Post Falls Reigns Over Shadle Park Trojans Improve To 5-0 As Josh Dolan Rushes For 95 Yards And A Td And Quarterback Travis O’Briant Throws For Two Scores In 20-6 Triumph At Albi Stadium
It was a great day for ducks - and Dolan.
Josh Dolan, thrust into the lineup because of an injury, slogged through a steady downpour for 95 yards and a touchdown as Post Falls defeated Shadle Park 20-6 in a non-league football game at Albi Stadium in Spokane Thursday night.
“It was great. It was fun. I loved it,” Dolan said after the Trojans improved to 5-0.
A week ago, when the Trojans beat Lewiston for the first time ever, Josh Mort rushed for 286 and hurt some ribs in the process.
Dolan stepped up, particularly in the second half when even Travis O’Briant couldn’t pass the soggy ball. Dolan, a 5-foot-8, 175-pound junior picked up 64 yards on 14 carries in the scoreless second half, despite getting dinged on one play.
“I thought the tough guy of the year award should go to Dolan,” Post Falls coach Jerry Lee said.
Despite the rain, O’Briant directed the Trojans smartly in the first half, hitting 11 of 19 passes for 156 yards.
He got the Trojans on the board late in the first quarter, hitting Shawn Michael with a 15-yard strike on their second possession. The drive started on the Highlanders 45 after Ryan Ries recovered a fumble. The weather contributed to the missed point-after kick.
Shadle Park quickly responded, tying the game in five plays and aided by to major penalties on the Trojans. Trevor Walters popped up the middle for a 14-yard scoring run.
However, it just took two passes from O’Briant to Cameron Christiansen to put the Trojans up for good. The first took Post Falls from its 35 to the Shadle Park 23 once a big penalty was tacked on the end. After Dolan was stopped for no gain, O’Briant threaded the needle to Christiansen down the right sideline for the score.
The half might have ended at 12-6 but Shadle Park gambled on fourth down at mid-field and turned the ball over to the Trojans. O’Briant completed three passes to get the ball to the 2 and then mis-fired three times before Dolan bulled in from the 2. Dolan then used the same play for the PAT 1 second before halftime.
“I thought Travis really stepped up,” Lee said.
The 6-foot, 180-pound senior finished 12 for 24 and an interception the Highlanders couldn’t convert in the second half.
Christiansen finished with four catches for 71 yards as the Trojans played without their top receiver Brett Hollenbeck, who hurt a knee against Lewiston.
”(The rain) is no excuse,” Shadle Park coach Mark Hester said. “Both teams were playing in it. The rain didn’t cause us to fumble.”
The big fumble came after the second Post Falls touchdown. The Highlanders marched from their 31 to the PF 47 in three plays and then Shawn Kingsbury broke free but dropped the ball inside the 20 and Adam Fehling recovered at the 6.
“The played better,” Hester said. “They deserved to win.”
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