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Bears bear down

Central Valley displays balanced offense in rolling past Rogers 49-7

Central Valley’s Michael Stansberry makes first-down yardage as Rogers’ Kahlil Winfrey goes in for the tackle in the first half. (Colin Mulvany)
Central Valley’s Michael Stansberry makes first-down yardage as Rogers’ Kahlil Winfrey goes in for the tackle in the first half. (Colin Mulvany)Buy a print of this photo
By Jim Allen jima@spokesman.com

Back on their heels Friday night, the Central Valley Bears had no choice but to dig them in.

Coming off an opening loss to Ferris and reeling on their first defensive series against Rogers, the Bears got the ball back and took over from there in a 49-7 Greater Spokane League football win Friday night at Albi Stadium.

“We had to bounce back, that’s just what we’re trying to do,” Central Valley coach Rick Giampietri said after a win that evened the Bears’ record at 1-1.

“We’ve been giving up big plays, and that something we have to work on, but that’s just part of the game,” Giampietri said. “We have a few young people in there, but this is only their second game, so it should get better.”

It got better in a hurry Friday night, as the Bears scored touchdowns on four out of five first-half possessions.

Rogers moved 60 yards in its opening drive, but stalled at the CV 16 and the Bears took over on downs. From there, the Bears moved 84 yards, capped by running back Hayden Woolrehammer’s 8-yard touchdown run to put CV ahead 7-0.

After Rogers went three-and-out on its next possession, CV scored in just two plays, with quarterback Adam Chamberlain running 18 yards for the touchdown.

CV seemingly had all the momentum it needed after Spencer Miller’s 4-yard score that made it 21-0 early in the second quarter, but Rogers answered with its only touchdown of the night.

Pirates running back James Welty turned the corner and ran 58 yards down the right sideline, diving into the end zone to cut the deficit to 21-7.

But after forcing a CV punt with less than four minutes left before halftime, Rogers quarterback Dom Sanders was intercepted at midfield. On the next play, the Pirates’ Brandon Rose-Johns nearly intercepted Chamberlain, but the ball was ruled to be trapped.

Momentum back on their side, the Bears capitalized. Chamberlain found Michael Stansberry on the left sideline for 27-yard gain to the 11, and Miller capped the drive with a 6-yard TD run.

The Bears’ offense was balanced and explosive, gaining 198 yards rushing and 191 through the air. Miller rushed for 79 yards on 12 carries, while Chamberlain was 11 for 21 for two touchdowns.

Welty rushed for 93 yards on 13 carries.

The CV defense held Rogers to just three completions in 15 pass attempts and had three interceptions, including Parker Bowden’s 100-yard pick-six in the fourth quarter.

Central Valley faces Mt. Spokane on Thursday, again at Albi Stadium, while Rogers plays North Central on Friday, also at Albi.