Heavy doses of Nate Moinette pace Gonzaga Prep over Central Valley; Bullpups claim top 4A seed to districts

Gonzaga Prep is having a typical Gonzaga Prep season. Outscoring opponents by more than 25 points per game? Check. Rushing for more than 230 yards per game? Check. Top of the Greater Spokane League 4A division? Check.

Unlike most seasons, though, the state’s RPI, MaxPreps and the state media poll aren’t particularly impressed – none has the Bullpups ranked in its top 10.

But don’t ask Gonzaga Prep about the rankings. If the coaches or players do think about it, they certainly won’t talk about it – they let their play speak.

And maybe, if they go unranked through the season, they’ll sneak up on some unsuspecting team from the West Side in a couple of weeks.

Nate Moinette carried 28 times for 188 yards and two touchdowns – almost all between the tackles – and the Bullpups beat visiting Central Valley 28-0 to stay undefeated in GSL 4A/3A, clinch the league’s top 4A seed to the District 8 playoffs and set up a date against similarly undefeated Mt. Spokane on Friday at Union Stadium.

The Bullpups (6-1, 6-0) gained 232 yards on the ground .

“We got the one seed tonight. We get homefield for that first crossover game, which is huge,” G-Prep coach Dave McKenna said. “I want our kids to be successful. If that comes with a win, great. But if we do the things we ask them to do, then all the Ws take care of themselves. We preach that and I firmly believe that.”

Central Valley coach Ryan Butner came away with respect for what the Bullpups have achieved this season.

“They’ve improved so much from losing all 11 starters on offense (from last year). They just have a way offensively of finding creases, regardless of what you throw at them. And they do that every single year and so this year was no different.”

Moinette, listed at 6-foot, 180 pounds, tested the interior of the CV line time and again.

“I’m not the strongest, not the fastest,” he said. “But I have the grit and when you have that, no one can stop me.”

“I call him ‘Wall.’ He’ll run through a wall,” McKenna said. “He’s a joy to coach and he’s incredible off the field, too.”

Moinette was scheduled to back up injured Noah Holman at the dive back this season.

“I’ve been working day in day out, kept running and kept running, running hard,” Moinette said. “It’s nice knowing my coaches have enough confidence in me. It gives me confidence.”

“We had a game plan to stop the dive,” Butner said. “We really emphasized that this week. But you can’t simulate it in practice, the speed in which they hit it – you can’t match it.”

McKenna was also proud of the Bullpups’ defensive effort.

“Credit those defensive guys – they bend, but they didn’t break,” he said. “They created a couple of turnovers, and we talked about that. We work on it the best we can, but on Friday nights, amped up a little bit more. It’s a little different.”

G-Prep interior lineman Mario Rivera had two sacks and several quarterback pressures.

“It always starts at practice and as a team, no one person is doing all the work – it’s all a unit,” Rivera said. “If one person gets a tackle, it’s a whole team. And we all know that, so we trust one another.”

Despite the loss, Central Valley (2-5, 2-4) still has a shot to claim the 4A’s second seed to districts, although that would mean playing on Tuesday after their Week 9 game.

“We’re obviously dialed in on these next two weeks in hopes that we can earn that Tuesday bid,” Butner said. “Weird things happen in the playoffs and you can make long runs if you’re clicking at the right time.”

On G-Prep’s first drive, Moinette had carries of 23 and 15 yards to get into the CV red zone. On first-and-goal from 8, he bulled his way through the middle of the line for an early 7-0 lead.

Moinette handled the ball on seven of the Bullpups’ first eight plays.

CV went three-and-out, and a short punt put G-Prep at its 43.

Nine plays and a facemask penalty later, Bodie Stafford hit Jonah Keller on a 5-yard slant for a 14-0 lead with just under 4 minutes left in the first quarter.

Midway through the second quarter, G-Prep culminated a 10-play, 58-yard drive with a Keller 5-yard touchdown run to go up 21-0.

Central Valley put together its best drive of the half in its latter stages, reaching the G-Prep 17 with 32 seconds to go. But Bo Reisenauer was sacked by Hughes Niyonishu and Rivera on successive plays to end the half.

“We saw them pick up a couple first downs, we knew we had to kick it into gear,” Rivera said. “Finish off the game. Keep the donut on the board.”

The teams traded punts in the third quarter, but the Bullpups used a late 10-play, 65-yard drive – with heavy doses of Moinette – to score again as the junior rumbled in from 11 yards out.