Dave Trimmer

Ferris forward Leonard Harmon leves Prep guard Tyson Thielman in a state of denial. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

There is no substitute for experience, which allowed Ferris to enjoy the experience of playing in the new Arena more than Mead when the Greater Spokane League boys basketball season opened Tuesday night. The Saxons overcame a shaky third quarter to edge the Panthers 45-41 as senior Leonard Harmon scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds. "(My role) has kind of changed this year," Harmon said. "We all need to rebound more. I haven't been rebounding too well lately. Toward the end, when we needed them, I got them."

GSL girls You could blame it on the new digs, but in reality it was Mead's defense that made the difference in the first girls basketball game in the Arena. The Panthers limited Ferris to five baskets through three quarters and coasted to a 53-33 victory in the Greater Spokane League opener Tuesday night. "I thought we did a nice job taking away some things," Mead coach Jeanne Helfer said. "Jennifer Bennett did a great job neutralizing their inside game early. I thought that set the tone, we hadn't been playing very good defense."

Wayne Gilman of Ferris looks to Scott Servine and Jason Weatherred, center, to help the Saxons stay in the GSL race. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

American Legion baseball is taking a dramatic step, hoping to vastly improve its program in particular and Spokane baseball in general. Legion officials have decided to add a third division at the top by combining schools, which have traditionally each fielded their own Senior Legion team. "We wanted to change the presentation of our program," Division 5 senior commissioner Dale Anderson said. "We wanted more competitive baseball."

Ferris' Chris Schuchart (middle) blocks the passing lane between Cheney's Chad Randall (left) and Cam Stewart (32). Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-RevieW

Kim Stiles, right, and the Portland Pilots came up inches short in NCAA title game against Shannon Boxx, Notre Dame. Photo by Associated Press

The offensive disease that spread through the Greater Spokane League in 1995 was contagious. And it was hardly disabling. A number of impressive high school football records were established throughout Washington during the regular season.

Too many good things happened this year for the Mead girls soccer team to complain, so the Panthers won't - even if they deserve to. Last weekend Mead went to the State AAA playoffs and came back with a third-place trophy after losing to eventual state champion Shorecrest in a shootout and then beating Columbia River.

Davenport's Josh FitzPatrick scores three touchdowns in a State B-11 football victory over Tekoa-Oaksdale. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Coach Sue Doering (behind trophy cup) and Colfax volleyball team show off their spoils of victory. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Central Valley running back Luke Stravros drags Kamiakin defender Jonathan Rettig for a few yards in the fourth quarter of the Bears' 42-28 loss. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

The Tekoa-Oakesdale Nighthawks might have to take a longer look at this new offensive weapon. One week after kicking the first field goal in school history, Tim Freeburg kicked the second, a 31-yarder with 62 seconds to play, lifting the Nighthawks to a 30-27 victory over Republic Friday night in the first round of the WIAA/U.S. Bank State B-11 football playoffs.

Coach Rick Giampietri is confident Central Valley will not look past Kamiakin. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Just as everyone in Spokane expected and what everyone in the Big Nine feared, the Greater Spokane League dominated the first Eastern AAA regional volleyball tournament. Saturday at Wenatchee High School, GSL teams squared off three times to determine three entries to the WIAA/U.S. Bank State AAA tournament at the Arena in Spokane next weekend.

Giorgio Usal of Central Valley doesn't let East Valley's Matt Eastman stop him from scoring his third TD in 49-7 non-league victory. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Three years is a lifetime in high school, so the 9 minutes of pounding seemed like a heartbeat. The Shadle Park Highlanders used a shocking 98-yard return of a missed 45-yard field-goal try and followed it up with a dominating drive to shock Lewis and Clark 35-16 at Albi Stadium Friday night. "We've been waiting for three years for this game," senior center Russ Seaman said. "We were fired up, ready to go. We knew we could play with them."

Thursday was a night for firsts, and by the time the lights went out at Albi Stadium, it was hard to tell who was more excited. The Central Valley Bears won their first outright Greater Spokane League football title with a 36-13 win over Ferris. Two hours later, North Central finally won its first game, surviving crucial turnovers and big penalties to edge Rogers 13-7 in the battle of winless teams.

Six weeks after surprising himself and everyone else with a 285-yard rushing game, Giorgio Usai isn't surprised anymore. Usai broke two Greater Spokane League records in scoring six touchdowns to lead No. 6 Central Valley to a 56-3 win over North Central at Albi Stadium Friday night. Usai became the first player to score six touchdowns in a game. Earlier this year, Usai became one of 11 players to score five touchdowns in a game. The first was Mentor Dahlen of North Central in 1928 and the last was Mead's Adam Morris last weekend.

The Mead Panthers didn't want to press their luck, so they took things into their own hands. With a 24-7 win over Gonzaga Prep Thursday night at Albi Stadium, the Panthers clinched a playoff berth for the seventh straight year. The last three years, however, the Panthers have had to survive multiple-team tiebreakers to get into the playoffs.

Yes, the chase for the Greater Spokane League volleyball championship is over but that hardly makes the stretch run anticlimactic. On tap Saturday is the 17-team Action Sportswear Crossover Classic tournament at Shadle Park and Lewis and Clark. Some of the best Class AAA teams in the state are entered and many could be back the second weekend of November for the State AAA tournament at the Arena.

High school and junior high football officials in the Spokane area agreed to return to the field, one week after voting not to work any more games until the method they are paid is changed. "The Inland Empire Football Officials Association and WIAA Districts 7 and 8 came to an agreement and our officals will be back on the field tomorrow," IEFOA president Jerry Skogstad said Sunday night. Skogstad refused to elaborate but it is doubtful the method of payment was changed.

Modern medicine is amazing. The Mead Panthers dissected Ferris with surgical precision at Albi Stadium on Friday night, rolling to a 45-20 victory in a Greater Spokane League football game. The Panthers had 387 yards rushing without getting tackled for a loss and finished with 508 total yards. Adam Morris tied a league record with five touchdowns as the Panthers scored on their first six possessions - not counting two plays that ended the first half with Mead leading 35-7.

CV's Ryan Millar can't come up with catch against Gonzaga Prep's joe Ascolese, center, and Ryan Darrow. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review