Gsl Favorites Play Part CV Holds Off Mead To Get Upper Hand

Maybe in eight weeks, when the State AAA football playoffs begin, the real significance of Central Valley’s 27-19 victory over Mead at Albi Stadium on Friday night will surface.

For now, the coaches can only hope it was a learning experience for the teams favored to go 1-2 in the Greater Spokane League.

“They put us on the ropes early and our team didn’t respond real well until late in the third quarter,” said Mead coach Mike McLaughlin, who has guided the Panthers into the playoffs the last six years. “Hopefully, we learned we can compete.”

His counterpart for CV, Rick Giampietri, was wondering why his team didn’t keep the Panthers down.

“We could have blown them away,” he said.

Plenty of football remains in a league that has shown some Jeckyll and Hyde tendencies after just two weeks, but CV and Mead certainly displayed enough flashes to deserve their favorite’s roles - if they can shore up the weaknesses they managed to unmask on each other.

In the first game of the doubleheader, played before 6,235 fans, Lewis and Clark held on for a 3-0 victory over Rogers. In a non-league game at North Central, Cheney beat the Indians 38-15.

Central Valley capitalized on an early mental error by Mead to open a 3-0 lead and scored on its next three possessions for a for a 24-13 lead at the half. The Bears then opened the second half with a field goal and started on the Mead 32 for its next possession before the offense finally faltered.

After Mead cut the deficit to 27-19 with a four-play, 80-yard drive, the Bears marched from their 28 to Mead’s 11 before a field goal was blocked and the Panthers still had life.

However, the Panthers’ drive from their 19 to CV’s 24 went for naught when they missed a field goal and a final drive took them from their 24 to the 22 before the Bears managed to stop them save the game.

“Give all the credit to CV,” McLaughlin said. “They played well enough to win. We were close. At least we were in a position to make the plays.”

CV quarterback R.J. Del Mese, who hit 10 of 15 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns, was the difference. His passing allowed the Bears to add 200 yards rushing.

“He just had a super game,” Giampietri said. “Him and Ryan Millar (who had four catches for 110 yards and both TDs) made some great connections.”

McLaughlin said, “Their quarterback made some big plays. We had two untested cornerbacks and he took advantage of them. They both became better by the end of the game.”

That’s what both coaches hope happens for their team in the next seven weeks.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: INSIDE Scores, statistics and an in-depth look at Friday night’s GSL football action.