Week 7 Prep Football Preview: Undefeated Gonzaga Prep in tough three-game stretch; West Valley will face Deer Park at the top of the 2A standings

Each year we attempt to cover at least one game for each Greater Spokane League soccer team during the season. However, with 17 teams it doesn’t always work out that way – especially in games later in the season with playoff relevance.

This is the case in this three-week phase.

Last week, undefeated Gonzaga Prep faced Shadle Prep, which had just one loss. There is a single loss in the Central Valley this week. Next week the undefeated Mead. We try to avoid covering the same team in consecutive weeks – let alone three in a row.

But we didn’t keep to the schedule.

However, this season – with the help of Thursday night games – we have already given all but one school a headline performance over the six weeks.

We hear, how should we say, Issue from people about how they choose one school or another over the others every year. But we’re really trying our best to expand our coverage to all programs across the leagues. But at some point we have to make an editorial decision to bring you the best games available.

All games Friday, 7:00 p.m. unless otherwise stated.

Game of the week

Gonzaga Prep (6-0) at Central Valley (5-1): The Bullpups are three games against teams with a total of two losses coming into the game. They beat Shadle Park 28-0 last week and face the Bears on the road this week, who have scored 145 points in their last three games.

CV’s winning streak comes as defensive lineman Beau Butner becomes even more important on offense – the senior has rushed for 642 yards and 11 touchdowns over the last three weeks and leads the league in rushing with 821 yards for an average of 9.1 per carry.

G-Prep, of course, thrives on running the ball and occasionally hitting a long pass once the defense is softened up. Noah Holman and Jonah Keller are No. 4 and No. 5 in the rushing yardage rankings – both have more than 560 yards and a combined 16 TDs between them – while Isaiah Docken is third in yardage.

4A/3A

Mead (6-0) vs. Cheney (1-5): The Panthers rank second behind Gonzaga Prep in team rushing with a paltry 33 yards, with Keegan Mallon and Jimmy Frahm forming a lethal inside-outside tandem and quarterback JJ Leman also capable of fireworks – he had two touchdown carries in Thursday’s 62-26 win over Ridgeline, including an 89-yard run.

Mt. Spokane (2-4) at Ferris (0-6): Friday 5 p.m. in ONE. The Wildcats have won two straight, including last week’s thrilling matchup against Lewis and Clark, after starting the season 0-4, and are now back in the conversation for the second 3A Round of 32 bid. . They’ll need help to get there, but they finish the season with three straight games against teams with a total of three wins.

Lewis and Clark (3-3) at Shadle Park (4-2): Friday 8 p.m. at ONE. The Tigers are fairly entrenched as the No. 3 seed in the GSL and will face the third-place team in the Mid-Columbia Conference on Tuesday after the regular season for their third bid for the Round of 32. The Highlanders have a two-game lead and still have three games to play for second place in 3A.

University (1-5) at Ridgeline (2-4): The record-setting Falcons still have a lot of work to do to return to the playoffs for the second straight year. Essentially, they need to win and Shadle needs to lose three in a row. They do have a tiebreaker over Mt. Spokane, however, which is nice.

2A

West Valley (6-0, 3-0) at Deer Park (4-2, 3-1): This is the Eagles’ toughest challenge in an undefeated season, as North Central is winless and East Valley has just one win.

Pullman (1-5, 1-3) at North Central (1-5, 0-3): Two teams played for pride the rest of the way. NC junior quarterback Trevelle Jones has opened some eyes this season.

Clarkston (3-3, 2-1) at East Valley (2-4, 1-2): The Bantams are fighting with league newcomer Deer Park for the league’s second place in the “Round of 32”.

Non-league

Rogers (3-3) at Colville (4-2): The Pirates need two teams ahead of them to falter and make the playoffs in consecutive seasons. Maybe the Crimson Hawks should apply to play next year – they are 2-1 against GSL 2A opponents this season.