Caleb Shawen toughs it out as Mead beats Mt. Spokane in ‘Battle of the Bell’

Regular-season games don’t come any bigger than this – even if there were no playoff implications on the line.

The annual “Battle of the Bell” between Mead and Mt. Spokane is always a big game. The teams from the same school district always take this game as seriously as if a state berth was on the line… sometimes even more so.

And with the game added to the “Great American Rivalry Series,” giving it some national attention, the stakes were ratcheted up even another notch.

So with eyes around the state – and country – focused in, the only thing left to wonder was if the game would live up to its billing.

It did. And then some.

Mead’s Panthers built a 27-7 halftime lead, then withstood a furious comeback to finally clinch with a goal-line stand as time expired.

Caleb Shawen carried 20 times for 181 yards and Mead outlasted Mt. Spokane 34-28 in a Greater Spokane League showdown at Albi Stadium on Friday.

Shawen left midway through the fourth quarter with an injured shoulder playing defense, but returned two possessions later to pick up an important first down late – when every play was critical to the outcome.

“I’m a little disappointed about my shoulder, but we played well,” Shawen said. “They definitely came back. I mean, I’ll give it to them, but we played well.”

“Toughest kid I know,” Mead quarterback Ryan Blair said of Shawen. “Every time I watch him, gets the ball and goes down, I just hope to God he comes back up, honestly. It’s tough watching him run because he gets smacked out there.”

Blair finished 16 of 24 for 167 yards with four TD passes.

“I still can’t believe what happened there,” Blair said. “I mean, it could have gone either way, but what a great game, and I’m super proud of our team. You know, we have a lot of unselfish guys. And it was all just a special win. I don’t know if we can understand it right now.”

Every play took on heightened significance because every time Mt. Spokane’s Kannon Katzer touched the ball in the second half it seemed like he would score. He finished with 284 yards on 30 carries with touchdowns on runs of 50, 21, 54 and 48 yards.

Down six points late in the fourth, Mt. Spokane’s defense stopped Mead on consecutive possessions and got the ball back at the 50 on a muffed punt with 3:33 to go. The Wildcats were faced with fourth-and-1 from the Mead 41 and Katzer went off-tackle for 2.

Jeter Schuerman hit Tommy Madill down to the 1 inside a minute to go, but there was some discrepancy about whether it was a catch or interception. It stood as a catch, but time ticked away and the Wildcats had one play left – but Katzer was stuffed to preserve the win.

“I just walked around the defense,” Shawen said. “I told them, I was like, ‘I’m not gonna get in your face. This is how bad you guys want it.’ And we came back and played our game.”

It was all Mead early.

Mt. Spokane (3-1) went three-and-out on its first possession and after the punt Mead started in Wildcats territory. On their second play, Shawen took a draw, busted a tackle, and went 41 yards for the early touchdown.

Mead used a designed short pop-up kickoff and Parker Startin recovered at the Mt. Spokane 33 to get the ball back. Shawen rushed for 14 yards then Blair hit Evan Wiersma in the right corner of the end zone for a 14-yard TD pass and 14-0 lead, not even 3 minutes into the game.

Katzer picked up 13 yards on a draw and Schuerman found Hudson Gilbert for 14 on a screen. Katzer spun his way for 19 yards down to the 8, but the drive stalled and Ethan Moczulski’s 24-yard field-goal attempt was no good.

A roughing the passer penalty put Mead at the 50, then Blair found an uncovered Kolby Blackler down the left sideline for 32 yards to the Mt. Spokane 18. Two plays later, Blair connected with Wiersma on a slant for a 12-yard touchdown pass. The kick missed and Mead led 20-0 with 11:55 in the half.

After trading punts, Mead got the ball back with 2:03 left in the half. The Wildcats’ defense left Blackler uncovered again and Blair hooked up with his receiver for 37 yards to the 18. After a short pass play, Blair hit Blackler with a bullet at the goal line for a 13-yard score and 27-0 lead.

A celebrating penalty put Mt. Spokane at the 50 after the kickoff. Katzer finally got loose and broke a tackle at the 5 to get into the end zone and put the Wildcats on the board with 1:11 left.

On the second play of the second half, Blair tossed to Wiersma, who coughed it up and Cooper Miethe recovered at the 21. On the next play, Katzer swept left and coasted into the end zone to draw the Wildcats within two scores at 27-14.

On Mt. Spokane’s next possession Katzer busted another one, shrugging off tacklers to go 54 yards to score and make it a six-point game

Mead took over at its 20 and systematically worked its way upfield, with Shawen converting a third-and-13 with a 14-yard pickup on a draw. On third-and-8, Blair hit Wiersma on a down-and-out at the goal line for their third touchdown connection and Mead led 34-21 with 1:56 left in the third.

Three plays later Katzer broke another one, going for 48 yards and his fourth score of the game. Mt. Spokane trailed 34-28 after three quarters, with Katzer totaling 270 yards on the ground.