Week 2 prep football preview: After impressive road win, Mead faces University in first league action

The first week of football gave us our first opportunity to gauge the strengths and weaknesses of the league.

A few of the traditional powers in the 4A/3A division got off to impressive starts against league opponents, while the 2A ranks are testing their mettle with nonleague contests against Northeast 1A or Idaho squads.

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

Game of the week

Mead (1-0) at University (0-1): The Panthers went on the road and earned a 14-13 win over Eastmont last week, securing the victory with a blocked field goal with less than 3 minutes to go.

U-Hi went down 27-0 at the half against Mt. Spokane but bounced back for two fourth-quarter TDs, one by Malaki Miller.

4A/3A

Central Valley (1-0) at Lewis and Clark (1-0): CV’s Bears cruised past Ridgeline in Week 1 with seven scoring drives, but four of those ended in field goals by Aiden Labrosse.

They’ll face a stiffer test this week against the Tigers, who got 168 yards rushing with three total touchdowns from Gentz Hilburn in a 38-6 win over Ferris.

This game will be played at CV as a home game for LC.

Mt. Spokane (1-0) at Ridgeline (0-1): The Wildcats got out big early and handled U-Hi 30-14 as Blake Speer rushed for a TD and kicked a pair of field goals.

Ridgeline, still young in the program’s second year, had trouble gaining traction against the tough CV defense.

Ferris (0-1) at Cheney (0-1): The Saxons and Cheney both took it on the chin last week, losing by a combined 96-6.

This matchup will give a couple of inexperienced teams a chance to face a similarly rebuilding program.

Gonzaga Prep (1-0) at St. John College (D.C.) (1-1): Saturday, 9 a.m. The Bullpups go across the county to the nation’s capital for a Saturday matchup against the Cadets.

The Bullpups did their thing last week, rolling up 427 yards of offense – 328 on the ground – to shut out Cheney 58-0, limiting the Blackhawks to 161 yards. G-Prep had 10 players with rushes, with six gaining 25 yards or more.

St. John’s plays a national schedule against teams from Florida, Massachusetts, Delaware, New York and Georgia.

2A

Lakeland (3-0) at West Valley (1-0): Thursday, 7 p.m. This border rivalry game will not be a picnic for the Eagles. Lakeland is off to an impressive start, averaging 31 points per game, including a win over 5A Lake City.

West Valley downed a tough Freeman team last week as dual-threat QB Raesean Eaton had two TDs on the ground and two more though the air.

Riverside (1-0) at Shadle Park (0-1): At Union Stadium. Shadle’s Highlanders gave up a big day to Timberlake’s Vaughn Higgins last week (142 yards, three TDs) in a close loss. Receiver Jordan Dever had a big game with eight catches for 219 yards and two TDs.

The Rams won a defensive struggle over St. Maries as Jake Gaffaney’s 10-yard TD pass to Braxton Welch made the difference.

East Valley (0-1) at Lakeside (1-0): The Knights were edged by Deer Park last week in their hunt to return to the playoffs for the second straight season. Lakeside got three total touchdowns by Saeed Sams in a rout of Pullman.

Rogers (0-1) at Medical Lake (0-1): The Pirates were beaten by three touchdowns by Colville while Medical Lake was shut out by Priest River.

Lewiston (1-1) at Clarkston (1-0): Another border rivalry between two teams that could be pretty good at the end of the season.

Clarkston put up 47 against Moscow last week while Lewiston has received votes for the top five in 5A by Idaho media.

Moscow (0-2) at Pullman (0-1): The teams have combined for 14 points in three cumulative games. Pullman looks to rebound behind a big, experienced offensive line.

North Central (0-0) at Colville (1-0): The Wolfpack get their season underway against the rebuilding Crimson Hawks, who knocked off Rogers.