Mt. Spokane tops Mead 17-14 to win Battle of the Bell

The Mt. Spokane football team has leaned heavily on its defense, and the sixth week was no different.

The Wildcats slowed down the Mead Panthers long enough to walk away with a 17-14 victory in the Battle of the Bell in a nonleague game Friday night before a crowd of 11,404 at Albi Stadium.

Mead drove deep into Mt. Spokane territory on the game’s first possession, but the Wildcats suffocated the Panthers thereafter.

“We got the stop on that possession and the kids just battled,” first-year Mt. Spokane coach Terry Cloer said. “Rivalry games, you throw all that stuff out the window and this is what you expect.”

A late touchdown in the first half allowed Mt. Spokane to take a 10-7 lead into halftime.

The Wildcats (4-2) have been a second-half team. While they only scored one more touchdown after the intermission, the defense did its best work in the final two quarters.

Mead (2-4) took its final lead when sophomore quarterback Thomas Dammarell scored on a 7-yard run, pulling the Panthers ahead 14-10 with 4:02 to go in the third.

Mt. Spokane answered on its next series. The Wildcats completed a 12-play, 65-yard drive when quarterback Matt Pulliam scored from 3 yards out for what would prove to be the game’s final score with 11:03 to go.

“They have some very skilled athletes but we made the plays when we needed them,” Cloer said.

Mead cracked the scoreboard first, driving 80 yards in 10 plays with Dammarell hitting A.J. Layton for a 20-yard touchdown pass.

Layton got behind his defender and was all alone in the end zone, giving the Panthers a 7-0 lead with 3 minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Mt. Spokane broke through on its next possession. The Wildcats moved to Mead’s 20-yard line where the Panthers defense stiffened. Tucker Jones kicked a 37-yard field goal.

Later in the second quarter, Mead recovered a botched punt catch, taking over at Mt. Spokane’s 48.

Three plays later, Dammarell was picked off at the 18 by Roy Hyatt, who returned the ball to Mead’s 46.

Staying mostly on the ground, Mt. Spokane scored its first touchdown when Dakota Hipes dashed 6 yards, allowing the Wildcats to take a 10-7 lead into halftime.

Mt. Spokane had 125 yards total offense to Mead’s 98 in the first half.

Dammarell led Mead with 64 yards rushing while Hipes led Mt. Spokane with 85.

Now both teams turn their attention to league play the final three weeks of the season.

Mt. Spokane opens 3A play against North Central (1-5) while Mead goes against Ferris (2-4), which pulled off a big win over Shadle Park on Friday.