A brief bright spot for the Cardinals last Friday against Colville was this acrobatic interception by Isiah Farmen.
As Medical Lake head football coach Wes Hobbs sized up the Colville Indians prior to their meeting in last Friday's Northeast A League opener at Holliday Field he knew about their size and power.
"They're going to push you around and outnumber you," he said.
The speed the visitors exhibited in their 50-14 thumping of the Cards proved to be impressive, too.
That came specifically from running Colville back Colton Vining who scored five times in the first 21 minutes of the game and then got to let others have some fun.
Vining rushed for four of those scores and caught a pass for another to keep Colville perfect with a 3-0 overall mark and 1-0 in their new league, the NEA. Vining touched the ball just 11 times and racked up 168 yards rushing, another 69 receiving and accounted for 34 points for the Indians, also scoring four points on rushing conversions.
Medical Lake (0-1 NEA, 1-2) got a two-touchdown, team-leading 47-yard rushing performance from Tellas Johnson. Once again opponents put the clamps on halfback Jackson Tappero who totaled just 34 yards on 11 carries after rolling for 254, Sept. 5 in the Medical Lake opener versus Orofino.
"That's a top team in the state, plain and simple," Hobbs said. "They're 2-0 in the league above us," he added, noting earlier Colville wins over West Valley and Cheney.
Colville scored on all but their final drive which ended due to the "mercy rule" that initiates a running clock once the Indians went up 50-7 with 22 seconds remaining in the third quarter. That came on the second of two William Burton touchdowns.
Medical Lake got the opening kickoff but held the ball just one play before an interception turned it over on the 35 yard-line. One play later Vining carried around the right side for a score with 1 minute, 2 seconds gone in the game.
"We did just about everything we could to help them," Hobbs said. "Our first pass bounced off a kid's hands and into their arms."
Colville pushed that lead to 28-0 before Johnson got Medical Lake on the board when quarterback Cory Wagner found him all alone in the back of the end zone on a fourth and goal from the 18 yard-line with 3:42 remaining in the half.
It took Colville just one touch and 21 seconds, following the kickoff, for Vining to race 63 yards down the left sideline and the Indians led 35-7 at the half. That was Vining's final work for the game as he and other first-team players exited.
Johnson scored the game's final touchdown with his 5-yard run with 8:08 to play.
Ben Knight was a precise 5 of 6 passing for 82 yards in his half of action at quarterback for Colville. Wagner was just 3 of 13 for27 yards following a 279-yard effort the previous week at St. Maries.
The road does not get any easier - literally - for the Cardinals who travel to Deer Park (1-1, 1-2) this Friday for a 7 p.m. game and then Lakeside (2-0, 3-0), Oct. 4.
"We've got a tough row to hoe," Hobbs said.
Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].
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