Rogers’ Heart Puts Hurt On Lc
The star linebacker didn’t really want to say it, so the coaches said it for him.
The Rogers Pirates played with much more intensity - heart is the preferred word - to shut down Lewis and Clark 15-0 in a mild Greater Spokane League upset Friday night.
“We worked hard for this,” said Rogers middle linebacker Lewis Wirth, who hesitated every time he got to the words “more heart.” He concluded, “I just don’t what to say it. It’s great.”
The game proved to be much better than the second matchup at Albi Stadium between defending champion Central Valley and desperate Gonzaga Prep, which had lost its opener. The Bullpups shocked the error-prone Bears 21-7 before 4,982 fans.
In that game a star was born, with senior linebacker Tyson Thielman debuting as the Bullpups’ lone back. He ran for 108 yards and two second-half touchdowns.
“I never expected that; I just wanted to win,” Thielman said. “(The hardest part was) remembering the plays, remembering which way to go.”
At University, Ferris pulled out a miracle 22-19 win. Cheney beat visiting North Central 28-0 in a non-league game.
Six GSL teams are 1-1, including all four teams that played at Albi on Friday.
“The credit starts with the kids, they really stepped up,” Rogers coach Dave Pomante said. “Whenever you play with that much heart you have a chance.”
LC fumbled the ball away on the third play of the game and the Pirates drove 63 yards in 11 plays to take a 6-0 lead. They added a field goal in the second quarter after another long drive. And they didn’t get down after chewing up more than half of the third quarter only to turn the ball over on downs at the LC 3.
The Pirates added a TD on the second play of the fourth quarter to sew up the win.
“Rogers is a good football team. They have a good design and they executed it well tonight,” Lewis and Clark coach John Hook said. “That’s what high school football is all about. There are not a lot of surprises or magic about it. Whoever plays harder and well wins. They played harder and better.”
In the second game, Central Valley’s defense dominated Gonzaga Prep’s offense, but the Bears’ offense beat itself.
A week after surviving a rash of penalties (213 yards), CV couldn’t overcome crucial penalties and five turnovers.
“We beat ourselves tonight,” CV coach Rick Giampietri said. “Gonzaga is a good football team, they should be proud of the win. Our guys had a little trouble (slipping on the new turf). We sure blew a lot of opportunities and that was one of the big things.”
Prep’s first touchdown, a 35-yard pass from Kevin O’Connell to Ryan Turner, came two plays after CV gave the ball away on a fumbled exchange between the center and quarterback.
The Bullpups, after going nowhere on a third-quarter possession that started at the CV 45, got a roughing the passer penalty on third-and-9 and then handed the ball to Thielman six consecutive times. Thielman pounded out 29 yards, eventually scoring from the 1.
On the next CV possession, Garrett Graham slipped as Nate Bartlett pitched to him and the ball bounced back to the Bears’ 10, where Bartlett tried to pick it up but Jeremy Rash recovered it for the Bullpups. Two Thielman runs, the last from the 2, pushed the lead to 21-0.
Thielman only learned he was starting at lunch on Monday.
“I was excited. That’s the most excited I’ve been in a long time,” he said. “I’ll always miss defense.”
Prep coach Don Anderson said, “The key was Thielman. He gives us a bigger threat at tailback. He’s been a linebacker, that’s the first time he’s carried the ball since he was a freshman. There’s a lot of rough edges still, but we’ll take it.”
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