Quick hits
It’s been 13 years since Cheney High has hosted a football game on its campus.
But that changes Friday night. The Blackhawks will play Mt. Spokane under new light standards installed last spring.
The return to campus from Eastern Washington University, where Cheney has played its home games since 1992, was prompted in part by EWUs’ upgrade of its field. Eastern asked Cheney last year to play its home games on Thursday nights when EWU hosted a game on Saturday.
With the campus field available, the Blackhawks can still play on Friday nights, even when Eastern has a home game.
Titan wins scholarship
University football lineman Nate Thompson is one of two Washington student-athletes to receive a $5,000 scholarship from the Seattle Seahawks and Qwest.
Thompson and Ben Fritsch from Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy in Everett were chosen from nearly 100 varsity football players who participated in the Qwest Leadership Challenge.
Thompson partnered with the Spokane Valley Food Bank on his “Have a Ball This Summer” project. He collected and distributed more than 1,800 baseballs, tennis balls, bats, rackets and Hula Hoops to needy children. He donated 180 service hours, far surpassing the 40-hour minimum set forth in scholarship program guidelines.
Thompson, a 6-foot-6, 250-pound Titans’ lineman, has lettered in three sports at U-Hi since his sophomore year.
National ink
Last basketball season, Shadle Park freshman Zach Humphrey shocked Mead with a 75-foot shot (throw?) at the buzzer, giving the Highlanders a 43-40 GSL victory over the visiting Panthers.
The shot earned some video time nationally and now has landed him in the pages of “Sports Illustrated for Kids”.
The magazine featured Humphrey in its October issue as part of an article highlighting four rare feats in youth sports. Shadle’s Humphrey joins a Texas boy who had two holes-in-one during the same golf round, a Virginia 12-year-old who bowled a 300-game and a New York 11-year-old who hit a game-winning home run.
News and notes
Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) head football coach Brian Dunn confirmed the worst fears about Eagles running back/linebacker Tony Smith, who tore the ACL and MCL in his right knee early in Friday’s game at Chewelah, and won’t return this season. Smith was first-team all-GNL on offense last year and had averaged 9.4 yards on 25 carries in 10th-ranked Lakeside’s first three games. The good news, if there is any, is that they rallied to win without Smith – a huge hole in their roster. … Almira/Coulee-Hartline’s request to be eligible to play in the B-8 postseason this year was denied by the WIAA’s Executive Board. The Warriors, 0-3 this year playing B-8 football, are under the enrollment figure, but the WIAA goes by two-year increments and ACH’s 2004 enrollment had them competing at the B-11 level. … The Executive Board also decided earlier this week to move forward with names for the six classifications beginning in the fall of 2006. The Board decided on, in order of size (smallest to largest), 1B, 2B, 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A. The names will not be official, under the organization’s guidelines, until they are considered two more times.