Week 2 preview: Central Valley hosts Mead in a quarterback showcase

The Greater Spokane League football season got off to a rousing debut last week with a full slate of games and the grand opening of Union Stadium, the spectacular new facility for the Mead School District.

While play was uneven in places due to the short nature of preseason, there were still glimpses of spectacular play across the league.

The real win, though, was just getting to take the field again.

Now that teams have had a week of competition and another week of practice, the quality of play should be even better in Week 2.

Game of the week

Mead (1-0) at Central Valley (1-0): Friday 7 p.m. Both teams got off to a good start, picking up Week 1 wins at home – although CV’s win came as the “road team” on its new turf field.

Mead freshman Jo Sonnichsen passed for two touchdowns and completed 10 of 19 for 144 yards as the Panthers defeated Lewis and Clark 34-17 on Saturday in the first game at new Union Stadium. The highlight was Sonnichsen hitting Carson Tucker in stride for a 72-yard touchdown pass to open things up in the third quarter.

At CV, Luke Abshire threw for 180 yards with two touchdowns and he rushed for two more as the Bears got ahead early and defeated Ferris 28-12. It was a home game for the Saxons as Albi Stadium is unavailable to host games due to the demolition and construction at the site.

4A/3A

Lewis and Clark (0-1) at Gonzaga Prep (1-0): Friday 7 p.m. Ryan McKenna rushed for 112 yards with one passing touchdown when the Bullpups beat Mt. Spokane 10-7 in Saturday’s second game at Union Stadium. G-Prep moved the ball well and went up 10-0 early in the second quarter, but struggled a bit in the second half as both defenses played very well.

The Tigers put together an impressive output in the second quarter against Mead, scoring all 17 of their points. Gentz Hilburn was the catalyst, scoring on a tough 13-yard run, then taking a swing pass 43 yards down the left sideline for another. He finished with 124 all-purpose yards.

Ferris (0-1) at University (0-1): Friday 7 p.m. Both teams are looking for their initial wins this season. U-Hi fell on the road to GSL newcomer Cheney 28-14, but benefited from a couple of long plays – a 32-yard touchdown pass by sophomore QB Tre Buchanan and a kickoff return for a score by Ricco Longo.

Against CV, the Saxons got an interception return for a TD by Jacob Tonani and scored late on a 16-yard pass from Paxton Page to Jide Olajoyegbe.

Cheney (1-0) at Mt. Spokane (0-1): Friday 7:30 p.m. After a 28-14 win over U-Hi at home, the Blackhawks take to the road at Union Stadium against the Wildcats, looking to get into the win column. Gabe Gerber had a pair of rushing TDs and Karl Barsness scored twice on defense against U-Hi.

Mt. Spokane moved the ball fairly well with Connor Marll under center and Tyler Alm lugging the ball, but penalties and turnovers – and a stout G-Prep defense – kept them out of the end zone until late in the contest, a 3-yard Marll run.

2A

West Valley (1-0) at Othello (1-0): Friday 7 p.m. This will be a ground battle: Malachi Clark had 252 rushing yards last week for WV; Othello’s Sonny Asu had 150 rushing yards with three TD for the Huskies.

Shadle Park (1-0) vs. Rogers (0-1): Friday 4:30 p.m. at Union Stadium. QB Ryan Schmidt leads the Highlanders against the Pirates.

East Valley (0-1) at Clarkston (0-1): Saturday 1 p.m. The Bantams hope to use two fourth-quarter TDs last week as a springboard while the Knights look to score their first points of the season.

Pullman (0-1) at North Central (1-0): Saturday 1 p.m. The Indians host the Greyhounds in the first game on the NC campus since 1995. The last time before that was in 1969.