CHATTAROY - Looking for solutions at halftime to a Riverside defense that had stymied any and all opportunities up to that point, Head Coach Greg Mace honed in on his senior skill players at quarterback and wide receiver to dig deep and make a play.
In a game where scoring opportunities for both sides would prove to be few and far between, Cale Roy connected with Colbie McEvoy on a 51-yard scoring pass on the opening Colville possession of the third quarter and followed that up with another touchdown drive early in the fourth, sparking the undefeated Hawks (1-0 NEA, 3-0 overall) to a 14-11 victory at Riverside last Thursday.
Key to the third quarter offensive production were crucial catches by both McEvoy and Allan McKeraghan in the period, allowing Colville to get key first downs and ultimately salt the game away. Still, not a thing was easy on this night.
"Coming out of half time we knew that we had to work the edges of their defense with our speed and short pass game," Mace said. "This is the area where we felt we had an advantage going into the game. Once we began to do this it loosened the defense up and allowed us to protect a little better in the pass game.
"Once again our weapons offensively are allowing us to come up with answers for problems that the defense is providing.”
Scoring a pair of offensive touchdowns proved to be enough for a Blackshirt defense that was even more stingy than the previous week. After a shutout of North Central, the Hawks did themselves one better, allowing just 105 yards of total offense and eight first downs, harassing the Ram offense throughout. In fact, the only Riverside (0-1 NEA, 1-2 overall) points of the night generated by the offense were on the first drive of the game, one that stalled deep in Colville territory and resulted in a Jake Gaffaney 36-yard field goal.
Gaffaney, Riverside's all-purpose quarterback, finished the game 2-for-11 for 56 yards and was sacked six times. The leading rusher for the Rams this season, Gaffaney ended the game with 29 yards on 20 carries.
All told, Colville allowed a miniscule 2.1 yards per play to Riverside, a state quarterfinalist from a year ago that returned a veteran team of 14 starters.
It seems the young defense is coming of age.
"This is honestly not that surprising to me," said Mace. "Dating all the way back to our Idaho summer camp where we only gave up one touchdown in three days, I knew this defense could be special. I believe we will only get better on that side of the ball. I think our defense will be a unit that we can lean on all year long.”
Career nights were had by many in the defensive unit, but junior linebacker Isaiah Porter Mills and senior defensive end Ryan Pierce shined most bright. Porter Mills recorded 19 tackles (15 primary) with a sack while Pierce totaled nine tackles (six primary), four tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. A strip-sack by Mckeraghan early in the third quarter after the first Colville score continued the visitor's momentum.
"IPM (Isaiah Porter Mills) was a man possessed out there defensively. I am so proud of that kid," explained Mace. "After his sophomore season he had a discussion with me about, 'how he could see more time as a varsity player'. I told him that he needed to get into the weight room and dedicate himself to the program. He heeded my advice and did just that. His hard work has really paid off. You love to see a kid set a goal, work hard, and then have that hard work pay off. He has really become a good linebacker, and a really fun player to watch. Some of his defensive numbers are out of this world.”
Pierce's effort on the defensive and offensive lines were paramount to the victory and a product of his continued offseason work as well. The returning senior starter has shown himself to be an able leader and gritty competitor for the turnaround Hawks.
“Ryan is another player that played absolutely fantastic defensively. He was an anchor on the defensive line all night," Mace said. "Sometimes our defensive lineman do the dirty work and do not get the stat production that linebackers do, but Ryan found a way to make an individual impact against Riverside in a big way.
"His performance from the defensive line ranks right up there with some of the greats that we have had play that position, and we have had a lot of great ones."
In his return from a pre-season injury, Hunter Gleave made his impact felt immediately, rushing for a touchdown and recording his first sack of the season in the third quarter. The junior finished with 22 yards on the ground in his 2022 debut.
Attention now turns to Newport tonight, an option-based team coming off consecutive victories against Priest River (Idaho) and Medical Lake. Sitting at 2-1, the Grizzlies are lead by a pair of seniors, fullback Nolan Loosier and quarterback Bear Smith. The duo are complemented by an offensive line that aggressively gets off the football.
No rest for the weary in the Northeast A League.
“I am excited to face a team that is going to line up and play a smash-mouth brand of ball," said Mace. "Our kids are aware that this game will resemble more of a backyard brawl than a football game defensively, and they are excited for that.”
Kickoff at Colville Stadium is at 7 PM.
Watch online on the Colville NFHS Channel (link)
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Colville 14, Riverside 11
Scoring Plays
First Quarter
RIV - Jake Gaffaney 36 FG
Second Quarter
None
Third Quarter
COL - Colbie McEvoy 51 pass from Cale Roy (Johnathan Reeves kick)
Fourth Quarter
COL - Hunter Gleave 2 run (Reeves kick)
RIV - Gaffaney 95 kickoff return (pass failed)
RIV - Safety, punter ran out of end zone
Individual Statistics
Rushing
Colville: Allan McKeraghan 3-34, Gleave 13-22, Mason Beardsley 8-13, Isaiah Porter-Mills 2-3, Roy 5-(minus) 18, Team 2-(minus) 35
Riverside: Gaffaney 20-29, Tyler Lenz 11-19, Gavin Jaeger 2-10, Team 1-(minus) 1, Braxton Welch 4-(minus) 8
Passing
Colville: Roy 9-17-1-151
Riverside: Gaffaney 2-11-0-56
Receiving
Colville: McEvoy 5-102, Emmet Marshall 2-32, McKeraghan 2-17
Riverside: Lenz 1-46, Coldin Ackerman 1-10
