Mead rolls past North Central

Mead put the game in sprint motion in the first half and that allowed the clock to essentially run nonstop most of the second half.

Behind a career game from senior running back Davian Barlow, the Panthers cruised past the North Central Indians 47-6 in a Greater Spokane League football game Friday at Joe Albi Stadium.

Barlow rushed for an all-time high 248 yards on 11 carries, including touchdown runs of 67, on his first carry, 74 and 30.

Mead (2-0) was especially efficient from kickoff. Barlow zipped 67 yards on the first play from scrimmage – the first five first-quarter touchdowns and six consecutive until North Central (0-2) scored its lone touchdown with 9 seconds left before halftime.

“That’s what we talked about before the game,” Mead coach Sean Carty said of the near-flawless execution in the first half. “We had a lot of things to work on, just like every week. Our goal was to improve our game knowing that would help us win. We have to respect our opponent. Everybody is going to fight hard. They have athletes and they have a great coaching staff. There’s no way we’re going to take anybody for granted.”

Barlow said his yards weren’t all about him.

“I’ve got to give it up to my line,” Barlow said. “They’re the reason we came out and played with the intensity that we did. If we didn’t have that intensity the score wouldn’t be near what it is.”

Mead needed just 18 seconds to score to start the second half, forcing the final minutes to be played under the running clock with the mercy rule format.

After two relatively easy games, Mead will turn its attention to Lewis and Clark (1-1) next week.