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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Greater Spokane League football: Ryan Schmidt leads 2-minute drill, Shadle Park beats Othello

Shadle Park quarterback Ryan Schmidt got banged up late in the second quarter on Saturday and missed several series for the Highlanders as they hosted Othello in a Greater Spokane League 2A game at Union Stadium.

Luckily for Shadle, Schmidt was able to compose himself and got back under center in the fourth quarter.

Schmidt led an effective 2-minute drill and hit Liam Johnson on a 6-yard slant for the go-ahead score with 18 seconds to go, and the Highlanders escaped with a 21-18 win over the Huskies.

“We run this drill a lot in practice,” Shadle Park coach Jim Mace said. “We’re kind of running around, trying to get up and spike it and get another play off. It’s kind of crazy, but it works.”

Mace, who coached at Othello with current Huskies coach Roger Hoell, understands the significance of the win.

“Any time you can beat a team as good as Othello, you have to make sure to appreciate it,” Mace said.

Shadle Park forced an Othello punt late in the game and took over at its 30. Schmidt found Johnson on the sideline for 15 yards and on a slant for 8 yards on the next play. Beckett Ensminger then got loose in the middle of the field for 25 yards to the Othello 28.

Schmidt hit Johnson for 22 yards down to the Othello 6. After a spike stopped the clock with 20.3 seconds left, Schmidt found his favorite target again on a skinny post for the score.

“(Schmidt) told me he was good. Maybe not on deep throws, but could go 20-30 yards,” Mace said. “He didn’t want to come out in the first place. He’s a fighter, a gamer.”

Schmidt finished 15 of 20 for 195 yards and added 42 rushing yards. Johnson made nine catches for 122 yards.

“(Johnson) is really growing,” Mace said. “He really did have a great offseason. A lot of things you can really see on the field. He and Schmidt have a good connection. He gets it.”

Shadle Park (3-0) got to work on the opening drive. On the fifth play of the game, Schmidt hit Johnson in stride down the right sideline for a 46-yard touchdown pass.

Othello (1-2) responded with a methodical 13-play drive, converting a fourth-and-1 with a 14-yard run by Sonny Asu. Later, Asu went off-tackle left from the 8 and plowed into the end zone – but a trick play on the extra-point try was no good.

“Othello did what we thought they would do – just grind and grind and grind,” Mace said.

The Highlanders took advantage of a couple of Schmidt completions and two costly Othello penalties to get back into the red zone. Schmidt tried a delayed keeper but was flattened and had to be helped off the field.

On the next play, Logan Doyle scrambled around the left end for an 8-yard TD run and a 14-6 lead.

It stayed that way until midway through the third quarter when the Huskies surprised everybody by going through the air. Logan Hollenbeck hit Jason Risenmay in stride on a long post, one of his two pass attempts all game, and Risenmay went 51 yards for a touchdown that made it 14-12.

With about 5 minutes left, Othello fullback David Julien Alegria burst up the middle for 27 yards to the Shadle 13. Two plays later, he rumbled in from the 4 to give the Huskies their first lead at 18-14.

Given a chance to run the clock out, Othello went three-and-out for the first time in the game and a short punt set up Shadle’s winning drive.

Alegria rushed 28 times for 163 yards. Aso added 83 yards on 26 carries for Othello.