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

Mt. Spokane tops Shadle Park

Shadle Park’s Michael Morris can’t stop Mt. Spokane’s Dakota Hipes on a touchdown run in a State 3A playoff game on Saturday. (Tyler Tjomsland)

Brett Rypien broke a big career record Saturday afternoon, but the Mt. Spokane Wildcats set a team record and gained more time for their football season.

The Wildcats rushed for 260 yards and scored the final 28 points of the game to dispatch Rypien’s Shadle Park Highlanders 35-20 in a State 3A quarterfinal at Albi Stadium.

Mt. Spokane (10-2) posted its eighth consecutive victory and became the first Wildcats football team to advance to the state semifinals. The Wildcats will host Eastside Catholic next weekend.

Rypien, a senior headed to Boise State, threw for 329 yards to cap his state-record career with 13,044 yards, 91 more than former Skyline (Sammamish) star Max Browne, now at USC. Rypien also extended his career record for completions, adding 29 to give him 1,006.

The Highlanders finished 8-4, including a 28-21 Greater Spokane League loss to Mt. Spokane in almost a carbon-copy game. Shadle led that game 14-0 after one quarter and was outscored 14-0 in the second half. On Saturday, the Highlanders led 13-0 after the first quarter and were again blanked 14-0 after halftime.

“(Rypien) is obviously one of the best quarterbacks in the nation, so to beat him twice in the same year is a huge tribute to our kids and the execution of our game plan,” Wildcats coach Terry Cloer said.

Rypien’s final pass as a high schooler was intercepted by Roy Hyatt in the corner of the end zone with 3 minutes, 17 seconds left.

“I was looking for that corner pass to (Shadle senior) Sam Stratton and I knew I had to make the play sometime or he was going to make the play,” the University of Wyoming-bound Hyatt said.

Hyatt also deflated Shadle with a 79-yard TD reception for a 28-20 lead with 7 minutes left in the third quarter.

“When I got that long ball and scored that touchdown, I think that sealed it,” Hyatt said. “I think that took a lot of momentum away from them. It kind of put them down mentally and helped a lot.”

Shadle controlled the game until late in the first half. Senior linebacker Logan Kurucz intercepted Matt Pulliam at the Wildcats’ 37-yard line with 10:25 left in the half, setting up Rypien’s second TD pass, a 4-yarder to Stratton for a 20-7 lead.

The Wildcats turned it around with two quick TDs. Pulliam’s 1-yard run capped an 80-yard drive, highlighted by senior Dakota Hipes’ 48-yard run, to cut Shadle’s lead to 21-20 with 2:51 left in the half. Mt. Spokane took the lead for good 31 seconds later, when Dalton Dixon intercepted Rypien’s tipped pass and returned it 16 yards for a score.

“That was the turning point, I think, right there,” Cloer said. “(The Highlanders) came out and they were a little rattled after that.”

Everything went the Wildcats’ way after that, except when senior running back Mike Schupp was carted away just before halftime with a suspected dislocated kneecap. Schupp rushed for 161 yards in last week’s playoff win over Wilson.

“Once we lost Mike to that injury, it inspired our whole team and made us step up even more,” Pulliam said. “We just had another reason to do it.”

Hipes helped fill in for Schupp’s loss, rushing for 162 yards and two TDs on 13 carries.

Shadle’s Cameron Duty had eight receptions for 122 yards. Fellow senior George Pilimai had six catches for 101 yards and a TD.