A look back at Friday night football

If you wanted the final week of regular-season play to mean something, you got exactly that in Greater Spokane League football.

The league championship can be won outright or shared. There’s still some jockeying for postseason berths in 4A. And the third and final 3A berth will be determined.

This after another week when the league’s top two 3A teams took 4A teams to task.

In the anything-can-happen Great Northern League, no team is undefeated with two weeks left in the regular season. But two teams – East Valley and Pullman, with one league loss each – can control their own destinies.

Over in Ritzville, Colfax and defending State 2B champ Lind-Ritzville/Sprague wanted to decide a league championship but all they could do was warm up for nothing. No referees showed up.

So there’s much to rehash here and anticipate in the coming week.

GSL, GNL titles on line

Mt. Spokane’s 45-35 win over Gonzaga Prep was a big favor to Ferris and Central Valley.

For Ferris, G-Prep’s loss gives the Saxons (7-1) the opportunity to earn the top 4A postseason seed. Had the teams finished in a tie, the Bullpups (6-2) would have gotten the top berth based on beating Ferris earlier.

G-Prep’s loss keeps CV (5-3), which fell to Shadle Park 47-28, in the postseason hunt.

Last year, CV knocked off the league champion Bullpups in the final week but missed the postseason because of a poor start.

Shadle (7-1), which finishes league play against Lewis and Clark, can either win their first outright league title since 1999 or at least a share. They earn it outright with a win and a Ferris loss to Mead (4-4).

The third 3A seed will be decided Friday when North Central and University, both 1-7, face off at 7:30 at Joe Albi Stadium.

• In the GNL, not even EV (5-1) and Pullman (4-1) have locked up berths mathematically.

EV, which handed Pullman its first league loss Friday, has a bye this week while Pullman entertains West Valley (3-2). Cheney (2-2) and Colville (2-2) are tied with WV in the loss column.

EV finishes the following week at Deer Park and WV has a final home game against Colville.

It’s hard not to see EV securing no less than a share of a league title and Pullman taking care of business for the second berth.

False start

LRS coach Greg Whitmore will no longer take for granted that referees will show up for a home game.

Colfax (4-2, 4-0) and LRS (6-0, 4-0) were set to decide the Northeast 2B title Friday at Ritzville on Senior Night.

“It’s not uncommon for officials to show up late because sometimes they’ve worked an (afternoon) eight-man game in the area,” Whitmore said. “I didn’t worry too much.”

Whitmore went ahead with the pregame ceremony to honor his 10 seniors. Then an assistant gave him the bad news.

Whitmore usually checks to make sure officials have been assigned to his home game on game day. Friday he didn’t.

He and Colfax coach Mike Morgan talked about playing the game the next day. But LRS was going to be short handed. Five Broncos flew out Saturday morning at 6 for the FFA national convention in Lexington, Ky.

Whitmore had already braced to play without them this Friday against Liberty.

The only option it appears for making up the game is playing Nov. 5. That would mean three games in eight days for both teams – what with crossover play-in games scheduled for Nov. 8.

Colfax faces Reardan (5-2, 4-1) on Friday.

If LRS and Colfax are still undefeated after this week, the teams may decide to skip the game so they’re as healthy as possible for the postseason, Whitmore said.

“The competitor in me wants to play it. But we have to think about our kids,” Whitmore said.