Mt. Spokane rallies for GSL football win over Rogers

It took almost the entire game, but Mt. Spokane finally found its equilibrium Friday night.

Knocked on their heels early, the Wildcats rallied behind their balanced offense to take a 44-26 win over Rogers in a Greater Spokane League 3A game at chilly Albi Stadium.

The win also helped Mt. Spokane claim a return trip to the postseason. No matter what happens in its final regular-season game next week against Shadle Park, the Wildcats are assured of a state play-in game the following week.

Rogers still has a chance to reach the postseason, provided it can beat North Central next week.

“We’re just excited for the playoffs, and we want to get better each week,” said Mt. Spokane running back Dalton Dixon, whose clutch running between the tackles ultimately made the difference after a slow start.

Rogers was up by nine points midway through the first quarter on two short touchdown passes from Cole Shafer to Khalil Winfrey.

“They came out ready to play,” Mt. Spokane coach Terry Cloer said. “Coach (Ben) Cochran had their kids ready to go and we didn’t. “

Mt. Spokane (7-1) opened the game by converting a pair of fourth-down conversions before settling for Cody McDonald’s 27-yard field goal. Rogers came back with an eight-play, 65-yard drive capped by Shafer’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Winfrey.

After forcing a three-and-out, Rogers took a 12-3 lead on a 4-yard pass from Shafer to Winfrey.

“I don’t know if we expected it (a win) to just happen,” Cloer said.

Perhaps it was the two-score deficit, but Wilcats suddenly came alive. They closed to 12-10 on a 14-yard screen pass from Speer to Dylan Lionello, then got the ball back four plays later.

After Lionello converted a fourth-and-3, Speer threw a 36-yard TD pass to Jacob Barnes.

Trailing 23-12, the Pirates were forced to punt following their next two drives, but got back in the back in the game on a 25-yard halfback pass from Eric McKay to Conrad Weeks with 1:15 left till halftime.

“We knew they were going to come out and fight,” Dixon said.

The Pirates (3-5) regained the lead, 26-23, on a 33-yard strike from Shafer to a wide-open Weeks.

Again, the Wildcats thrived on adversity. With Dixon doing the heavy lifting – he gained 75 yards on 19 carries – Mt. Spokane moved 65 yards in 12 plays, taking the lead for good on Speer’s 24-yard pass to Dylan Mead.

“It’s all about getting two hands on the ball and following my blockers – and they blocked well,” Dixon said.

As it turned out, Mead’s TD catch turned out to be the winner. Mt. Spokane dominated the rest of the way with a balanced offense that gained 167 yards on the ground and the same through the air.

Meanwhile, Rogers couldn’t get any traction on the ground, finishing with just 37 yards on 26 carries. Trailing by just four, the Pirates took a gamble with a fake punt on fourth-and-13 at midfield, but the play was blown up and Mt. Spokane took over.

Six plays later, Dixon scored from 3 yard to make it 37-26 with 6:44 to play. Rogers failed to mount a serious scoring threat in the final minutes.

For Rogers, Shafer finished 24 for 41 for 270 yards and two scores. Winfrey caught 12 balls for 105 yards.