0-3) at Albi Stadium. Ward completed 10 of 16 passes for 152 yards.

Gonzaga Prep 56, University 28: John Lampert rushed for 116 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Bullpups (2-1, 2-1) past the visiting Titans (1-2, 1-2). His first score put G-Prep up 21-14 at the half and he added two more in a 21-point fourth quarter.