Vince Grippi

It was a great night for guys named Murphy. Gonzaga Prep remained unbeaten with a 20-17 overtime win over Shadle Park on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Billy Karwacki to fullback Ryan Murphy.

The start of the Greater Spokane League football season hadn't been kind to the Mt. Spokane Wildcats. But that changed Thursday night in the opener of a Greater Spokane League doubleheader before 2,110 at Albi Stadium.

Shadle Park and Lewis and Clark both came out of the first Friday night of Greater Spokane League football play with victories. But that's all that was the same for the two GSL contenders. Shadle jumped ahead early and routed Rogers 51-13 behind a stifling defense and a potent offense.

For about 29 minutes, Gonzaga Prep's season opening 9-6 win over Bellarmine Prep Friday night at Albi Stadium was a typical season opener. But the last three minutes made up for it.

One thing is for certain in an American Legion baseball tournament: By the sixth game of a weekend, most teams are scrambling for pitching. Such was the case in Monday's championship and third-place games of the Spokane AAA Wood Bat Classic at Al K. Jackson Field.

The high school coaching fraternity is a small one. Monday night's Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame induction banquet at the Red Lion Inn at the Park proved the point.

Paul Voorhees has resigned after one year as the West Valley High's girls basketball coach to accept a similar position at Kent-Meridian. "Paul had a personal situation he had to deal with and we respect that," West Valley activities coordinator Wayne McKnight said. "We were hoping Paul was going to be able to stay with us a couple of years and grow the program, but we certainly understand his personal needs. We're going to go right back and look again."

One thing is certain with the Jack Blair Memorial Girls AAU All-Star Basketball Classic. No, it's not that the Metro team will win, though it did for the fourth consecutive time Wednesday night, this one 116-88 over its Region counterparts before 1,500 at University High.

PULLMAN – Washington State University promoted assistant baseball coach Donnie Marbut to the head coaching position Monday, replacing Tim Mooney, who submitted his resignation last week. Marbut, who came to WSU this season after three seasons as head coach at Edmonds Community College, will be inheriting a Cougars team coming off a 29-26 season, its best record since 1994, longtime former coach Bobo Brayton's last season as the head man.

TACOMA _ Coaches like to say one way to win a softball game is with a bloop and a blast. The University High Titans belted the blast, but it was a bloop off the bat of Prairie's Erica Hager that proved decisive Saturday morning. It helped boost the Falcons past U-Hi 4-1, eliminating the Titans from this year's 4A state tournament at the South End Recreation Area.