Week 3 prep football preview: 4A/3A juggernauts face off with regular season league title implications; 2As start league play
It appears the Greater Spokane League 4A/3A division this season is made up of a few juggernauts while the rest fight for scraps. Four teams are undefeated after two weeks, four are winless, and two are at .500 with their only wins coming over one of the other struggling teams.
There is a clear game of the week this week though, with two of the undefeated teams squaring off for early bragging rights.
The situation isn’t much better down a level, as the seven 2A teams have combined to go 3-11 over the first two weeks of the season – mostly against schools from smaller classifications.
But the 2As get into league games this week, so at least we can start sorting out which might look like playoff teams and which are still searching for their identities.
Let’s go around the league and take a closer look at the matchups for Week 3.
All games Friday at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted.
Game of the week
Mt. Spokane (2-0) at Gonzaga Prep (2-0): The Bullpups have outscored their opponents 89-10. The Wildcats have won two games by a combined 83-0. It is a testament to the two teams, the two programs and the coaching staffs, for sure. But it also says a lot, unfortunately, about the state of the league right now.
G-Prep, which has most of the players back from a team that reached a state semifinal last season, is ranked No. 2 in 4A in the state media poll, garnering two votes for the top spot. Mt. Spokane, which started the season unranked after a .500 season last year, is No. 9 in 3A after its impressive start.
The two teams look like the class of their respective classifications so far this season and virtual shoo-ins for the playoffs, so this game probably won’t have postseason implications. But it could very well be an elimination game in the hunt for the GSL regular season title.
GSL 4A/3A
Central Valley (0-2) at Mead (2-0): The Panthers let off the gas a little last week in their 42-14 win over LC, otherwise their scoring stats would look similar to G-Prep and Mt. Spokane. They take on a CV team that gave up four touchdowns after building a 10-0 lead against archrival U-Hi.
Lewis and Clark (0-2) at Ridgeline (0-2): The Tigers struggled mightily on offense last week in their 42-14 loss to Mead but got a couple of late touchdowns to build some confidence. The Falcons moved the ball a little bit but had trouble finding the end zone and gave up a pair of return touchdowns in a 35-6 loss to Cheney.
Ferris (0-2) at Cheney (2-0): The Blackhawks, under second-year coach John Graham, rushed 36 times after building an early lead and controlled the clock in their win over Ridgeline. They take on a Saxons squad that is 1-26 in league over the past four seasons.
Shadle Park (1-1) at University (1-1): It’s early, but this could be a potential playoff tiebreaker in the GSL 3A ranks.
The Titans bounced back from a lopsided loss to Mead in Week 1 by earning a comeback win over Central Valley in the schools’ annual “Greasy Pig” rivalry game – only the third time in the last 21 years the pig has gone to U-Hi. Shadle escaped with a one-score win over Ferris in Week 1 and was steamrolled by Mt. Spokane 41-0 in Week 2.
GSL 2A
Clarkston (0-2) at Rogers (1-1): Friday 5 p.m. at ONE Spokane Stadium. After losing to 4A A.C. Davis in Week 1, Rogers went to 2B power Freeman last week and earned a 21-14 win over the Scotties. Coby Spurgin had two first-half touchdown passes, and Antonio Fletcher III rushed for 138 yards for the Pirates. The Bantams were shut out 46-0 by Lewiston in their annual rivalry game.
East Valley (0-2) at North Central (1-1): Friday 8 p.m. at ONE Spokane Stadium. The Wolfpack went down two levels to earn a win over 2B Chewelah last week and put up 47 points in the process. The Knights lost a tough one last week in overtime to 1A Riverside.
Pullman (0-2) at Deer Park (0-2): The Greyhounds have been outscored 60-13 thus far while the Stags have allowed 74 points.
Nonleague
West Valley (1-1) at Riverside (1-1): The Eagles look to bounce back on the road after losing to 1A Lakeside last week.
NE2B
Freeman (1-1) vs Northwest Christian (2-0): Saturday 5 p.m. at Riverside HS. The battle for supremacy in the area 2B between two ranked teams comes early this season.