GSL football: West Valley takes team approach in 48-3 win over Deer Park; Eagles clinch postseason berth

Upon winning a game, West Valley pounds the lockers for every point they scored against their opponent. The Eagles have what they call “the big stick,” which has over 150 color coordinated ribbons representing the games they came out on top. A few players are nominated by the coaches to pound the stick on the ground along with the noise of the lockers.

On Friday, the Eagles banged 48 times in a 48-3 win over Deer Park in a Greater Spokane League 2A matchup.

As for those who were nominated, it wasn’t simply the ones with the top stats.

“Not necessarily people who were scoring all the touchdowns, but people who did their jobs, helped their teammates, had energy all night long and just wanted to be there,” West Valley senior receiver Erik Borg said.

Some teams have superstars, but West Valley prides itself on the depth of the team. Quarterback Nathan Zettle rushed for two touchdowns while five others also reached the end zone.

“We try to not have superstars; we’re about team,” head coach Craig Whitney said. “It doesn’t matter who scores the touchdown as long as the team gets the ball across the goal line.”

One touchdown came in the first quarter when Zettle hit Adam Knapp with a screen pass down the middle. Another occurred in the second quarter with a 15-yard catch-and-run from Nathan Jeffries, who spun and danced around the defenders into the endzone. With less than 2 minutes left in the half, Borg went for a 55-yard touchdown to put the Eagles comfortably ahead.

West Valley (6-1) started the second half even stronger with a touchdown from Elijah Newman. When the Stags got the ball back, West Valley’s Kainen Jaklitsch intercepted which eventually led to one of Zettle’s rushing touchdowns. For the Eagles’ final drive of the game, Owen Stern made a play with Ernesto Figueora for yet another touchdown.

When asked about his connection with his teammates on the field, Zettle said it begins off the field.

“It starts off just with our bond at school,” Zettle said. “Then it builds at the practices, then rolling into the games we’re just like best friends out there, ya know, family.”

Now 4-0 in league, West Valley has officially clinched a playoff spot, but they are still taking things one game at a time. They will face North Central next week, followed by East Valley on Oct. 30.

Deer Park fell to 2-5 overall, 2-3 in league. There are four GSL 2A teams tied with two wins after seven weeks.