Republic rolls into semis
Tigers’ offense piles up points while Cusick loses QB to injury
The stage was set for another Republic-Cusick defensive battle when fate frowned on Cusick.
Cusick lost starting quarterback Spirit White to a suspected dislocated elbow early in the second quarter Friday night, opening the door for Republic to turn the State 1B football quarterfinal into an offensive display.
“Spirit is a great competitor for them and he does a lot of good things offensively, but defensively he’s kind of an anchor,” Tigers coach Chris Burch said after a 68-13 victory lifted the Tigers (11-1) into next weekend’s semifinals. “Once that happened, it kind of opened up our running game even more.”
Cusick (10-2) had the ball at its 29-yard line and trailed 12-7 when White suffered his injury after a 3-yard run. No ambulances were on site at Gonzaga Prep, leading to a delay of nearly 30 minutes in pouring rain while fans and players waited for emergency personnel.
“I actually saw his injury and I kind of cringed myself,” said junior QB Aaron Fritts, who ran for 184 of the Tigers’ 463 yards and two touchdowns. “When a player goes down, you can do nothing but feel bad for him.”
Republic defeated Cusick 33-30 three weeks ago, so another tight game was expected. Instead, the Tigers outscored the Panthers 34-0 in the second quarter and ran away to their 11th consecutive win.
Republic senior Alex Rivera rushed for four TDs and 136 yards before sitting out most of the second half.
“(The last game) was a defensive battle and I thought it was going to be the same way tonight,” Fritts said. “Going into that second quarter, being only up by five points, we had the mentality that they were going to come out and show us a ballgame and we were going to give the same.”
Cusick called on Tyson Shanholtzer to replace White.
“Shanholtzer was their starter last time we played them, so I knew they still had a decent quarterback after Spirit came out,” Burch said.
Forced to throw in an attempt to rally, Shanholtzer struggled with the slippery football and completed 4 of 20 passes for 71 yards, with 70 yards coming on a late TD pass to lineman Bryce Nomee.
Fritts threw just three times and completed one, a 17-yarder to Rivera.
“Tonight obviously wasn’t the perfect setting to be passing the ball,” Burch said. “We’re very strong on the ground and in this kind of situation, why throw it if you don’t have to?”
Cusick senior Alec Bluff, whose 79-yard run from the 1-yard line set up the Panthers’ first score, was ejected in the second quarter after his second unsportsmanlike penalty.
Republic’s semifinal rival will be decided today, when Garfield-Palouse plays Liberty Christian in Pasco.