Panthers Prove Grit

Thu., Oct. 14, 1999

By Janie McCauley janiem@spokesman.com

Mead football coach Bob McCray was concerned before his team ran onto the turf at Albi Stadium for its rivalry game with Mt. Spokane last Friday night.

The Panthers’ week of practice had been intense, but McCray thought they might have been too nervous and too emotional for the game.

“But they proved they knew more than I did,” McCray said after Mead’s 42-7 rout.

A handful of players contributed to the Greater Spokane League victory.

“We’ve got balance,” said senior receiver Dan Stucky, who caught two touchdown passes from Andy Zelinski, including a 79-yarder. “Especially in high school football you need balance to be successful. Our offensive line has improved a ton since the beginning of the year.”

Stucky is the league’s top receiver, averaging 22.5 yards per reception.

Senior Brandon Stallings, the third-best rusher in the GSL with 496 yards on 70 carries, scored three touchdowns and Zelinski completed 6 of 11 passes for 178 yards and no interceptions. Zelinski has the top quarterback rating in the league.

“We’ve been building up to this game,” Stallings said. “This was our time to shine. It’s like a volcano erupted.”

The team had been hearing plenty about last season’s 25-23 loss to the Wildcats, Zelinski said.

Mead (4-1), which totaled 500 yards, plays North Central (2-2) at 8:30 p.m. Friday at Albi. The Indians are coming off a 23-20 win at East Valley.

Josh Wilson scored Mt. Spokane’s lone TD in the third quarter.

Records don’t matter

The Mead girls soccer team knows it has to pick up the intensity, coach Travis Hanson said.

The Panthers, who played Mt. Spokane on Wednesday night and have Central Valley on Friday, suffered their first GSL setback last Friday to Ferris, 2-0. It was just their second loss of the season.

The Saxons were coming off a 3-1 defeat to Shadle Park. Mead beat Shadle 6-1.

“It doesn’t matter that they lost to Shadle Park or have shootout wins against teams we beat 6-0 or 5-1,” Hanson said. “This is a sign that any time in this league if you don’t show up to play you’re going to get beat.”

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