Breaks prove elusive in Cheney's 19-10 loss to Deer Park

 

Photo by Harlan Shellabarger

DeAngelo Jones (7) tip-toes along the sideline last Friday against Deer Park while Dalton Harding (16) delivers a block in the 19-10 loss to the Stags.

Hawks still in thick of playoff, Great Northern League title picture

By JOHN McCALLUM

Editor

Deer Park's ball control offense and a lack of breaks helped send the Cheney football team to its first Great Northern League loss in a 19-10 setback to the visiting Stags last Friday night.

Blackhawks head coach Jason Williams felt the outcome of the game centered on two third quarter plays. The first, leading 10-7, the Hawks thought they had the Stags in a punting situation on fourth down and 15 at the Deer Park 40.

Instead, Stags head coach Keith Stamps elected to go for it, and his team converted with a 15-yard run, and finished their drive later with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Alex wolf to Tevin Heins to take a 13-10 lead.

The second play came on Deer Park's next drive, which brought the team to a fourth and goal at the Hawks 9. Instead of a field goal, the Stags again went for it, with Heins' scoring run giving them a nine-point lead.

Trailing 19-10, the Hawks mounted what they hoped was the beginning of a comeback with a drive inside the Deer Park 40 early in the fourth quarter, only to have the rally stopped on what Williams said was a questionable offensive pass interference call on wide receiver Daniel Igbinoba.

Cheney punted, downing the ball on the Deer Park 5. From there, the Stags running game behind a big offensive line took over, keeping the Hawks offense pretty much off the field the rest of the way.

“We only had the ball two or three times in the second half,” Williams said.

Cheney's offensive chances came in the game's first 24 minutes. The trouble for the Hawks was they came, and went.

After the Stags opened a 7-0 lead on wolf's 1-yard run, the Hawks answered with a 36-yard Max Harris field goal in the first quarter, and a 45-yard TD pass from DeAngelo Jones to Alex Adams for a 10-7 lead in the second. But Williams said other chances that came Cheney's way never materialized since the team was plagued by dropped balls or friendly Deer Park bounces.

“We had them on the ropes the entire game, we just didn't get any breaks,” Williams said. “It was just one of those nights.”

Williams said his team had played well for four games in a row, and were ready for the Stags, 2-2 in the GNL, 5-2 overall. The Hawks were good defensively, and with the exception of a couple fourth-down plays in the second half, limited Deer Parks' grinding ball control offense to moving between the 20s.

The Stags amassed 347 total yards, 248 via 53 rushes while Cheney had just 170 yards of offense combined.

The loss is the first for Cheney in league action, putting them at 3-1, 4-3 and in a tie for second with Clarkston with identical records. Even with the setback, Cheney still has control of its playoff destiny over the next three games, beginning this Friday at Riverside (1-3, 4-3).

Photo by Harlan Shellabarger Photo by Harlan Shellabarger

Cheney's Dalton Harding (16) gains some yardage against Deer Park in the Blackhawks' 19-10 loss to the Stags last Friday in Cheney.

The Rams scored 26 straight points to rally for their first league win last Friday 26-23 at Medical Lake. Williams said they are a physical team that lines up offensively in the I-formation, but employs bootlegs and misdirection instead of smashing the ball between the tackles like Deer Park.

Defensively the Rams line up in a 3-5-3, using those five linebackers in a number of different stunts to confuse opponents. The key for the Hawks will be simplicity.

“I think we're just going to get back to basics in practice this week,” Williams said. “We'll simplify the playbook even more.”

A Cheney win and Clarkston victory against Colville will set up a key home showdown next Friday with the Bantams, with both teams looking to solidify a hold on at least one of the three playoff spots given the GNL this year. For Williams, knocking off Riverside is one step towards maybe something larger.

“I'd sure like to get a title back in Cheney,” he said. “It's there for the taking.”

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com

 

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