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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

After rough start, Central Valley sits atop GSL 4A

Gregl@Spokesman.Com (509) 844-8168

Look who’s at the top of the 4A Greater Spokane League football standings.

Central Valley opened the season by getting drubbed in back-to-back weeks by Coeur d’Alene (50-14) and Lake City (57-21). The Bears’ other loss was in a nonleague crossover against 3A Shadle Park (47-33).

The Bears are 2-0 in league, having edged Lewis and Clark 20-19 and holding back Mead 30-14 Friday.

Many CV followers were concerned it was going to be a long season. But coach Rick Giampietri, who’s been around the block a few times, wasn’t overly concerned.

“We’re getting better every week, that’s the key,” Giampietri said. “We graded out pretty bad to start the season. They don’t look like sophomores anymore. They’re starting to make some plays.”

What most didn’t understand is the Bears were breaking in a new offense. While it might be a stretch to call it “Air Bear,” CV has joined the progressive offensive movement of late and switched to a spread scheme.

Seems timely since Tanner Sloan, a junior, is now the gunslinger. He’s the son of a former quarterback standout Rick Sloan.

“Before we were an I-formation team,” Giampietri said. “We always had a tight end. Now we don’t have a tight end or a fullback.”

Certainly the GSL’s two 4A postseason berths are far from decided. None of the six teams have been eliminated. And if early results indicate anything it is that it will go down to the final week.

But now on the Bears are on top, gaining confidence each week.

Gonzaga Prep is next at 1-0 with LC and Ferris at 1-1. University is 0-1 but showing much promise in nonleague games and Mead, at 0-2, is going to need some help and can’t afford another loss.

There’s just one league game this week, featuring G-Prep at U-Hi.

The other four teams will be involved in what should be entertaining games. In what should be a well-attended doubleheader Friday at Albi Stadium, Mead takes on Mt. Spokane in the Battle of the Bell and Ferris faces Shadle Park in a rematch of the matchup that decided the league title a year ago.

GSL secretary Herb Rotchford expects attendance to exceed well over 10,000.

Mt. Spokane and Shadle will be heavily favored in both games. That’s because if we’ve learned anything through the first five weeks it’s that Shadle and Mt. Spokane are the best two teams overall in the league.

Another thing has become clear. While it can be said that the competitive level, overall, is down in the league, parity is at an all-time high. Eight of the 10 teams are highly competitive among themselves.

Whether that translates into deep playoff runs remains to be seen. It’s proven true for boys and girls basketball teams over the years that when play is competitive in league teams are battle tested for the postseason.

Football teams can only hope for as much.

Other than CV, other 4A teams to watch in the final weeks are LC and U-Hi. And Ferris, even though its off to a 1-4 start, should also have a say in how things play out.

Prior to Friday, G-Prep appeared to be a lock for a postseason berth. But Shadle’s defense suffocated the Bullpups, exposing some flaws.

G-Prep’s defense played well enough to win. And the Bullpups will have to rely on stout efforts from their defense in the closing weeks.