Campbell sparks EV past CV
After handily losing its first two games, East Valley’s football team was looking to get its swagger back.
Friday’s performance shouldn’t hurt.
Ryan Campbell ran for 160 yards on 25 carries and scored two touchdowns, and East Valley’s defense forced Central Valley into five turnovers as the Knights manhandled the Bears 28-7 in a Greater Spokane League game at CV.
“It feels so good,” quarterback and team captain Jye Lanphere said. “I’m so happy. My voice is gone from screaming all night. It’s the greatest feeling in the world to go out and put your heart on the line and whoop some (butt). I love it.”
East Valley held the Bears without a first down in the first half and CV’s only score came with just less than a minute remaining in the game.
For Knights head coach Adam Fisher, whose team lost its first two games by a total of 31 points, it was a huge sigh of relief.
“The last two weeks have been a struggle for us,” Fisher said. “We haven’t played well. It was nice to see our kids play with a passion, fly around and have ball control.
“I was pleased with that.”
It’s not hard to see why. With Campbell and Anthony Laborin running the ball behind a dominant offensive line, EV (1-2, 1-1) was on offense for 32 minutes, 51 seconds of the 48-minute game.
When the Knights didn’t have the ball, the defense was giving fits to the Bears (1-2, 0-2).
CV quarterback Nick Lallier, in a game he’ll soon want to forget, threw a pair of interceptions – one to Lanphere, who doubles as a defensive back. Lallier also fumbled once as the Knights, led by linebacker Caleb Gillespie and defensive lineman Jake Labelle, were in the Bears backfield seemingly every play.
“The defense played exceptional,” Fisher said. “We had a lot of tackles for loss. They didn’t have a first down in the first half. They had 17 plays with no first down. And if you hold a team to 17 plays and no first downs, that’s good defense.”
The Knights opened the scoring on their first possession. Campbell ran for 39 yards on the drive and Lanphere hit wide receiver Sam Hale with a 40-yard pass. Five plays later, Brady Brunelle ran the ball in the end zone.
It was a sign of things to come for EV, which had its way with the Bears defensive front.
“We always went to the weak side,” Campbell said. “Our big guys on the line, they did an excellent job of making holes.”
“We wanted to established what we were known for, and that’s domination at the line of scrimmage,” Fisher added.
The Knights got their second score after a turnover. CV’s Zach Evans was stripped returning a punt and EV recovered at the Bears 33. Three runs by Campbell and the score was 14-0.
The Knights used superb time management to go up 21-0 before halftime on Lanphere’s 10-yard TD pass to Hale with 24.2 seconds left.
Campbell’s second score, a 14-yard burst around the right side, made it 28-0 with 7:01 left.
CV ruined the shutout bid after Lallier hit Bryan Adams for a 62-yard gain down the right seam. Lallier then found Patrick Mealey for a 9-yard TD pass on the next play, with 57.5 seconds left.