EV advances in 3A playoffs

East Valley’s 43-14 romp over visiting Shadle Park on Friday night in a play-in game for the State 3A football playoffs was decided early.

In September.

That was when the Highlanders pulled out a 21-14, double-overtime win against the Knights.

“We really thought back then we should have won,” EV senior lineman Nate Guthrie said. “We didn’t come out with intensity. After that week we had to pick it up a notch.”

With an extra week to prepare – and remember – the Knights (6-3) left no doubt which was the better team seven weeks after the first meeting and deserves to play Mt. Spokane (6-4) on Friday at Albi Stadium in the official first round of the playoffs. The Wildcats rallied to edge Hanford in Richland to earn a rematch with the Knights, who won the first meeting 28-21 four weeks ago.

East Valley opened the game with a 67-yard drive with eight Nick Bellomy runs that set the tone.

The Knights ran the ball 52 times for 442 yards. Bellomy finished with 239 yards on 28 carries, adding a 50-yard clinching touchdown in the third quarter when he ran over a defensive back at the 45.

The second and third EV possessions started near midfield and ended with short touchdown runs by Chris Zivic.

The Knights were closing in on a fourth touchdown when quarterback Jackson Romney tossed a short pass to Dakota Lawson inside the red zone. Before Lawson could tuck the ball away, Ryan Flores clobbered him, popping the ball into the air and it was tipped up again before Taylor Petterson of Shadle gathered it in and rumbled to midfield.

That only delayed the inevitable. Jake Latuseck, who had 105 yards on 12 carries, blasted over the right side three plays after the Highlanders punted and raced 75 yards for a touchdown.

“We were determined,” Guthrie said. “We got off the ball real well. The last time the nose guard was causing problems, we didn’t know what to do. This time we were prepared.”

It obviously worked with the Knights piling up the big numbers behind an offensive line with Guthrie the only senior and 165-pound junior center Tyler Matsuda giving up 100 pounds to the nose guard.

“I’m pleased,” EV coach Adam Fisher said. “This is step one on the way to where we want to go. Our kids were very motivated.

“They beat us up front in week three. We adjusted our blocking scheme, adjusted our personnel. I’m proud of the way we countered their strength. We did a better job attacking.”

Shadle Park (3-7) got a first down on its first play, then didn’t get another until it was 29-0 5:23 before the half.

The Highlanders then put together a nice 90-yard drive to close the first half and opened the second half with a 70-yard drive, although 43 yards were courtesy of EV penalties, to close within 29-14. An EV turnover gave Shadle another chance but the defense stiffened at midfield.

“We scrambled,” Highlanders coach Mark Hester said. “They did a good job. They came right after us. They blocked us. Give them credit. We had a little spark. I can’t complain. We had a chance.”

The Highlanders were limited to 56 yards rushing but had 151 passing, although they hit just 12 of 31.

In regular season-ending crossover games:

Gonzaga Prep 45, Moses Lake 21: At Moses Lake, John Lumpert rushed 24 times for 152 yards and two touchdowns, Travis Long picked up 136 yards on nine carries and quarterback David Stockton averaged 11 yards on eight carries and scored three times as the Bullpups (8-2) downed the Chiefs (5-4).

Mead 22, Wenatchee 14: Seth Moore rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns and Max Kayser hit Matt Lynch with a 19-yard scoring pass in the battle of Panthers in Wenatchee. Jacob Sealby scored twice for Wenatchee (6-3), but after his first score, Moore put Mead (6-4) ahead with a 61-yard run that was followed by a two-point conversion.

University 17, Sunnyside 0: The Titans (3-7) went on the road and pulled out the win over the Grizzlies (2-7) in the second half. John Wright scored on two short runs on his way to a 108-yard game and he also had 52 yards receiving.

Rogers 33, West Valley (Yakima) 7: The Pirates (2-8) dominated from the start with Cody Peterson scoring the first of his three touchdowns to bury the Rams (1-8) at Albi Stadium.