Mt. Spokane beats Kennewick 43-13

Mt. Spokane began Friday’s State 3A football play-in game with a 20-0 lead after barely more than 6 minutes.

But probably more important to the Wildcats was the way they closed out the first half at Albi Stadium, after Kennewick whittled their 20-point lead to seven.

Mt. Spokane scored twice in the final 4:42 of the opening half for a 33-13 lead and cruised to a 43-13 win over Kennewick (4-6), in the process qualifying for a state opener next weekend at home.

“We just had to stay calm and stick to the game plan,” said Wildcats senior quarterback Matt Pulliam, who threw two touchdown passes and ran for a pair of 1-yard scores. “It’s hard to say when you’re feeling comfortable. It’s football and anything can happen.”

“We just made sure that we stayed with the plan, continued to execute and got the lead back up there where we were a little more comfortable,” Wildcats coach Terry Cloer said.

The Wildcats (8-2) will host Auburn Mountainview to open the 16-team state tournament.

Mt. Spokane put the Lions on their heels by scoring on the second play of the game, as senior running Mike Schupp broke outside and beat a defensive back down the right sideline for a 57-yard touchdown.

Pulliam scored on a keeper 2 1/2 minutes later, then hooked up with Schupp on a screen pass for a 33-yard TD and 20-0 edge with 5:54 left in the first quarter.

“We focused on starting fast and we actually did it this time,” Cloer said. “We executed early and got the lead. That’s what we’ve been talking about for several weeks now and tonight we came out and executed and did it.”

“We just figured it out really early this week and did what we were capable of all year,” Pulliam said.

The Lions were in a big hole with their 1,000-yard running back, senior Dwight Norwood, hobbling after hurting his ankle on Kennewick’s first kickoff return. Norwood, visibly limping throughout the game, was limited to 10 yards on 12 carries.

Despite the setback to Norwood, Lions senior Josh Kutzke threw a pair of TD passes to junior Dillon Plew a little more than 4 minutes apart to cut the Wildcats’ lead to 20-13 with 10:02 left in the half.

Sophomore Jared Gray intercepted Pulliam on the Wildcats’ next series, but Mt. Spokane’s defense held Kennewick to 4 yards on that possession, stopping any chance of a game-tying drive.

Pulliam took control again. His second 1-yard keeper of the game and a 29-yard TD pass to senior Bryce Zimmerer with 54 seconds left in the half boosted the advantage back to 20 points.

“(Pulliam) leads this team by example,” Cloer said. “He’s a tough, physical runner and it really complements our outside run game to have him running up inside between the tackles. You have to defend both of those options and it makes us tough. And he can throw it, too. He definitely has the mix.”

Schupp aggravated an ankle injury late in the first quarter and saw limited time the rest of the way.