Colville takes down defending 1A state champs Freeman

Colville high school football coach Randy Cornwell told his wife earlier this week that his Indians would beat top-ranked Freeman 28-14.

“I missed it by one” touchdown, he told his team as the Indians chanted following the 28-7 victory over the Scotties on Friday night in Colville.

Except for a Freeman trick play that led to a 35-yard touchdown on the first play of the second half, Colville (6-0) dominated the Scotties (5-1) with a ground game that always kept drives alive and the potent Freeman offense on the sidelines.

“We’ve had a great rivalry with these guys,” Cornwell said. “When we play, it seems to bring the best out of both teams.”

Senior Colton Vining scored three touchdowns and turned countless short runs into first downs.

“Everybody talked about how good they were and nobody talked about how good we are,” Vining said. “They had the No. 1 defense in the state. They only had 14 points scored against them.

“It’s good to know we can grind through a team like that.”

Freeman coach Jim Wood agreed, saying that his team just couldn’t force Colville into third-and-long situations.

“That’s a good football team,” Wood said of Colville. “It’s not hard to see what they do in their offense. But they run it really, really well.”

When the Scotties got the ball, the Indians always seemed to find an answer to keep star running back Markus Goldbach in check.

Of the seven possessions Freeman had the ball, Colville forced a three-and-out five times.

“Our kids were resilient,” Cornwell said. “They pounded and pounded.”

Colville got on the board first just before the end of the first quarter when Vining forced his way in from 3 yards out. After another defensive stop and a huge run by Colville’s Justin Dragovich, Vining scored his second 3-yard touchdown to make it 14-0.

But on the first play of the second half, Goldbach passed to an uncovered Jack Paukert, who raced 35 yards to make it 14-7.

Colville then marched down the field and Vining scored his third touchdown, this time from 5 yards out.

“That was the key,” Cornwell said. “We turned right back around and answered that one. We love to wear teams down.”

Journy Young added a 6-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to complete the scoring in the win over the defending State 1A champions.