Week 4 prep football preview: Battle of the Bell presents opportunity for both teams; Cheney showdown against Gonzaga Prep
After three weeks in the Greater Spokane League 4A/3A division, three teams remain undefeated, and two of those – perennial powerhouse Gonzaga Prep and upstart Cheney – face off Friday. The other undefeated team, Mead, takes on district foe Mt. Spokane in their annual rivalry game.
It is the second week of league play in 2A, and teams are still jockeying for position.
Let’s go around the league and take a closer look at the matchups for Week 4.
All game Friday 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted.
Game of the week
Mt. Spokane (2-1) at Mead (3-0): This game means a lot every season. The rosters are made up of players that have played with and against each other their entire lives. It is the one they all circle on the calendar when the schedules come out. For the second year in a row it is in Week 4, earlier in the season than most folks involved would probably like.
Regardless, this year’s edition of the Battle of the Bell presents both teams with a big opportunity.
For Mead, it’s a chance to go 4-0 as the Panthers hope to set up a showdown with Gonzaga Prep on Oct. 24 with the league regular season title and the top 4A seed to state on the line.
Mt. Spokane will be fired up for a chance to prove its 2-0 start, where it outscored opponents 83-0, is the real Wildcats – not the team that lost 48-20 to Gonzaga Prep where they struggled all game before putting up points against the Bullpups backups in the fourth quarter.
GSL 4A/3A
Gonzaga Prep (3-0) at Cheney (3-0): It’s the second matchup of head coaching brothers, with Nate Graham’s Bullpups facing John Graham’s Blackhawks.
The upstart Blackhawks have back-to-back blowout wins against winless teams the past two weeks and face a real test against the Bullpups. Cheney wants to grind it with their running game and complement with an efficient passing attack.
G-Prep comes off an impressive performance against Mt Spokane, where the Bullpups dominated in all three phases of the game.
University (2-1) at Lewis and Clark (1-2): Thursday 4 p.m. at ONE Spokane Stadium. If it wasn’t for Cheney’s success, the Titans might qualify for surprise of the season so far in coach Joe Ireland’s second season. LC will present a good test for them – they lost a heartbreaker to Cheney in Week 1 and blew out Ridgeline last week.
Ridgeline (0-3) at Shadle Park (1-2): Thursday 7 p.m. at ONE. The Highlanders hope to recover from a 61-6 loss to U-Hi in which they allowed more than 300 yards rushing. The Falcons have been able to move the ball at times this season, but turnovers and penalties have limited their scoring opportunities.
Central Valley (0-3) at Ferris (0-3): Friday 5 p.m. at ONE. The Bears have been shut out twice in their three losses and hope to be able to move the ball against a Saxons team that has surrendered 127 points in three games.
GSL 2A
Rogers (2-1, 1-0) at North Central (1-2, 0-1): Friday 8 p.m. at ONE. The Pirates fired on all cylinders last week in a 46-0 win over Clarkston, their first win over the Bantams since Clarkston joined the league. NC’s lone win thus far came over 2B Chewelah.
West Valley (2-1, 0-0) at Pullman (0-3, 0-1): The Eagles bounced back from a loss to 1A Lakeside in Week 2 to beat 1A Riverside 49-12 in Week 3, with quarterback Nathan Zettle accounting for four touchdowns – three through the air and one on the ground. The Greyhounds lost a tough one in overtime in Deer Park last week.
East Valley (1-2, 1-0) at Deer Park (1-2, 1-0): One of these teams, who combined for four league wins last year, will be tied for first in the league after Week 4.
Nonleague
Clarkston (0-3) at Omak (1-2): The Bantams, who have been shut out in back-to-back weeks, make a 234-mile road trip to face the Pioneers of the Caribou Trail League.