(Photo - Cale Roy unleashes a throw in Colville's 47-26 victory at Rogers (Spokane) Saturday afternoon.)

SPOKANE - Eager to prove their mettle after a 2021 campaign where little went according to plan, the Colville football program traveled to Rogers High School to open its season with a clean slate. Much to their surprise, it had to endure an opponent that popped out of nowhere Saturday morning - wildfire smoke.

A three-hour delay may have paused the start of the Crimson Hawks’ opener, but the visitors came out firing with an opening 80-yard touchdown drive and never looked back, defeating the Pirates 47-26. It was the third consecutive opening day win for Head Coach Greg Mace in his tenure.

“Last season was tough for us for a number of reasons, and I felt it was very important for our team to hit the ground running in 2022,” Mace said. “Our team’s mentality going into this game was very positive, focused, and full of energy. Furthermore, I believe this is an extension of the work that this group has put in during the offseason and all of fall camp. They have been able to carry this attitude and effort on a consistent basis, and if this continues it can make us a dangerous team moving forward.”

Behind an offensive line that was breaking in three new starters, senior quarterback Cale Roy shined, throwing for 275 yards and four touchdowns, both career highs, and added two scores on the ground. Roy’s six total touchdowns tied the school record for most by a quarterback in school history, matching Pat Monasmith’s mark in 1976 against Post Falls (ID).

“Cale Roy, if we are being honest, is just a ‘late bloomer’,” Mace explained. “He has really grown up physically in the last year. I could really see this in his junior baseball campaign where he earned NEA MVP honors as a catcher. He has always been an extremely smart athlete and now he has the physical tools to match his intelligence. His growth with the addition of our weapons coming back from injury in 2021 has made him a really dangerous player, and we are looking for continued great play from him.”

Both Colbie McEvoy and Allan McKeraghan lost their junior football seasons to ACL injuries, causing a tremendous void in the passing game for last year’s squad. The wide receivers made an impact in their collective return to the gridiron, with McEvoy scoring Colville’s first points of the season on a five-yard slant and adding a 40-yard score on a catch and run to end the first half and stake the Crimson Hawks to a 27-8 edge at intermission. McKeraghan caught the longest score of the game, a 61-yard touchdown from Roy late in the second quarter. McEvoy finished with six receptions and 130 yards, while McKeraghan gained 68 through the air. The duo totaled all of their yardage before halftime.

“Having these two dynamic receivers back has opened up our offense in a number of ways,” said Mace. “Colbie is a tall, smooth route runner, who can win vertically and high point the ball really well. We saw this several times against Rogers. Allan is a dynamic athlete who is ultra fast. He can really take a top off the defense, and we were able to find him for an explosive play as well. We will continue to look for ways to feed both of these guys the ball as we move forward.”

Not to be outdone was a run game that churned out 205 yards on the ground, led by junior Isaiah Porter-Mills (15 carries for 94 yards) and freshman Mason Beardsley (7 carries, 71 yards). The pair found good running room behind a new-look offensive line that still boasts senior stalwarts Ryan Pierce and Hayden Sattler amongst its five starters, both of whom have displayed great leadership with the group at practice.

“Overall I was very pleased with the performance of our young offensive line. They are a very smart group and they were continually in the right place at the right time,” Mace said. “I believe as the year goes on we will continue to get more and more physical, and only get better. I am really excited for what the future holds for this group.”

Defensively, one full-time starter and three who had multiple starts returned from a unit that saw its own share of challenges the previous year. After a successful offseason that was highlighted by the Blackshirts allowing one score for the entirety of the University of Idaho camp, the staff knew they had the makings of an up-and-coming group. In its first game back, the defense limited Rogers to 247 yards of total offense, 90 of which came on the final drive. This, while dealing with Pirate QB Deon Kinsey, an all-purpose talent that can cause many a headache for defensive staffs and players. Kinsey threw for 82 of his 115 yards on Rogers’ last possession.

“I felt our defense did an admirable job of dealing with him (Kinsey) in our first outing,” said Mace. “We have some perimeter run game issues to clean up, but they are all very fixable. I was really impressed with the way our entire defense ran to the football. That has always been a hallmark of our great defenses - getting as many hats to the ball as possible - and we did a great job of that.

“This could be a really good unit.”

Emmet Marshall led the defense with five solo tackles (eight total). Roy contributed four solo tackles, while Porter-Mills matched Marshall with eight total stops. Mace was excited about the personnel on Defensive Coordinator Bill Carpenter's new-look crew.

“I think Emmet Marshall has an opportunity to be one of the best linebackers we have had in quite some time. He has really come into his own. He runs well, reads well, and has a nose for the ball,” Mace said. “I also felt Cale played really well at down safety. Colbie (McEvoy) is going to be one of the best corners in the league. He was really solid in coverage all day and had really great effort most of the day.”

In addition to his defensive exploits, Marshall also caught the first touchdown of his career, a 39-yard strike from Roy in the third quarter.

Next up for the Crimson Hawks is another date with a GSL 2A league member, this time North Central. Friday’s home opener welcomes the Wolfpack, who had a bye in week 1. NC returns eight starters from a team that finished 2-5 in 2021. Coach Mace is excited to see his team’s growth after finally getting to evaluate their performance in a game setting.

“We would like to clean up some blocking issues in the run game for week two,” Mace explained. “We felt that we missed a few assignments that if cleaned up could open some holes for longer runs. Our defense did a great job of running to the football, but the emphasis will now shift to finishing with more authority.”

Colville 47, Rogers (Spokane) 26

Scoring Plays
First Quarter
COL - Colbie McEvoy 5 pass from Cale Roy (Johnathan Reeves kick)
ROG - Hartman Warrick 15 pass from Fritz Reiher (Deon Kinsey run)

Second Quarter
COL - Isaiah Porter-Mills 2 run (kick blocked)
COL - Allan McKeraghan 61 pass from Roy (Reeves kick)
COL - McEvoy 40 pass from Roy (Reeves kick)

Third Quarter
ROG - Warrick 2 pass from Kinsey (pass failed)
COL - Emmet Marshall 39 pass from Roy (Reeves kick)

Fourth Quarter
COL - Roy 5 run (Reeves kick)
ROG - Gabe Skinner 81 kickoff return (run failed)
COL - Roy 12 run (kick blocked)
ROG - Jashon Moore 48 pass from Kinsey (pass failed)

Individual Statistics
Rushing
Colville: Porter-Mills 15-94, Mason Beardsley 7-71, Roy 6-38, McKeraghan 6-6, Team 1-(minus) 4
Rogers: Kinsey 15-98, Aryq Griffey 6-12, Moore 3-7, Gordon Warrick 1-0

Passing
Colville: Roy 11-18-0-275
Rogers: Kinsey 8-14-0-115, Reiher 1-1-0-15

Receiving
Colville: McEvoy 6-130, McKeraghan 2-68, Marshall 1-39, Beardsley 2-38
Rogers: Moore 4-81, H. Warrick 3-22, Gabe Aubochon 1-22, Aiden Cain 1-5