Cougs win a thriller

It was literally the last second.

Tied 7-7 at Deer Park, Chewelah’s A.J. Proszek pulled in a 4-yard pass from Kiel Smith to lift the Cougars to a 14-7 Great Northern League victory over the Stags with 0.6 seconds showing on the game clock.

Smith found Proszek with an 18-yard pass in the second quarter to give Chewelah a 7-0 lead, but Deer Park tied the game at the start of the fourth when Eric Aquino scored from the 2.

The Stags turned the ball over on a pass interception in the first quarter, lost a fumble in the third and had a field-goal attempt blocked in the fourth.

In other GNL games, Colville got a standout performance from quarterback Tyler Emmil en route to a 42-22 win over Lakeside at Nine Mile Falls. Emmil ran 30 yards for a touchdown and threw for two more scores. … Michael Thomas had four short touchdown runs to lift fourth-ranked Pullman to a 42-14 win at Riverside. Thomas plowed over three times from the 1 and capped his night by streaking 3 yards for his fourth. The running back carried 21 times and picked up 106 yards.

Northeast A

Senior running back Kevin Hatch rushed for four touchdowns as fifth-ranked Freeman blanked the Bulldogs in Kettle Falls, 35-0. Hatch raced 96 yards with the unbeaten Scotties’ first touchdown, scored twice from the 6-yard line and plunged over from the 4. … Newport built a 20-0 lead, then held off a second-half comeback to score a 20-13 win over visiting Colfax. Myles Melendez had 115 yards rushing and a touchdown and running back Tony Yeaw dashed 53 yards for a touchdown and pulled in a 26-yard pass for a second.

Northeast B-11

In a showdown between two Top-10 teams, No. 3 Lind-Ritzville hung a 49-8 whipping on No. 10 Liberty. The Lancers, who had allowed just 13 points going into the game, saw the Broncos frolic to a 22-point first quarter and a 42-0 lead at halftime. Junior running back Nick Ashley carried 17 times for 105 yards and a touchdown, and senior defensive back Jon McPherson picked off three Liberty passes. … Reardan rolled to its 25th straight victory behind a 27-point second quarter, handing Selkirk a 39-8 loss on the Rangers’ home field. Shawn Westerman caught a pair of touchdown passes from Ian Wagner, who sneaked over from the 1 in the first quarter. Derek MacArthur scored on a 58-yard run for Selkirk and piled up 133 yards on 13 carries. … Luke Rodenbough’s 15-yard run was all Davenport needed to take a 6-0 win at Wilbur-Creston. … Todd and Tyler Orestad each scored on 30-yard touchdown plays and quarterback Gaeb Giddings threw a pair of touchdown passes to lead Republic to a 20-16 win at Odessa. Todd Orestad dashed 30 yards for a touchdown and his brother pulled in a 30-yard pass from Giddings. … Greg Giese found Travis Bean with a 25-yard halfback pass with 4 minutes left in the game to lift Almira/Coulee-Hartline to an 8-0 win over Springdale, the Warriors’ first win in five games.

Northeast B-8

Fifth-ranked Sprague-Harrington exploded out of the blocks with a 36-point first quarter to saddle Inchelium with a 62-30 loss. Josh Adams established a career record for touchdowns scored in eight-man football by finding the end zone seven times, giving him 83 in his career. The senior scored twice on kick-off returns, pulled in two touchdown passes and had touchdown runs of 1, 51 and 33 yards. … Nick Kegel completed just four passes for third-ranked Columbia, but three of them found the end zone as the Lions roared past Cusick, 46-0, at Hunters. Kegel completed 4 of 6 passes for 140 yards and three touchdowns. Miles St. John dashed 17 yards for a touchdown and pulled in a 51-yard strike from Kegel for a second.

Southeast B-11

Top-ranked DeSales rolled at home, spanking Waitsburg, 48-12. The Irish built a 41-0 lead before the Cardinals could find the end zone. … Pomeroy missed on a two-point conversion attempt in the fourth quarter, leaving Asotin a 26-25 victor at home. The Pirates John Ausman ran 74 yards with a fake punt to cut Asotin’s lead to a single point. … Dayton made its two first-quarter touchdowns stand up to take a 13-6 win over visiting Tekoa-Oakesdale.

Southeast B-8

Seth Robertson carried 10 times for 106 yards and three touchdowns and added a fourth by returning a kick-off 71 yards as Colton-Pullman Christian beat Tri-Cities Prep, 70-43. Joe Smetana caught four passes for 102 yards and a touchdown and added a second on a 31-yard dash in the first quarter.

Non-league

Junior running back Brent Leifer ran for two touchdowns and passed for a third to lift St. John-Endicott to a 34-14 win at Liberty Christian. Junior wide receiver Jesse Butcher caught two touchdown passes and ran for a third as the Eagles scored the game’s first four touchdowns. … Touchet used a 20-point second quarter to get past visiting Garfield-Palouse… . Top-ranked LaCrosse-Washtucna extended its win streak to 28 by rolling over visiting Troy, Idaho, 54-8. Kevin Dainty rushed 18 times for 247 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Justin McKenzie completed 5 of 9 passes for 217 yards and two scores. … Royal, the No. 1-ranked Class 1A team in the state, blanked Medical Lake at Medical Lake, 41-0. Jeff Jack ran for 77 yards on 18 carries and caught three passes for another 41 yards, scoring a pair of touchdowns in the process for Royal.

Idaho football

Max Lyons threw for two touchdowns and kicked eight extra points to lead Coeur d’Alene to a home-field, Inland Empire League win over Lakeland, 56-14. Lyons completed 8 of 12 passes for 132 yards, finding Kyle Mills with a pair of scoring passes. Gabe Le carried 7 times for 223 yards, with three long scoring runs. The senior scored on runs of 77, 60 and 45 yards. … Lewiston crushed Moscow on the Bears’ home field, 41-6. … Post Falls remained unbeaten by blanking visiting Timberlake, 47-0, in a non-league game. Nick Mehalechko caught a touchdown pass and pounced on a Timberlake fumble in the end zone for another. Daniel Hamilton scored twice for the Trojans. … Bonners Ferry rolled to 2-0 in the Intermountain League with a 22-12 homefield win over Priest River. The Badgers got plenty of mileage out of their ground game. Running back Matt Bennett carried 24 times for 148 yards and the first of two first-quarter touchdowns. Jeremy Patterson scored twice to attempt to rally the Spartans. The Badgers capped the night with a safety.