Washington runners roll

Washington high school distance runners rambled to the most lop-sided cross-country victories in the eight-year history of the Washington vs. Oregon Nike BorderClash.

The boys had the top 16 finishers en route to a 55-272 thumping of their Oregon counterparts and the girls had 14 of the top 17 placers for a 70-196 romp.

Washington has won six of the eight BorderClash meets.

Spokane’s boys certainly did their part Sunday with eight placers among the top 16 on the 4.4 kilometer course at Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.

David Hickerson (Ferris) and Tylor Thatcher (Central Valley) finished second and third, behind winner Max O’Donoghue-McDonald, the State 3A champion from Seattle Prep.

O’Donoghue-McDonald timed 14 minutes, 00.55 seconds. Hickerson ran 14:07.29 and Thatcher 14:08.30.

Mead teammates Kelvin Daratha and Dylan Hatcher were fifth and sixth, Daratha with a 14:09.47 time.

Placing in the top 10 were Cameron Quackenbush in ninth and Stephen Olsen (both Ferris), 10th. Rounding out the 16-runner sweep were Kelly Lynch from Mead and Steve Hicks, Ferris.

The top Spokane placer in the girls race was Mead’s Nikki Codd, in 17th place. She timed 17:12.08 behind winner Stephanie Marcy. Marcy, the 2A champion from Sequim, timed 16:24.55.

Other competitors during the Sunday morning race were Peter Miller (Shadle Park, 26th), Andrew Kimpel (North Central, 31st), Sean Coyle (CV, 40th), Max Reeder (Lakeside, 55th), Richard Keroack (West Valley, 75th), Theresa Hailey (Gonzaga Prep, 27th), Lisa Vandenburg (Northwest Christian, 49th), Jessica Klier (Mt. Spokane, 59th) and Eleanor Siler (Lewis and Clark, 73rd).

Eye-popping numbers

Eight-man football is typically high scoring, but 68 points is usually enough to win.

Not for Odessa last Friday, however. In a game that had people doing double takes, St. John-Endicott defeated the Tigers 92-68 in the State 1B quarterfinals in Pasco.

“The WIAA called to confirm the score,” said Eagles coach Joey McCanna. “They believe it’s a new playoff record for any classification.”

The 92 points ties for eighth nationally and the 160 combined points is a state playoff record, according to the Tri-Cities Herald.

Washtucna’s 90-0 win over Inchelium in 1976 was the previous B-8 playoff record winning total. Over the course of state history in the classification, five other teams broke 70 in a playoff game. Pateros, St. John-Endicott’s 1 p.m. semifinal foe Saturday in Joe Albi Stadium, has done so four times, twice hitting 76 in the 1995 state tournament.

McCanna, back at the helm for the Eagles after taking 2004 off and spending last year as defensive coordinator, said the Eagles not only scored 12 touchdowns in 14 possessions, but also converted 10 two-point conversions.

“My first thing is defense and I thought, ‘where the heck did it go?’ ” he said.

Phillip Luft gained 494 yards rushing on 37 carries and scored seven touchdowns. Quarterback Andrew Wolfe had five touchdowns as the team piled up 933 yards of total offense, all but 81 on the ground.

Odessa hit for big plays, St. John-Endicott ground it out, he said. The Eagles followed three fourth-quarter touchdowns with on-side kicks and recovered two to try and keep Odessa off the scoreboard. That ultimately produced the record point total and victory margin.

Hopefully, said McCanna, they haven’t left all those points in Pasco when the Eagles face a team that made four finals appearances between 1991 and 1995.

Gonzaga does it again

Gonzaga Prep defensive lineman A.J. Allen said it best on Sunday. “We have a flair for the dramatic.”

Trailing 20-0 with five minutes remaining, Allen and his defensive mates smothered Eastlake and Prep quarterback Max Manix threw three touchdown passes for an improbable 21-20 4A State quarterfinal victory.

It was the second straight such finish for the Bullpups, prompting ex-Gonzaga athlete and current assistant coach Greg Gores to say he’d never been involved in anything like it. “The odds are against you,” he said.

Next up is Oak Harbor, 4 p.m. Saturday at Albi.

Shoot! Out

Shootout soccer victories carried Mead’s girls to the State 4A final four. A shootout loss ended their season in fourth place.

And a shootout loss prevented Northwest Christian from winning the State 1A/B boys title.

Both 1-0 shootout losses came following scoreless ties through regulation and overtime.

The Panthers had lost 1-0 to Stanwood in the semifinals before dropping the trophy match 5-4 on penalty kicks to Eastlake.

Northwest Christian’s boys had reached the finals by beating Moses Lake Christian 1-0 on Jared Friedley‘s goal before losing the title match to Bear Creek, 4-3 on penalty kicks.

Two second-half goals knocked Cheney out of the 2A title hunt, 3-1 by Cedarcrest, but the Blackhawks bounced back for third place with a 3-2 win over Eatonville on Alyshia Madison‘s penalty kick, which came in the second half of regulation for a 3-0 lead.