Friday Night (High)lights: Greater Spokane League season kicks off with some excitement, some promise, some questions
Week 1 is in the books. Across the Greater Spokane League there were a couple of blowouts, a few close games, and some teams showing signs of promise – or struggle – right out of the gate. So, pretty much business as usual.
And with every game this season in the 4A/3A division, a league game each week brings a potential playoff tiebreaker. There’s no time to waste.
Every year we make a tour of August football practices in the region to catch up with the teams and coaches. Every reporter does things differently, and what may work for some doesn’t work with others. Personally, I prefer to conduct these initial meetings in off-the-record discussions with the coaches to build an open rapport and get a broader sense of what to expect for the upcoming season.
What happens during those conversations are between me and those coaches, but it helps me in my transition from a summer of covering minor league baseball back into football mode. Now, what is said in those conversations may or may not come to fruition, but a more relaxed atmosphere helps to construct a dialog instead of what may end up a more guarded traditional interview.
No coach wants to provide bulletin board material before the season even starts (are there still bulletin boards in locker rooms?).
Anyway, it’s a vital tool for me, and hopefully allows me to provide more poignant insight as games get underway.
Let’s take a closer look at what happened around the league in Week 1.
Wildcats back on the prowl
Maybe the biggest surprise of the night was at Union Stadium. When Mt. Spokane and Central Valley face off, there’s almost always something on the line. And the way this cycle of scheduling went, it pitted the two perennial 3A contenders right off the bat. In any given GSL season, when the Wildcats and Bears face off it could very well be for the top 3A seed from the league to state.
That said, Friday’s game did not look like a championship affair.
Mt. Spokane impressed from the opening kick, fairly dominating Central Valley in a 42-0 win, avenging last season’s opening night 33-0 blowout loss to the Bears. First-year starting quarterback Cade Strocsher was an efficient 12 of 14 for 189 yards with three touchdowns, and WR/DB/KR Rock Franklin proved to be a terror in all three phases of the game.
“There’s no way that I drew this up,” Mt. Spokane coach Terry Cloer said of the lopsided result. “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.”
The Wildcats bounced back from an 0-4 start last year to make the postseason, and the early schedule isn’t kind with Gonzaga Prep and Mead looming in Weeks 3 and 4. But with an efficient offense and stingy defense (CV had 116 yards in total offense), Mt. Spokane has already put itself in a good position this season.
Who we thought they were
Gonzaga Prep hasn’t lost a league game since 2019. Mead’s only loss last season was to the Bullpups. It’s no wonder many figure the pair to decide the top 4A seed from the league again this season. Nothing that happened Friday night dispelled that notion.
G-Prep star Jonah Keller had three touchdowns on three catches, including scoring grabs of 80 and 51 yards, and finished with eight touches for 188 yards as the Bullpups built a 38-3 lead through three quarters in a season-opening 38-10 win over visiting Ridgeline. G-Prep quarterback Sam Kincaid threw for 209 yards and four touchdowns on just five completions.
Mead’s Lee Colomb had touchdown receptions of 34 and 75 yards in the first quarter and the visiting Panthers raced to a 42-7 win over University. Mead quarterback Landon Thomas passed 5 of 9 for 145 yards and two touchdowns, and running back Max Faagau added two touchdowns and 65 yards on five carries.
The two titans don’t square off until Oct. 24.
Working overtime
There were two results that didn’t make Saturday’s paper. That’s because neither were done before our deadline for “print,” even though Saturday is e-edition only. And that’s too bad because they both turned out to be exciting football games.
Cheney edged 4A playoff participant Lewis and Clark 18-16 in double overtime, while Shadle Park scored a touchdown with 3:21 remaining to edge Ferris 28-24.
Cheney hopes to make serious strides in establishing itself in the GSL under second-year head coach John Graham. And no team lost a higher percentage of its offense from last season than Shadle with the graduation of Kaden Hooper and Jacob Boston.
Tough start in 2A
Five GSL 2A teams played Friday, and another played Thursday. Only one won. To make it worse, four of the losses came to teams in smaller classifications.
West Valley, last season’s undefeated league champ and state quarterfinalist, was the lone victor, as the Eagles built a 27-0 lead over Idaho 4A Timberlake – playing its third game of the season already – and cruised to a 48-6 win.