Asotin powers past Colfax

Colfax junior Dane Hall picks up yards with Terin Judy of Asotin trying to make the stop.

Asotin's crew of veteran gridders turned on the power in the second quarter Friday night at Oakesdale for a 46-16 win over Colfax in the second round of NE action. The Panthers scored 27 points in the quarter to post a 34-8 lead at the half.

The win advances Asotin's record to 2-0 in the new league race and puts Colfax at 1-1 in the campaign with a trip to Wilbur this Friday to play the 0-2 Wildcats.

Wilbur/Creston Friday was hammered 35-8 by Lind/Ritzville/Sprague in the league's second round. The Wildcats also sustained a 42-8 loss to Northwest Christian in the first round.

The lone score in the opener was on a long pass play from rookie QB Blaine Bandy to freshman Braden Seylor.

Asotin and Colfax Friday played the Bulldogs' home game at Oakesdale because the reconstruction of the Colfax track had not advanced to where the game could be played on the Schmuck Park field.

Asotin's senior QB Blake Magnuson hit seven of 13 passes and ran for 47 yards with an average of 9.4 yards per carry in leading the win. Three of his passes went for touchdowns.

The game started with two changes of possession after a defensive standoff which seemed to signal a battle for the duration. That format continued for the first quarter with Asotin booking the first TD and Colfax battling back to score at the top of the second quarter.

Colfax actually booked an 8-7 lead on a two-point conversion play at the top before Asotin's offense detonated for four more TDs.

Magnuson, who hit a 16-yard pass for the first Panther score in the first quarter, linked up with Braden Jagannath for the first two scores in the second quarter. The Magnuson-Jagannath combo last year took a big toll on the Bulldogs when Asotin edged the Bulldogs in the NE-SE crossover game to end the Colfax grid season.

The next Panther score came after Magnuson picked off a pass by Colfax QB Brett Kincaid and took it into the end zone with 3:42 left in the half.

After the Colfax offense stalled out again, the Panthers took the ball but were stopped by Colfax defense. Asotin opted not to punt the ball away on fourth down and did not get the first down.

Trailing 8-27, Colfax tried a pass with 1:02 left in the half. Receiver Jared Kneale made the catch, but the ball was rapped loose on a tackle by Asotin's Colton Ball who picked up the fumble and rambled 46 yards for the fourth Panther TD in the frame.

Asotin scored twice more in the third quarter for a 48-8 lead before Panther coach Jim Holman started putting his reserve players into the action.

Both Colfax scores came on passes from Caleb Brown to Kneale. The Bulldogs hit the first one at the top of the second quarter after a solid drive. The two-point conversion run by Brown posted the short-lived 8-7 lead for the Bulldogs and seemed to signal "game on" at that point.

Brown and Kneale linked up again at the top of the fourth quarter after a sustained Colfax drive. The TD play went for 16 yards with Kneale crunching through two Panther defenders to get it into the end zone.

The remainder of the game featured a matchup of the reserves who failed to change the scoreboard.

Asotin joins Davenport, Liberty and Northwest Christian as 2-0 teams in the early league race. Other scores around the league included Liberty 53-Reardan 6, Davenport 34-Kettle Falls 20 and Northwest Christian 42-Springdale 6.

Team stats: Total yards-Asotin 286, Colfax 213; Passes-Asotin 7-13 for 13.9 avg .; Colfax 9-14 for 7.7 avg .; Rushing-Asotin 21 for 189 yards, Colfax 38 for 144 yards; Turnovers-Asotin 2, Colfax 4; First downs: Asotin 12 with 6 rushing, 5 passing, 1 on penalty, Colfax 11 with 6 rushing, 5 passing.

Colfax individual stats: Passing-Caleb Brown 6-8 for 46 yards; Brett Kinkaid 3-5 for 23 yards; Rushing-Dane Hall 14 for 53 yards; Christopher Jones 6-35; Blake Bodey 7-15, Matthew Neu 5-11; Tackles: Hall 5, Bodey 2, Dakota Hall 2.