LC savors upset win over Ferris
Tom Yearout reiterated what he said a year ago, after winning Lewis and Clark’s first state football championship.
“To define a season solely on the playoffs is not what high school football’s about,” he said on Monday following the Tigers’ 15-14 upset victory over Ferris.
The comment was particularly pertinent considering this year’s Greater Spokane League standings reflect more than the usual number of games impacted by injuries or blessed by breaks.
So for LC, which had its share of season-affecting injuries, Friday night’s victory, Yearout said, was every bit as big as last year’s title to the senior returnees.
“Each year defines itself,” Yearout said. “That’s the nature of football, and we haven’t looked back. I think our kids are pretty excited.”
Yearout gave credit to starting quarterback Taylor Eglet, who missed both games the 6-2 Tigers lost this year when he was sidelined with a concussion. It was Eglet’s first win over Ferris in three tries.
Indeed, it was only the Saxons’ second GSL loss during Jim Sharkey’s three seasons as coach.
“Taylor’s sophomore year we were driving down at the end and fumbled,” Yearout said. “Last year he was sick and didn’t play well. He kind of put us on his back the other night.”
Eglet rallied LC from a 14-0 halftime deficit. He passed for 276 yards, spread among eight receivers, and did so mainly without favorite target Vaughn Kapiko, who suffered a hip pointer on the fifth play of the game. Kapiko did return to catch a gutsy 2-point conversion pass for the final outcome. Eglet even saw some action in the defensive secondary.
The turning point was junior Levi Taylor’s interception with the Saxons threatening to go ahead 21-0 in the first half.
“If they score, we don’t come back,” Yearout said.
In the second half, the Tigers controlled the football because Eglet kept making plays.
“It’s a big deal to beat your rival when you haven’t done it before,” Yearout said. “And it’s always good to beat your rival when it’s a quality team. You could tell from both sides it was an important game.”
Also big in Yearout’s eyes is that this is the 17th straight winning season for Lewis and Clark, equaling Gonzaga Prep’s streak from 1973 through 1989.
They’re b-a-a-c-k!
For four years, from 2002 to 2005, LaCrosse-Washtucna was beast of Class 1B football. Following a two-year absence, the program has served notice it could be back.
Last week the unbeaten Tigercats defeated talented Tri-Cities Prep 36-30, rallying from a 24-6 deficit with a tried-and-true formula.
“We ran a ball control offense,” coach Jeff Nelson said. “We only passed seven times (three for touchdowns) and just stayed with running the ball and wearing them down.”
The plan also minimized the opportunities for talented opposition quarterback Will Hoppes. When he did have the ball, the Tigercats defense tried to befuddle him.
“We just mixed up our coverages and pass rush,” Nelson said.
Two additions from Kahlotus, lineman Gary Marmes and linebacker/tight end Garrett Whitney, have bolstered LaCrosse-Washtucna’s lineup. Injuries last year kept the team down, but many of those players are back and their replacements are a year more experienced, Nelson said.
“We knew it was coming,” he said. “The kids believed it, I believed it that we had something here. We were under the radar for awhile and I liked it.”
After knocking off an unbeaten team to take over the Southeast 1B league lead, the Tigercats are under the radar no more.
Surprisingly easy win
That defensively strong Freeman defeated defending Northeast A League champion Lakeside may not have been as surprising as the final score.
The Scotties (6-1, 3-0) allowed a first-quarter touchdown, then went on a rampage. They scored twice in each of the remaining quarters for a 47-6 romp. They play Chewelah (4-3, 2-1) on Thursday for the league title.
Post-season approaches
Soccer and cross country enter the post-season phases of their seasons this week, beginning with Wednesday’s GSL District 8 4A soccer playoff between University and Ferris. The league’s fourth- and fifth-place seeds meet in a loser-out contest, 4 p.m. at Joe Albi Stadium. Competition for both sports continues Saturday.