Cade Strocsher shines in first start at QB, Mt. Spokane 'returns the favor' in 42-0 win over Central Valley

The sky might have looked like something out of a dystopian science-fiction movie with a grayish-tan hue, but the air quality index – which hovered in the “unhealthy” range all day Friday with smoke throughout the Spokane region – dissipated enough in the afternoon to allow Week 1 football to be played, at least in this part of the state.

Every game in the Greater Spokane League 4A/3A division is a league game this year, with the potential to be a playoff tiebreaker. 

Mt. Spokane and Central Valley, two teams expecting to battle for one of the GSL 3A seeds to the state playoffs, faced off in Week 1. Both teams had plenty of questions coming in after losing good chunks of their offensive production to graduation.

One team left feeling like for at least one week they found some answers. The other is still searching. 

First-year starting quarterback Cade Strocsher was an efficient 12 of 14 for 189 yards with three touchdowns as Mt. Spokane took advantage of great field position all game and the Wildcats beat visiting Central Valley 42-0 in both team’s GSL 4A/3A opener.

The great field position came from good defense, opportunistic turnovers and the punt return prowess of Rock Franklin, who had two big returns and a touchdown catch.

“There’s no way that I drew this up,” Mt. Spokane coach Terry Cloer said. “I knew that we were pretty good up front, and we would have an advantage there, but I didn’t think it was going to be this big. You know, they did this to us last year, and we returned the favor this year.”

CV beat Mt. Spokane 33-0 on opening night last season.

“We’ve been working on this all summer,” Strocsher said. “My brother broke his leg first game freshman season. So, I was playing for him tonight.”

Cloer praised his junior quarterback.

“He’s a competitor, you know, he plays basketball, he plays golf. He’s a varsity athlete in three sports,” Cloer said. “He stepped up in big moments for us tonight.”

Seven players carried the ball and seven more made catches for the Wildcats. 

“The depth definitely helps,” Strocsher said. “Like, Rock’s our guy, but man, we got people surrounding him that can do near the same thing.”

Mt. Spokane caught the firs break of the game – literally. On CV’s first possession, quarterback Sharif Wade tried to hit a receiver on a hitch, but the pass sailed high, and Mt. Spokane defensive back Jaxson Kelly hauled it in and took it back to the CV 33.

Five plays later, Ethan Williams barreled in from the 1 for an early 7-0 lead.

The Wildcats forced a punt and took over at their 36. A 12-play, 64-yard drive ensued, with Strocsher hitting Andrew Thomas for the last 14 yards for a touchdown. A two-point conversion made it 15-0.

The teams traded punts through the early part of the second quarter, and Mt. Spokane took possession at its 16 late in the half. Strocsher hit on passes of 33 and 25 yards to move into CV territory, then a swing pass to Zayden Troutt went for 15 yards to the 1. Two plays later, Strocsher called his own number to put the Wildcats up 22-0 at the half.

“We did a pretty good job of running the ball, and we had to get back to that,” Cloer said. “That’s what we’re going to be doing this year, for sure.”

Franklin returned a punt at the start of the third quarter 48 yards to the CV 12, where Strocsher hit Kelly for a 29-0 lead.

“Coach was yelling ‘Field the ball, field the ball,’” Franklin said. “So, you know, that’s what I did. I didn’t think I was gonna get that much. But, yeah, it felt good.”

Later in the quarter Strocsher found Franklin open down the sideline for a 25-yard TD reception, and Quentin Gray scored on a 5-yard run to make it 42-0 with 1:35 left in the third.

“I already knew I had the ‘pick’ match up,” Strocsher said of Franklin being wide open on the TD catch. “I saw the corner bite, and when I threw that ball, I knew it was gold. I was like, ‘Let’s go Rock.’”

“(Franklin’s) a great receiver, he’s a great running back, he’s a multi-tool guy, and we want to get the ball in his hands a lot,” Cloer said.