Sudden turn of events

On a Friday night that belonged to both teams’ wide receivers, it was left to the least heralded to pull off the catch of the night.

Gonzaga Prep senior Jimmy Wilson was playing his first varsity football game this year and made the first varsity pass reception of his career a memorable run.

Wilson hauled in Brian Karwacki’s bomb down the left sideline, turning it into an 85-yard touchdown and 20-17 Greater Spokane League victory over visiting University that proved crushing to the Titans. It was not only their first loss of the year, but came in a game they dominated.

The Titans had limited the Bullpups to a 32 yards of offense in the first half and held them without a first down until midway through the third quarter while building a 17-7 lead to start the fourth.

They ran 78 plays to G-Prep’s 36 and had nearly double the total yardage.

But G-Prep (3-1 overall, 2-1 in league) struck with two big plays, a 95-yard kickoff return for a score 16 seconds after U-Hi (3-1, 2-1) had rebuilt its 10-point advantage, then Wilson ran under Karwacki’s heave 5 minutes later for the host team’s only lead of the game.

Wilson had been out all season with a hip flexor injury sustained last spring.

“I was just trying to watch the ball,” said Wilson, a lanky 6-foot-3, 166-pounder said of his catch. “I didn’t realize the play happened until afterward.”

The play accounted for nearly half of G-Prep’s total offense in the game.

In the first half, neither team could move the ball and punters took center stage, combining for a dozen boots.

“We like to build up the tension,” said G-Prep defender Aaron Page.

But as the Titans have shown all year, they are dangerous with little time on the clock.

The 46-yard, 1-minute march leading to Aaron Gleason’s 36-yard field goal as time expired in the first half had a bizarre twist. U-Hi quarterback Danny Jordan was intercepted, but the defender, Charlie Griffin, was stripped by Dalton Puyear on the return and the Titans got the ball back.

In the second half, , each team only punted once. U-Hi used up half the third quarter on a 63-yard march that made it 10-0. The Bullpups countered with their only drive, 67 yards all on the ground. Then U-Hi marched right back, an 80-yard series that featured a marvelous outstretched catch by Travis Clark for 28 yards and a leaping 19-yard catch by Puyear on fourth down.

Puyear and Clark combined for 15 catches and more than 150 yards making some tough grabs.

Their efforts went for naught when another receiver, Conor Payton, followed his blocking to the right on the kickoff, burst through a hole and avoided potential tackles on his way to the score that put G-Prep back in it. After G-Prep made a defensive stop Wilson got his chance.

“Jimmy’s got speed, but we hadn’t been able to get him on the field,” said coach Dave Carson. “He’s a good one. We asked them to compete tonight. I don’t think they listened in the first half, but I think they listened in the second half.”

G-Prep weathered one last U-Hi surge, batting down a fourth-down pass at the goal line.

Lewis and Clark 28, Mt. Spokane 0: The Tigers’ (3-1, 3-1) defense stifled the Wildcats (0-4, 0-4), limiting then to 19 yards rushing and 110 total. By comparison, Alex Shaw gained 136 yards rushing on 16 attempts and scored three touchdowns. Levi Taylor, a sophomore, added 84 yards on nine rushes. Shaw scored in each of the first three quarters and sophomore Connor Halliday, sharing quarterback duties, hit D.J. McNeil for a 24-yard score in the second period.

Central Valley 42, North Central 21: The Bears (3-1, 3-1) built a 31-0 halftime lead and coasted from there against the Indians (1-3, 1-3). Blake Bledsoe, who passed for 141 yards, hit Brad Whitley for a 33-yard TD after rushing for a score. Whitley had three catches for 83 yards. Transfer Taylor Price, playing in his second game, had his first substantial look on offense gaining 99 yards on eight carries and scoring two touchdowns. CV had 312 yards on the ground. David Butler gained 142 yards rushing on 20 carries for NC and Ryan Ettinger scored twice.