Blackhawks come up short in GNL battle

Cheney High School football head coach Bobby Byrd knew his Blackhawks' showdown last Friday night with visiting sixth-ranked West Valley would be a battle.

And an epic battle it was.

With the time ticking rapidly away and no timeouts, the Blackhawks tried four times inside West Valley's 10 to punch in the winning touchdown - the last coming on fourth and goal at the four that was stopped two yards short as the Eagles preserved a hard-fought 17-14 win at Tom Oswald Field. The loss knocked Cheney from the 2A top-10 and set up a must-win game this Friday night in Pullman for a chance at making the post season.

"I would say in putting together four quarters (of good play), that was about as close as we've come all year," Byrd said. "We just ran out of time."

While people often point to one or two plays as deciding outcomes, it was the inability to capitalize on opportunities that proved to be Cheney's downfall. Twice in the fourth quarter the Blackhawks had the ball deep in West Valley territory, only to come away with no points.

Cheney came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, taking the game's opening drive for a 16-yard Alex Long to Luke Martin touchdown and 7-0 lead. West Valley matched it early in the second, capping a 59-yard drive with Marshall Meleney's six-yard TD run.

After an exchange of punts, the Blackhawks moved the scoreboard numbers again. Mekhai Goodloe intercepted a Matt Allen pass and returned it to the West Valley one.

A Cheney holding penalty moved the ball back to the 19, but didn't stop the Blackhawks from moving inside the five where Long finished the short drive with a two-yard TD plunge and 14-7 lead.

West Valley tied it again in the third quarter, going 70 yards with Meleney scoring his second touchdown on a 16-yard run. The Blackhawks countered with sophomore Dusten Butikofer returning the ensuing kickoff 65-yards to the Eagles 35, but ended up turning the ball over on downs as the fourth quarter got underway.

Cheney soon got the ball back as West Valley fumbled on the 24 two plays later, but the scoring opportunity ended with Hunter Tiffany intercepting a Long pass in the end zone.

On second and nine at the 21, Meleney busted a run up the middle then outside to the left and all the way to Cheney's 32. After a holding penalty negated an Allen run to Cheney's two, the Eagles settled for a 33-yard Allen field goal and 17-14 lead with 3:14 to play.

But the epic battle wasn't done. After a penalty gave Cheney the ball on its own 10, the Blackhawks moved again, with Long scrambling out of the pocket on first and 10 at the 24 out to the 43.

Long found Martin on second and 14 at the West Valley 49 on a pass near the Cheney sideline to the 38. After converting the first down, Goodloe broke a run from the 36 down to the 5, coming up short of the end zone with a shoestring tackle by Meleney with 1:02 left.

A couple Goodloe runs got Cheney a third and goal at the one, but a false start penalty set the Blackhawks back five yards, and eventually time ran out on the rally.

Goodloe finished with 120 yards rushing on 25 carries. Long was 6 for 12 for 61 yards as Cheney's offense racked up 265 yards.

"Given what West Valley was averaging in scoring (34 points per game), holding them to 17 was good," Byrd said in praising the Blackhawks defense.

The bright side for Cheney is, as Byrd said, "there is still life left." Cheney drops to 6-2 overall, 1-2 in Great Northern League play. The Blackhawks are currently fourth, behind Clarkston (4-4, 2-2) and Pullman, while West Valley claims the league title outright with the win last Friday, facing 0-7 East Valley this week.

A win at Pullman forces a three-way tie, with the tiebreaker to be decided via the teams playing a Kansas City tiebreaker - head to head with the ball at the opponents 25 and playing until someone wins. To achieve that, the Blackhawks must first beat a fast and solid Pullman team that Byrd said is loaded with "lots of weapons."

If the Greyhounds have a weakness, it's defensively where their opponents have had success running the ball against them.

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.