All-around player

Connor Janhunen knew he’d played a big role in one of the biggest high school football games of his career – kicking a game-winning 37-yard field goal to help Central Valley upset Coeur d’Alene powerhouse Lake City, 27-26 on Oct. 5.

How big, he found out later.

“He played the best game of his career against Lake City,” coach Rick Giampietri said. “Best game of his career. He had a big interception for us, he caught a touchdown pass and kicked two field goals.”

The accolades multiplied in the film room as the Bears broke down their effort against the defending Idaho Class 5A champion Timberwolves.

“Connor could easily have been our defensive player of the game against Lake City,” assistant coach Steve Kent said. “Taylor Price had a sack and recovered a fumble for a touchdown – but it was on a little bubble screen that they were trying to run and Connor had their guy smothered. He’s the reason we were able to get to the quarterback.”

That sentiment was echoed throughout the film session as the team examined the play again and again.

“I’d seen them run that play before and I knew what they were going to try and do,” Janhunen said. “They run a bubble screen and the guy turns it up for a streak. I went with him.

“My teammates were all saying that what I did won us the game. That felt really good.”

Janhunen has a wealth of experience to draw from. He’s played since his freshman year as both a kicker and a skill player. In his four years, he’s played just about every skill position on offense – starting at quarterback for several games a year ago and settling in at wide receiver this season.

Defensively, Janhunen has shifted inside to cover nickel receivers with the emergence of first-year senior Willie Davis as a cornerback.

“We talked Willie into coming out and playing football this year,” Janhunen said. “He and I play basketball together, and I knew what a great athlete he is.”

“Once we saw what Willie could do, I knew we’d have to get him on the field,” Kent said. “Putting Willie at cornerback let us do some other things with Connor to take advantage of his strengths. It’s made a big difference.”

Janhunen and his secondary teammates are committed to blanketing opposing receivers – especially with an aggressive defensive front that hounds opposing quarterbacks.

“That’s the idea,” he said. “Our linebackers, Price and Tyler Cochran, are having great years. Tyler, my best friend, is having a great season. We know they’re going to be all over the quarterback – especially if we can buy them an extra second with our coverage. It all works together.”

Going into tonight’s showdown with pass-happy Ferris, the 6-1 Bears have the Greater Spokane League’s top-ranked defense to go with a league-leading offense. Central Valley has bounced back from a season-opening loss to Lewis and Clark to win six straight games.

“People keep saying to me ‘What if… What if we hadn’t lost that first game to LC,’ ” Janhunen said. “I don’t look at it that way. I am really proud of the way we’ve all come together as a team. How we came back from that loss made us a better team.”

The buzz surrounding tonight’s game is something new for Janhunen and his teammates.

“We’ve had big games around here before,” he said. “Like state basketball my sophomore year, the Stinky Sneaker games with U-Hi. But this is the first year we’ve had this much excitement about a football game and it feels great.

“Beating Lake City was a huge deal for us. But this game is even bigger. I know these guys from Ferris really well – we’ve even roomed together at basketball camps. I would love to be able to beat them for a change.”

All in all, Janhunen said, he couldn’t have asked for a better senior season.

“We wanted this year to be special and we’ve been working toward that goal since we did our first summer camp together,” he said. “This has been incredible.”

The senior said his three years of experience have paid huge dividends.

“The first time I ran out onto the field as a freshman, I kept thinking that the game was so fast,” he said.

“The game is still fast – the game hasn’t slowed down at all. But I understand the game better – the game comes to me now instead of me trying to keep up.”

Not everything has changed, he laughed. He’s not that much taller – an inch or two, maybe.

“I remember the first time we did hitting drills,” he recalled. “I started counting players to make sure I didn’t end up having to go against (All GSL linebacker) Tommy Kadoya.

“There are still some guys I’d just as soon not have to hit against.”