The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
49°F
Current Conditions
Scattered clouds
View complete weather report
Subscribe now

State 2B football: Northwest Christian storms into quarterfinals

Northwest Christian brings down Lake Roosevelt quarterback Steven Flowers (10) during the first round of the Washington 2B State football championships on Friday, Nov. 11, 2016, at Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane, Wash. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
Northwest Christian brings down Lake Roosevelt quarterback Steven Flowers (10) during the first round of the Washington 2B State football championships on Friday, Nov. 11, 2016, at Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane, Wash. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)Buy a print of this photo
By Josh Horton joshho@spokesman.com

Northwest Christian head coach Jim Nendel claims Silas Perreiah is “one of the most pleasant guys you’ll ever meet” off the field.

But while he’s carrying the ball, he’s anything but to opposing defenders.

Perreiah, who rushed for 263 yards on 14 carries and four TDs in the Crusaders’ 48-16 State 2B first-round win over Lake Roosevelt on Friday at Albi Stadium, even has the label of “team mom” around some of the players.

“He’s always the one to telling us, ‘Don’t drink that, don’t eat that,’ always just making sure we stay healthy,” Crusaders quarterback Chris Carey said. “He’s definitely one of the biggest leaders on the team.”

But Perreiah isn’t the vocal leader that might come to mind. He leaves that to his offensive lineman, according to Nendel. He’s more quiet but makes a great impact on his teammates by leading by example.

“He doesn’t say a lot. He doesn’t boast around other kids at all,” Nendel said. “He works as hard as anyone on our team. His offseason workouts were incredible.”

Perreaih took on a bigger role this season after his older brother, Ethan Perreaih, graduated. But adding inches and 20 pounds in the offseason did wonders for his durability, which is something he struggled with at times last season as a freshman.

This season, the Crusaders rode Perreiah, who rushed for 1,721 yards and 25 TDs, to an 8-1 regular-season record and a state playoff berth.

The Crusaders relied on Perreiah to open up an early lead, as he scored on an 80-yard TD run on the Crusaders’ first play from scrimmage, and followed up with touchdown runs of 3 and 13 yards on NWC’s ensuing possessions.

Senior Ryan Harman punched it in from 3 yards out and Perreiah ripped off a 79-yard touchdown run on the Crusaders’ fourth and fifth drives, respectively.

NWC’s offense was close to perfect in the first half, scoring touchdowns on seven of its eight drives. The Crusaders led 48-8 at halftime.

Lake Roosevelt scored its only touchdowns on quarterback Steven Flower’s 66-yard connection with Trevor McCraigie in the first quarter and his 3-yard run in the fourth.

In the quarterfinals, the Crusaders will play Northeast 2B league foe Asotin, which thumped Tonasket 41-3 in a first-round matchup. The Panthers handed NWC its only loss this season, beating them 27-14 on Oct. 21.

“Asotin was looking forward to that game since last year when we knocked them out of the state playoffs,” Nendel said. “Now, it’s our turn.”

Liberty 44, Kittitas 6: Tyler Haas rushed for 145 yards and four touchdowns as the Lancers routed the visiting Coyotes.

Garrett Rogers added 128 yards on 10-of-11 passing and a score as the Lancers advance to play Tri-Cities Prep or Dayton-Waitsburg in the quarterfinals.