Gorilla caper will offer top slot in NE grid race

Justin Berarducci picks off a Charger pass at Springdale on the way to an early score Friday. Colfax defense took a toll on the way to a 51-0 win over the Chargers for their second league shutout.

After stacking a decisive fourth straight win on the season, Colfax gridders Friday will depart for Davenport for an early NE league showdown. Both teams will go into Friday’s game with 2-0 league records.

Colfax will depart on their third straight road trip after pegging a 51-0 win over Mary Walker in a dominator last week at Springdale.

Davenport moved to 2-0 in the league with a 24-14 win over the Liberty Lancers. Their other league win was over Springdale two weeks ago.

Coach Mike Morgan noted the Gorillas have three veteran backs who key their offense. One member of the trio, Justin Piper, was out of the lineup last year when Colfax stopped Davenport 41-14.

Piper operates as the Gorillas’ speedback, and offsets the power back mode used by Connor Glick and QB Cody Hopkins.

“Last year, they had to go with just Glick and Hopkins, but this year they have Piper back and that will change it up a little,” Morgan noted.

Davenport uses a 4-4 defense which is designed to stop the run. Last week the Springdale Chargers used a 3-5 defense against Colfax and ran into problems with the Bulldogs option attack.

Morgan said defense, special teams play and offense—in that order— packaged last Friday’s 51-0 Colfax shutout at Springdale.

Colfax defense held Springdale to under 10 yards of total rushing. The Chargers attempted to go to their air game, picked up 67 yards but also gave up two interceptions.

Senior defensive back Will Hatley set the tone for the defense when he reeled in a Chargers punt and took it 65 yards for the first Colfax TD.

Lineman Ryan Conrad grabbed a Charger fumble and rolled 40 yards for another defensive TD, and Justin Berarducci picked off a reception and took it 43 yards for a score to wrap up the first half.

In addition to the D points, Colfax offense was clicking to the tune of over 10 yards per play.

“We were tearing off yards in large chunks,” Coach Morgan said.

Colfax rolled up a total of 350 yards with QB Ryan Teade booking a 4-10-125 night passing.

Teade booked the second score in the first quarter on an 11-yard keeper and JJ. Robinson broke out a 65-yard run in the second quarter.

“We really have five or six backs who had big nights,” Morgan noted.

Tyler McNannay, Robinson, Alvin Li, Stetson Steiger and Kellen McNannay also had parts of the action.

The Colfax shutout hit 45-0 in the second quarter, and that caused the game clock to run non-stop under WIAA rules.

Morgan noted Springdale’s 3-5 defensive set had a lot of trouble stopping the open field option attack of the Bulldogs. The Charger linebackers in the five-man line couldn’t cope with the Colfax blocking power.

After the visit to Gorillaland this week, Colfax faces a fourth straight league road game at Liberty. The Lancers this year are also coping with turnout problems and lack a jayvee team. but Morgan anticipates they will be able to host the Oct. 16 game date.

Coach Morgan noted league changes now point to a shutdown of the Oct. 29 non-league Colfax trip to Kettle Falls. Colfax gave up the Kettle booking to Springdale who was in need of a matchup that week and will burn fewer miles getting to Kettle for the Thursday game night.

Right now, Colfax looks like they will have a bye that week.

The other league score for week two was a 43-19 win by Reardan over Lind/Ritzville. Reardan went into that matchup after being shutout last week in the leagues debut round of games.