Eagles feeling good
There’s a renewed sense of pride in and around West Valley High School when it comes to football.
For four years, the school battled valiantly in the Greater Spokane League – a school that barely crossed the line into Class 3A played some of the state’s biggest Class 4A teams. Last year’s three-win season was a high-water mark – a reason to celebrate.
This year, the Eagles are picking on someone their own size, and it feels awfully good.
Heading into Friday’s Great Northern League opener at home against defending state champion Pullman, an undefeated (3-0) team coming off an undefeated (14-0) season, West Valley already is 2-1.
“I go into the store for something on game day, when I’m wearing my jersey, and everyone talks to me,” senior running back Camron Bowman said. “Everyone tells me to have a good game and wishes us good luck. That never happened before.”
Ward Mauer Field, West Valley’s football home, unveiled its facelift last week in the team’s home opener, a 32-14 loss to Lakeland.
That means the Eagles have yet to break in the latest addition to their home field: the original victory bell from the school’s original campus, which sat on Trent Avenue just off Argonne Road.
“Oh man, we have to use that victory bell,” Bowman said. “We wanted to do that (against Lakeland), but I think we were a little too excited about playing at home, and we didn’t get it done against a pretty good team from Idaho.”
Bowman has been a big part of the Eagles’ offense, rushing for 241 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries (an average of 8.3 yards per carry) in the first three games and catching 13 passes for 216 yards and a score. Bowman’s also booted 10 extra points to lead the team in scoring with 28 points scored.
Those numbers put Bowman ahead of the pace he set a year ago, when he rushed for a team-high 613 yards on 76 carries (an average of 8.1 yards per rush).
An interesting footnote to last season, however, is the fact that Bowman collected more than half of his season total rushing yards in his final game – carrying 25 times for 333 yards and three touchdowns.
“I was just really fired up for that game,” Bowman said. “It was the last game for the senior class and most of my friends were in that class. I wanted them to go out as winners.”
That victory was a springboard for the program, Bowman said. The team has worked hard over the winter, excited by the prospect of playing without the handicap of being outmanned.
“It really does feel like we can pick on someone our own size,” Bowman said. “We played hard, and we competed well in the GSL, and we’re proud of that.
“But now we’re playing teams our own size. We know we can win, and we’re excited about the chance to get out there and prove it.”
What was it like for West Valley playing in the GSL? Imagine a 145-pound wrestler stepping in against 210-pounder week after week.
“That’s exactly what it was like,” Bowman said. “We could compete with the rest of the teams, but they would have a different player at every position, on offense and on defense. We would be playing both ways. A guy like Corey Lewis (an All-GSL linebacker a year ago) would be on the field the whole game. The only time I came off the field was on punts.
“By the end of the game, we’d be worn out.”
After facing teams like Mead and Ferris and Lewis and Clark, teams that have sent players on to play Division I college football, playing the defending Class 2A champions isn’t a daunting prospect, he said.
“We’re excited about playing them,” he said. “We’re ready for them. We beat them, it will be a real eye-opener for people around the state. It will show people that West Valley is a quality team.”