Mead Win Was ‘Inspired’
Whatever the Mead defensive coaches said at halftime of the Panthers’ key 35-14 Greater Spokane League win over North Central on Friday night, it worked.
The teams were tied at 14 at halftime but Mead held the Indians scoreless in the final 24 minutes.
On defense, the Panthers became inspired.
“We just had to step up or they would have won,” said senior tackle Mike Schneider. “We played inspired. We were a little flat in the first half.”
Schneider said that he and fellow linemen Steve Gunnels, Jeff Naslund and Charles Harris took it as a personal challenge to hold NC scoreless in the second half. NC has an impressive running game so that was not an easy task.
“I loved the defense in the second half,” said coach Bob McCray. “To NC’s credit, they are a bunch of tough guys. There was some great splatting going on out there. That’s what you want in high school football.”
Mead (5-1) plays at East Valley at 7 p.m. Friday.
NC, meanwhile, has another tough game tonight. The Indians (3-2) play Lewis and Clark (4-1) at 6:15 p.m. at Albi Stadium.
The Indians know they are not out of it yet, said senior lineman Jason Wederspahn.
“We’ve got to go out and make sure everyone has their head up,” he said. “The season is not over. We’ll have a hard week of practice, and everyone will need to give 100 percent. We know we’re still in it.”
Yet the schedule doesn’t get any easier, said NC coach Wes Hobbs. NC plays Prep next week and finishes the regular season against Ferris on Nov. 3.
“Every one’s a big one for us, especially during this last leg,” Hobbs said. “It’s back to the drawing board.”
Playing hard
Mt. Spokane football coach Mike McLaughlin just wants his team to be rewarded.
Rewarded in terms of a victory.
The Wildcats (0-5) are doing things right, just not for the entire four quarters. McLaughlin would like to have back the second quarter of Friday’s 45-34 loss to Lewis and Clark. There were some key dropped passes and some miscues on pass protection, he said.
But the Wildcats scored 22 points in the fourth quarter.
McLaughlin said his team has had that scoring potential all season.
“It’s just a matter of execution,” he said. “And we need to work on defense. We’re getting better and better week to week. I hope these kids get rewarded. They deserve it.”
The Wildcats play Gonzaga Prep at 8:30 p.m. Friday at Albi, then have Ferris next Friday and finish the season against University on Nov. 2.
Homecoming change
Rogers High School had planned on having its Homecoming this week when the Pirates played a non-league football game against Lewiston.
But when Lewiston cancelled the game because of schedule conflicts, Rogers changed its Homecoming to next week against Shadle Park. The Pirates and Highlanders play the 8:30 p.m. game next Friday at Albi.
So Rogers has a bye this week. Pirates coach Dave Pomante only found out about the cancellation in early September. Rogers had a two-year agreement with Lewiston.