Clarkston comes out clean
Clarkston proved the better mudder early, and its three-touchdown lead over host Cheney less than 15 minutes into their game determined the Greater Spokane League’s second 3A playoff football team.
That lead nearly evaporated behind the yeoman’s effort of Blackhawks running back Donny McKee, but it was enough for a 21-14 triumph.
“I never played on a field this wet before,” said Clarkston coach Dave Curtis. “It kind of affected the game. That’s for sure. You couldn’t cut as well, and you couldn’t throw as well.”
So it became a one-dimensional offensive game, two runners mucking it out for their teams as best they could in abysmal conditions.
Rain poured down in sheets well into the third quarter. It rendered an already soaked field a muddy quagmire in which McKee and Bantam Kyle Beggs wrestled.
They became essentially the entire offenses for their teams. McKee gained 175 yards on 26 attempts. But he watched helplessly, coated in mud like some sepia-toned newsreel 1940s Midwest collegian, as Beggs ran out the final 3 minutes, 33 seconds of the game with seven of his 31 rushes. He gained 107, with 77 of those in the second half.
“It’s fun,” McKee said, not of the outcome, but of playing in the muck. “It’s just like (northern) California, where I played the first half of my career. Once it’s October it rains like this and doesn’t stop until March.”
Clarkston (3-7, 3-6) converted a 54-yard touchdown pass from Trent Line to Sean Bernier on its second possession. Line scrambled out of trouble, sucked in Cheney’s secondary and Bernier was left alone.
Their next possession, following a fumble recovery, covered just 23 yards, culminating on a 13-yard pass from Line to Eric Entel.
The final score came at the end of an eight-play, 45-yard march with 9:34 remaining in the first half.
Cheney discovered a good thing and turned McKee loose. He carried seven of eight plays following a 40-yard kickoff return by Keith Parker, scoring on a 19-yard dive to the right pylon.
The Blackhawks (4-6, 3-6) came within a touchdown with 24 seconds left. After the half, McKee set them up at Clarkston’s 7-yard line with a 36-yard run and personal foul tacked on, but another fumble thwarted the Blackhawks.
For the game’s final 9 minutes it was Beggs vs. McKee.
“You really couldn’t cut back, so misdirection plays were kind of a waste,” Curtis said. “We had trouble throwing the ball, so we just challenged our line. Those last two first downs were huge.”
Clarkston finished tied with Cheney and West Valley but beat them both and will play at Ellensburg on Tuesday for a spot in the 3A state round of 16. Cheney came agonizingly close, but its season is finished.
“You can’t spot teams like that, especially in this kind of weather,” said Blackhawks coach Jason Williams. “But the kids played hard. It’s a tough loss for the seniors, but they can pat themselves on the back.”