Friday Night (High)lights: Prolific Ridgeline duo moving up in record books; five within one game of league lead
It’s not every week you get to cover a game with a chance to see two longstanding league records broken. We didn’t quite get there Friday night, but it was close.
First, the one that did fall: Ridgeline quarterback Landon Garner – the Greater Spokane League offensive MVP last year – threw for 372 yards to pass Shadle Park and Washington State great and Super Bowl MVP Mark Rypien and move into the No. 2 spot on the GSL all-time passing yardage list. Garner entered play needing 227 yards and passed Rypien’s mark, sent in 1980, with a 49-yard touchdown completion late in the third quarter.
“I can’t even believe I just did that,” Garner said.
Garner now has 5,110 career passing yards, but No. 1 is safe – Mark’s nephew Brett Rypien’s GSL career mark is 9,164 yards set in 2014. The younger Rypien, a star at Shadle and Boise State, currently plays for the Minnesota Vikings.
Garner’s top target, receiver Brayden Allen, can soon add yet another record to his long list. Allen had seven catches for 88 yards with a touchdown and needs just 67 yards to pass Shadle Park’s Tanner Pauly (2011-13) at the top of the all-time receiving yards list. Allen already holds league records for game, season and career receptions.
Airing it out
On top of the record-breaking, Garner and Allen – along with slot receiver Tanner Guard – led Ridgeline to a 48-44 win over Shadle Park on Friday. Call it a barn burner, track meet, prize fight … whatever. The game featured 13 touchdowns and the teams combined to score on eight of 10 total possessions in the second half.
There were only three punt attempts in the game, and one was blocked. Turnovers halted three drives, each team turned in over on downs once and oh, there was a safety. They combined to throw 66 passes for more than 600 yards. It’s no wonder the game almost lasted 3 hours.
Guard was the revelation in this one. The lesser-utilized senior receiver entered the game with one career touchdown and exploded for three – on catches of 24, 44 and 49 yards. His only other catch was a 43-yarder that moved the Falcons from the shadow of their own goalposts to set up another touchdown.
And we would be remiss not to mention the gutty performance of Shadle Park quarterback Kaden Hooper. One of the league’s top dual-threat backs, Hooper finished 22-of-37 passing for 246 yards with two TD passes, and carried 31 times for 135 yards with two scores.
Hooper came into the game with a lower leg injury and toughed it out, practically willing the Highlanders to stay in the game. He had to be helped off the field at one point with Shadle in the red zone, but reentered later to help the Highlanders take the late lead before Ridgeline came back.
More of the same
Gonzaga Prep has scored 27 or more points – sometimes significantly more – in each of its four games this season. Friday night the Bullpups completed the assignment yet again.
They returned the opening kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown and never looked back in a 42-21 win over Cheney, giving Nate Graham his first GSL win over big brother John. G-Prep led 35-7 after three quarters.
Jonah Keller had a 32-yard TD run and a 39-yard TD catch from Sam Kincaid, who threw for 129 yards and three touchdowns for Gonzaga Prep. Isaiah Docken added six catches for 90 yards and two scores as the Bullpups extended their season-starting winning streak to 4-0.
‘Bell’ tolls
Mead ran its record to 4-0 as well with a convincing 27-7 win over Mt. Spokane in its annual “Battle of the Bell” rivalry game. Four different players scored touchdowns, including Landon Thomas’ 32-yard interception return for a score that made it 21-0 in the third quarter.
Keegan Mallon continued his impressive start to the season carrying 24 times for 185 yards with a TD.
On the other hand, Mt. Spokane finds itself in uncharted waters with an 0-4 start. The Wildcats, which have been one of the league powerhouses and a perennial playoff contender for the past decade, have been outscored 107-42 this season.
Ups and downs
Central Valley bounced back from its loss to Mead last week and rolled over Ferris 45-0, while Lewis and Clark continued its strong start under new coach Kyle Snell by beating University 38-2. The Bears and Tigers, along with Shadle Park, sit one back behind division leaders Gonzaga Prep and Mead – half the league sits with one loss or fewer four weeks into the season.
That means the other half, well, are not winning. Ridgeline has split four games this season, but the others – Cheney, Ferris, Mt. Spokane and U-Hi – have one win between them – Cheney’s 44-6 win over Ferris in Week 3. Ferris and U-Hi have scored just 26 points apiece (6.5 per game) this season.
Austin powers
West Valley is off to a 4-0 start and won its first league game on Friday, downing Pullman 39-10. It could have been worse, but the Eagles made some mistakes and turned the ball over a couple of times in the first half before they got their act together in the second.
Leading the way as he has all season was Austin Clark, who finished with five touchdowns – four rushing and one receiving. He scored on runs of 12, 5, 11 and 10 yards and his lone catch of the day was a 22-yard TD. He carried 17 times for 121 yards.
“The front seven were amazing for me,” he told S-R reporter Greg Lee after the game. “I’d like to thank them for giving me the opportunity to do what I do.”