Lakeside seizes opportunity

This is the time of year every football athlete plays for.

The lucky ones begin state competition this week and, in case you missed it, Lakeside is among them. The Eagles, just fourth in the Northeast A League, are the only conference team to advance to state after beating Caribou Trail League champion Cascade (Leavenworth) 21-14.

“I’ll guarantee that you didn’t expect to make this call,” said Eagles coach Brian Dunn from Pullman on Sunday. “I was shocked and a little bit disappointed (when he heard the other NEA teams lost).”

Dunn was just wrapping up Dad’s Day weekend with his daughter and heading home with more football on his mind. Lakeside is the District 6/7 No. 1 seed, its likely opponent is last year’s 1A champion, Royal (9-1), which plays for the berth on Tuesday.

Not only did Cascade fall by the wayside, so did NEA champion Freeman, minus suspended rushing leader Chris Davis, as well as No. 2 Kettle Falls and Colfax, which drew the Caribou Trail’s hottest team Okanogan, losing 22-15.

Snow had fallen in Leavenworth but had been blown off the field. Weather warmed to a rain as the game was played, but Dunn said it wasn’t a factor. Victory, he said, couldn’t have happened to a more deserving group of players.

“They are academic state champions and the nicest group I’ve ever coached,” he said. “They are not extremely talented and only three played on varsity before this year. But across the board they work hard and are just a pleasure to work with. This is a huge reward for them and they’ve earned every minute of it.”

Defense and opportunism

Gonzaga Prep, the Greater Spokane League’s lone state playoff team, will not dazzle you with its offense. The Bullpups were in the middle of the GSL pack statistically and do nothing fancy, although they did lead the league in rushing with 1,920 yards.

Max Manix accounted for 1,590 yards of the team’s 2,398 total offense. After that it was rush and catch by committee, with no individual ranking anywhere among the league leaders.

But because Prep’s defensive front has been so suffocating and special teams have done so much, field position has produced points.

That is why the Bullpups (9-1, the loss coming via forfeit) are ranked first in the state and why they stifled Eisenhower 27-6 on Saturday. Two blocked punts and an interception produced three scores.

Gonzaga hosts Moses Lake in a game pitting the Chiefs’ massive line against the Bullpups’ stingy defensive front. Moses Lake edged Ferris 14-13 on Saturday.

To be the best…..

You have to beat the best. And Pullman gets that opportunity when the 2A state playoffs begin. By finishing second in the Great Northern League, the defending champion Greyhounds drew an imposing side of the bracket.

They open at unbeaten, top-ranked Prosser Friday night, and should they win, would host unbeaten Archibishop Murphy whom they beat for the state title last year.

“In the playoffs you have to play the best some time,” said Pullman coach Bill Peterson. It doesn’t matter when.

The game against Prosser will be the third in as many years. They’ve split, with Pullman beating essentially the same team last year. Boise State-bound Kellen Moore has been a touchdown throwing machine. Receiver Cody Bruns has 94 catches, tied for second all-time in Washington.

“It’s going to be a challenge. Obviously they have put up a lot of points this year,” said Peterson. “They want to throw the ball around, we’re going to want to be more ball control and smash mouth. It will come down to which team imposes its will on the other.”

A first for Riverside volleyball

Mead, Lewis and Clark and upstart Shadle Park in the Greater Spokane League, Pullman in the Great Northern League, Lakeside and Colfax in the NEA are no strangers to state volleyball.

All, including the three-time defending 4A champion Panthers and returning 2A and 1A champion Greyhounds and Bulldogs will play in their respective tournaments this coming weekend.

But for the Riverside Rams, Saturday’s victory over Colville means that they’ll play in state volleyball for the first time in school history.

State 4A/3A is in Kennewick, 2A/1A is in Yakima and 2B/1B is in Spokane.