Friday Night (High)lights: Greater Spokane League championship game lives up to billing; two bids to Round of 32 still up for grabs
In a world filled with hyperbole, things often don’t live up to the hype. Friday night’s football action in the Greater Spokane League certainly lived up to the billing.
The de facto league championship game was a one-score game. One game with playoff implications was decided on a blocked extra point in overtime. Another game between teams clinging to postseason hopes was a single-digit victory bolstered by a 50-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
To borrow a word from another sport: madness.
Five of the possible eight Round of 32 participants from the GSL have now been decided, with a few huge games looming in Week 9 to settle the rest.
Speaking of those allocations, they only became official this week. District 6 gets five bids in 4A, four in 3A and three in 2A. The GSL and Mid-Columbia Conference split the 4A and 3A bids – with the fifth 4A spot decided on the Tuesday after Week 9 when Lewis and Clark takes on the MCC third-place team.
Let’s take a look at how things sit after the dust settled on Week 8.
Top dogs
Gonzaga Prep beat Mead 28-21 in a battle of unbeatens to decide the GSL championship at Union Stadium, the second game of a long doubleheader that day at the venue. It was a terrific game and hotly contested, as tempers flared on a few occasions with a pair of second-half ejections due to extracurricular activities after the play.
As he’s done all season, Noah Holman led the way for G-Prep with 18 carries for 144 yards with three touchdowns. And the Bullpups’ defense came up huge at the start of the third quarter, with an interception and fumble recovery leading to 13 points and a momentum shift.
With Gonzaga Prep at No. 4 in both the media poll and RPI, and Mead at No. 6/13, should they win out both are likely to receive a home game in the Round of 32 in Week 10. The Bullpups host one-win University with an undefeated season on the line next week. Mead plays a desperate Shadle Park team at ONE Spokane Stadium.
Down to the wire
Shadle’s Highlanders find themselves with their backs against the wall, having lost three straight after starting the season 4-1.
The latest loss stung the most – a blocked extra point in overtime led to a Central Valley 35-34 win. The Bears secured the GSL’s top 3A bid to the Round of 32 and left Shadle up in the air.
The Highlanders are tied with Mt. Spokane at 4-4 and own the head-to-head tiebreaker for the league’s second bid. But Shadle must play Mead, looking to bounce back from its loss to G-Prep, and Mt. Spokane travels to two-win Cheney to conclude the regular season.
Staying alive
Speaking of Mt. Spokane, it beat Ridgeline 30-21 to rally from its four consecutive losses to start the season to even its record heading into Week 9. It’s a remarkable comeback from the Wildcats, who started the season with CV, Shadle, G-Prep and Mead while replacing their three top offensive performers from last season.
QB Ryker Tweedy probably had his best game of the season, and certainly his most efficient, completing his first 10 pass attempts and finishing 21 of 29 for 235 yards.
“We had to come in and we had to get the job done,” Tweedy said. “We all knew what was at stake. Just a great effort. Senior night, can’t lose on it.”
Showdown
Undefeated West Valley and one-loss Clarkston have sewn up the top two spots in the 2A division. But with the official news this week that the GSL will get three bids to the Round of 32 (and four in 2025), that sets up one last showdown to determine the final spot.
And just how convenient – the league in its infinite wisdom scheduled the two candidates to play each other the last week of the season.
Rogers, looking to make back-to-back playoff appearances after missing out for more than a decade, beat East Valley 41-7 Thursday night at ONE Spokane Stadium to join Deer Park at 3-2 in league. The teams will face off Friday at Deer Park in a winner-moves-on contest.
Eagles vs Hawks
Lakeside has found it tough going this season after reaching the State 1A title game last year behind a senior-laden team. Yet after losing four straight this season, the Eagles (3-4, 2-0) find themselves one win away from defending their Northeast A League title.
The head-to-head matchup against Colville (4-3, 2-0) this week will make that determination. Both receive berths to the Round of 32 out of the four-team league.