Asotin stages second half comeback; downs Northwest Christian to earn Northeast 2B upper tier title, undefeated season

There are other programs across the state in the 2B classification that might get more attention, but the Northeast 2B may very well be the best league top to bottom.

Nowhere was that more evident than Saturday evening on the turf at Gonzaga Prep .

Senior Peter Eggleston carried 27 times for 172 yards – 132 in the second half – and three touchdowns as the Asotin Panthers erased a 13-0 deficit to beat Northwest Christian 34-19 and earn the Northeast 2B upper-tier championship and finish the regular season undefeated.

“It feels great,” Asotin coach Jim Holman said. “It’s the first time we’ve won one. We’ve had a great year. We’ve kind of flown under the radar for a while until we beat Freeman, which kind of set the tone.”

Asotin (9-0, 6-0), Freeman (8-1, 5-1) and NWC (6-2, 4-2) all qualify for state. The Panthers are No. 1 in the state RPI system, with the Scotties No. 3 and NWC eighth.

Colfax, which has to play Liberty in a Kansas tiebreaker on Tuesday to decide the NE 2B lower tier, is 13th.

“I think we have the toughest league in the state and it’s not even close,” Northwest Christian coach Marshall Hart said. “It is really hard to play in our league every week.”

Northwest Christian led 7-0 at halftime on a 40-yard pass from Hank Riddle to Talon Comfort-Willhite. On the opening kickoff of the second half, Riddle took a reverse from Braylon Comfort-Willhite and went 85 yards for a touchdown and 13-0 lead.

Asotin didn’t flinch.

A seven-play, 70-yard drive resulted in a 31-yard TD pass from Cody Ells to Eggleston, then Colt Kelley intercepted the next NWC pass at the Crusaders 41.

Five plays later, Eggleston barreled in from the 6 and Asotin never trailed again.

“Our guys kept battling. That’s what we told them at halftime,” Holman said. “Let’s play football like we have all year and see what happens.”

Eggleston added a 3-yard TD on the first play of the fourth quarter. After an NWC fumble at its 30, Asotin capitalized again with a 2-yard plunge by Kelley to make it 26-13.

“We just made bad mistakes,” Hart said. “Too many mental errors. Just stuff that you can’t have against a team like Asotin.”

NWC used a long drive to make it a one-score game on Riddle’s 33-yard pass and diving catch by Ben Slade. But lineman AJ Olerich recovered the onside kick at midfield, and Eggleston burst through the line for a 31-yard TD with 51 seconds left to clinch it.

“That’s what (Eggleston) has been doing all year,” Holman said. “He’s gotta be over 1,500 yards rushing now. He had the goal of being the best running back in the league and I think he proved that tonight.”

Ells finished with 21 carries for 152 yards and completed 5 of 7 passes for 39 yards and a score.