The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
27°F
Current Conditions
Mist
View complete weather report

Color Scheme

Subscribe now

University rallies in fourth to top Post Falls

University running back Bryce Williamson battles for extra yards after having his helmet knocked off. He finished with 212 yards. (BRUCE TWITCHELL PHOTOS)
University running back Bryce Williamson battles for extra yards after having his helmet knocked off. He finished with 212 yards. (BRUCE TWITCHELL PHOTOS)
Ryan Bronson Correspondent

Junior quarterback Logan O’Neil tossed three touchdown passes and ran for another as the University Titans rallied to upend the Post Falls Trojans 37-27 in nonleague action Friday night at Trojan Stadium.

Senior tailback Bryce Williamson ran for 212 yards for the Titans, who improved to 2-0 under second-year coach Rob Bartlett.

“We really stayed with what we wanted to do,” Bartlett said. “It was back and forth all night. There was nothing set in stone until about that last minute.”

The Titans trailed 27-22 to start the fourth quarter, but the Trojans fumbled on the first play. Six plays later, Tanner Chase hauled in a 13-yard TD from O’Neil on fourth-and-10 to give University a 30-27 lead. The Trojans punted on their next possession and O’Neil went to work again, finding Griffin Thorson for a 25-yard TD on fourth-and-9.

“For a junior, he makes really good decisions,” Bartlett said of O’Neil, who was 15 for 23 for 202 yards. “We ask him to do a lot.”

Senior quarterback Dalton Thompson led Post Falls (1-2) with 150 yards passing and 93 yards rushing, 74 of those coming on the Trojans’ first play from scrimmage. Collin Hildreth scored on a 3-yarder, the first of his two rushing touchdowns, on the following play to give Post Falls a 7-0 lead.

After the teams traded turnovers, O’Neil found senior wideout Steven Pesch on a 29-yard strike, tying the game at 7.

Post Falls got things going on its first possession of the second quarter. Thompson found Jacob Koski on a 3-yard fade to cap an 11-play, 69-yard drive, giving the Trojans a 13-7 lead.

The Titans coughed up the football on their next possession, and Post Falls extended its lead one play later when Thompson rolled out and connected with sophomore Kaden Nelson on a 50-yard pitch-and-catch. Thompson was 7 for 10 for 94 yards in the first half. He was only 4 for 15 in the second half, however.

University answered with a 14-play, 67-yard drive that culminated with an O’Neil-to-Thorson 3-yard quick hitch with 36 seconds left in the half, and the extra point pulled the Titans to within 19-14 at the break.

Post Falls junior running back Austin Jackson, who finished with 88 yards on eight carries, opened the second half with runs of 18 and 40 yards, but a penalty and three consecutive incompletions forced a 23-yard field-goal attempt, which missed the mark.

University took the lead with 6:46 left in the third quarter when O’Neil snuck it in himself from the 1. Chase’s two-point conversion made it 22-19.

The Trojans responded with a 66-yard, 10-play drive. Hildreth’s second scoring scamper made it 27-22.

However, the fourth quarter belonged to the Titans, who outgained the Trojans 261-152 in the second half.

University plays Ferris at Abli on Thursday night. Post Falls hosts East Valley on Friday.