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

Week 2 football preview: Battle of the Bell on tap; Gonzaga Prep hosts tough nonleague foe

Gonzaga Prep quarterback Ryan McKenna looks for room to run in the Bullpups' 49-0 win over University on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021.  (Cheryl Nichols/For The Spokesman-Review)

Week 1 offered few surprises as Washington football teams got their seasons underway.

Gonzaga Prep and Mt. Spokane romped to victories, while Ridgeline put up a good showing in its first game in school history. with a roster full of sophomores.

We’ve already seen a local team have a COVID-related cancellation, and a few more are faced with that proposition this week.

That, combined with some teams being forced to move games to Saturday or Thursday due to lack of available officials, will keep schedule makers busy .

All games Friday 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

Game of the week

Mt. Spokane (1-0) vs. Mead (0-1): The Battle of the Bell comes early this season. Mt. Spokane, ranked No. 9 in 3A, showed little rust last week, pounding Cheney 54-0. Most impressively, the Wildcats spread the ball around: Six players scored touchdowns and no one had 100-yard days rushing or receiving. Mead rushed for 153 yards in coach Keith Stamps’ first game at the helm, a 7-3 loss to Ferris.

4A/3A

Eastmont (1-0) at Gonzaga Prep (1-0): The Bullpups have a challenging matchup against “honorary GSL member” Eastmont – the Wildcats play three Spokane-area teams in nonleague games this season. Eastmont held off Central Valley in an entertaining game last week, while No. 2-ranked G-Prep scored early and often against U-Hi in a 49-0 win.

Lewis and Clark (1-0) at Central Valley (0-1): The CV Bears scored 17 fourth-quarter points last week but a failed 2-point conversion with 8 seconds left put them in the loss column. They’ll look to bounce back at home against the Tigers, who rushed for nearly 200 yards against Ridgeline in a 34-13 win.

Cheney (0-1) at University (0-1): Both teams look to get their offense on track after being shut out in Week 1.

Ferris (1-0) at Ridgeline (0-1): The Saxons squeaked one out over Mead last week. Falcons sophomore QB Tanner Smith went 20 of 46 for 200 yards and rushed for 57 yards.

2A

West Valley (1-0) at Lakeland (1-2): Raesean Eaton only threw 10 times for the No. 10-ranked Eagles last week, but three of them went for touchdowns in a 35-17 win over 1A Newport.

Shadle Park (0-1) at Riverside (1-0): The Highlanders couldn’t keep up with Idaho 3A Timberlake last week and have a tough matchup against the 1A No. 9 Rams this week.

North Central (0-0) at Grandview (1-0): The Wolfpack’s first game of the season was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns at Freeman.

Rogers (0-1) at Medical Lake (1-0): The Pirates were handled by perennial 1A contender Colville last week 47-14 and face another Northeast A team in the Cardinals, coming off a 28-0 win over Priest River.

Lakeside (1-0) at East Valley (1-0): The Knights edged 1A Deer Park by a field goal last week, while Lakeside doubled up St. Maries on the road.

Toppenish (1-0) at Pullman (0-1): The Greyhounds were blanked by Zillah last week and take on another South Central squad that earned a convincing 34-13 win over East Valley (Yakima).

Clarkston (0-1) at Lewiston (2-0): The Bantams lost a close one to Moscow last week, allowing 20 points in the fourth quarter in a 40-33 loss. The Bengals have scored 40-plus in both their games.

Idaho

West Valley (Yakima) (0-0) at Coeur d’Alene (1-1): The Vikings edged 4A Sandpoint with a late field goal by quarterback Brayden Bengston, who also threw for two first-half touchdowns as CdA built a 21-0 lead and barely held off the Bulldogs.

Moses Lake (0-1) at Post Falls (0-2): The Trojans got roughed up on the road against No. 1 Rigby 49-14 and look to bounce back at home against a Moses Lake team that gave up 56 points last week.

Lake City (1-0) at Garfield (1-0): Saturday 1 p.m. The Timberwolves go over to Seattle to play the Bulldogs, who put up 48 points in their opener last week.