Beckett Ensminger, Jordan Dever lead Shadle Park over Rogers 42-7
Beckett Ensminger rushed 17 times for 163 yards with two touchdowns and the Shadle Park Highlanders beat the visiting Rogers Pirates 42-7 in a Greater Spokane League 2A game on Saturday.
Ensminger added five catches for 48 yards with a 6-yard TD. The bruising fullback had just four touches in the second half.
Shadle Park quarterback Natreven Dickerson completed 14 of 17 passes for 201 yards with four touchdown passes. Receiver Jordan Dever made seven catches for 117 yards with TD catches of 18 and 29 yards.
“Beckett and Dever are probably, I think, the two best players in the league and we will ride those guys as long as we can,” Shadle Park coach Jim Mace said. “Our O-line is playing really physical right now (and) the quarterback is making good reads. So it’s been a great combo.”
Rogers QB Deon Kinsey rushed 26 times for 101 yards with a touchdown and completed 8 of 12 passes for 59 yards.
“Shadle is a really solid team, very experienced, senior heavy and they took it to us,” Rogers coach Mike Dewey said. “So we learn from it, and we go back and look at the film and get better next week. Just try to keep continuing to improve.”
The Highlanders (4-1, 3-0) took the opening kick and covered 65 yards on 11 plays, the last a 6-yard TD run by Ensminger.
Rogers (1-4, 0-2) came right back. Kinsey carried for 8 and 11 yards, then broke around the end and went 36 yards for a score to tie it at 7.
It was all Shadle Park after that.
Dickerson found Dever for an 18-yard score on the Highlanders’ next possession. After a Rogers three-and-out and subsequent short punt, Shadle needed just six plays to find the end zone again on Ensminger’s 8-yard run.
“Beckett, when he gets a little bit of gap, he makes a lot of plays,” Mace said.
Late in the half, Dickerson hit Kam Odell on a post route for a 28-yard touchdown pass, and the Highlanders led 28-7 at halftime.
Dever scored on the same route from 29 yards early in the third, and Ensminger took a swing pass 6 yards later in the quarter to cap the scoring.
“Our biggest focus right now as a team is getting better at tackling, especially in space,” Mace said. “A lot of young guys were getting a little better there, and in the second half played a lot better.”
Late in the game, Rogers put together a 17-play drive – which started at its 16 – and had second-and-1 at the 2. But the Highlanders called timeout, then stuffed the Pirates on three consecutive plays.
Shadle Park has a win in hand over Pullman (3-1, 2-0), which was off this week. The teams square off on Friday in Pullman.
“We’re trying to tell the guys competition is getting better a little bit each week,” Mace said. “We got to get better, it’s a short turnaround to Pullman – a lot of work cut out for us.”