East Valley takes third straight GNL win
Ramm throws for 3 TDs as Knights blank Cheney
The East Valley Knights blanked Cheney 30-0 Friday night in Spokane Valley to win their third Great Northern League football game in a row.
Led by quarterback Connor Ramm and dynamic athletes J.T. Phelan and Gage Burland, the Knights started fast and never let their foot off the gas.
“They’ve gotten the better of us the last two years,” East Valley coach Adam Fisher said. “Our secondary did a great job and we were able to take their run game away.”
East Valley (4-2, 3-0) took the field with authority on a reverse that turned into a halfback pass from Phelan to Burland that covered 43 yards.
One play later, junior quarterback Ramm hit Phelan on a 28-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion made it 8-0. Those would be all the points the Knights needed.
“It was one of those nights,” Cheney coach Jason Williams said. “They did a nice job. They made plays all night long.”
Cheney punted to East Valley to start the second quarter and the Knights drove down the field before Ramm hit Burland for an 8-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion failed and East Valley led 14-0 with 7:32 left in the second quarter.
After a three-and-out by Cheney, the Knights took over at their own 20 and drove the length of the field.
After spelling starting running back William Nixdorf, who suffered what appeared to be concussion-like symptoms, East Valley turned on the Isaac Jordan show.
The senior running back picked up 51 yards on third-and-19. Three plays later, Jordan punched it in from a yard out. With the two-point conversion, it gave East Valley a 22-0 lead at halftime.
Cheney started strong in the third quarter and quarterback Andrew Graham led his team down the field on a drive that took half of the period. But it ended with an incomplete pass on fourth down from the East Valley 5.
Cheney wouldn’t threaten again. Ramm hit Phelan for a 9-yard score early in the fourth quarter for an East Valley touchdown and 30-0 lead.
“With a six-team league, every game is so vital,” Fisher said. “You’ve got to take care of business each week. If you don’t, it will come back and bite you.”