Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Kannon Katzer helps Mt. Spokane roll over Moses Lake 34-13

Kannon Katzer is healthy, and that news will give the rest of the Greater Spokane League a major headache all season long.

The Mt. Spokane all-purpose back rushed for 213 yards, caught five passes for another 60, and scored four touchdowns as the Wildcats (2-0) walloped Moses Lake 34-13 in nonleague play in the Friday nightcap at Albi Stadium.

Mt. Spokane lists Katzer as a slot receiver, but that is a misnomer. Against the Chiefs (0-2), he lined up as a receiver, a running back and scored his third touchdown after taking a direct snap in a wildcat formation.

“I’ve even had him running some scout team quarterback,” Mt. Spokane coach Terry Cloer said. “I thought Moses Lake actually did a pretty good job tackling him tonight. It’s just really hard to tackle him one-on-one.”

Running behind a veteran offensive line that does a solid job blocking up front is one thing. Just imagine this play for defensive coaches scouting the Wildcats.

In the third quarter, Katzer started around the left end and cut into the Moses Lake secondary near the sideline. He dodged one defensive back and darted between two more. When the safety came up to make the tackle, he simply reversed course, deked another would-be tackler and raced all the way across the field to finally run out of space to run at the Chiefs’ 6.

A year ago against Moses Lake, Katzer took a shot to his left hip.

“It hurt, but I didn’t want to be a baby about it,” Katzer said. “I just tried to tough it out. It turned out that I had cracked the bone in my hip. A couple weeks later I ran a kickoff back for a touchdown against Central Valley and the ligaments in my hip pulled the two pieces apart.”

He’s working hard to make up for lost time. In two games he’s run for 471 yards and scored nine touchdowns.

Against Moses Lake, Katzer dashed 53 yards for the opening score, dashed 24 yards for the second, 31 yards for the third. To change things up, he caught a 15-yard pass from Jeter Schuerman for a touchdown.

“We have some other guys who can run the football for us,” Cloer said. “But Kannon us going to be the focus for us.”

Cloer said the key to the Wildcats’ line play has been the addition of long-time Greater Spokane League coach and assistant Tim Trout, who now coaches the offensive and defensive line.

“He’s a great guy and a great coach,” Cloer said. “He’s done a fantastic job with those guys.”

Junior Carter Miethe has settled in at center – continuing a family tradition.

“He’s wearing his brother’s number and even has as lot of his mannerisms,” Cloer said. “We’re going to have five years of Miethes at center at Mt. Spokane before he’s done.”

After Katzer’s four touchdowns to take a 28-0 lead, Moses Lake got on the scoreboard in the third quarter when Logan Sperline lofted a pass to Kayton Carmack in the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown. The drive had been kept alive after a punt that bounced off a Mt. Spokane defender was recovered by the Chiefs and a pass interference penalty put them in the red zone.

“I think we played better this week,” Cloer said. “We made some mistakes defensively last week and we cleaned them up.”