Garrett Miller forces key turnover as Mead rallies past Lewis and Clark 30-16

Lewis and Clark free safety Mason Kershaw tackles Mead running back James Fraham during the first half Friday in Greater Spokane League play at Union Stadium.

Mead football coach Keith Stamps wasn’t sure how much his team improved from the first week to Friday.

The final score won’t show the battle in which the Panthers found themselves, trailing 16-6 early in the third quarter.

But Mead, fueled by its defense, scored 24 unanswered points to turn away the Lewis and Clark Tigers 30-16 in a Greater Spokane League game between 4A foes at Union Stadium.

Junior linebacker Garrett Miller came up with one of the key plays for Mead. With LC (1-1) facing second-and-goal at the 4-yard line, Miller chased quarterback Tyler Daniel, forcing a fumble as he sacked him, and Mead recovered at its 28.

Six plays later, Mead quarterback JJ Leman rolled left and threw a screen pass back right to running back Keegan Mallon, who scampered 33 yards into the end zone to give the Panthers (2-0) the lead for good at 20-16 with 8:37 remaining.

Mead’s defense struck again when Chase Pluid intercepted a pass to give the Panthers the ball at LC’s 23.

Moments later, Donovan Damiano extended the lead to a touchdown when he converted on a 26-yard kick with 5:34 to go.

Mead’s defense stepped up one more time, recovering a fumble at midfield.

Then on fourth-and-11, Leman hit Matt McShane, who got behind LC’s secondary for a 31-yard touchdown for the final points.

Leman and Miller hooked up earlier in the game on a 55-yard scoring play.

“I’m really proud of the way our defense hung in there tonight,” Stamps said. “Credit to (LC), they did a nice job. They hit a couple big plays on us. But our defense played really well.”

The turning point in the first half was opportunistic any way you look at it.

With Mead blitzing a linebacker, Lewis and Clark’s speedy running back Romin Saleki hit the empty hole, bouncing outside and up the sideline 78 yards for a go-ahead touchdown midway in the second quarter. The Tigers made the 10-6 lead stand going into halftime.

Mead’s offense was hit and miss in the first half. The Panthers rushed for 103 yards on 21 attempts, taking a 6-0 lead when quarterback JJ Leman dashed 11 yards untouched with 6:27 to go in the first period quarter.

LC cut the lead in half at 6-3 when Tyler Reed made a 22-yard field goal with 11:51 to go before halftime.

The Panthers were driving when Jimmy Frahm fumbled at the LC 12-yard line.

Two plays later, Saleki made the turnover hurt when he broke off the big play. He had 103 yards on five carries in the first half.

Mead bounced back in the second half.

“I thought there were some defense execution things that we did better (than last week),” Stamps said.

“Last week, we didn’t have the fumble issue. We put the ball on the ground a couple times. Those were huge in the first half. I think we can get in the locker room with 21 (points) on the board if we take care of the ball.”

From a toughness standpoint, Stamps was particularly pleased.

“I say this every chance I get, but this is a high-character group of kids that trust each other and believe in each other,” Stamps said. “There was no panic, there was no concern.”

Stamps praised Miller.

“He’s a high football IQ player,” Stamps said.

“Coach talked to us at halftime that we had to have the juice all game,” Miller said. “We trust in each other. It was great.”