Brayden Allen, who owns multiple records in the Greater Spokane League reaches up to grab a pass out of the rain during the Nov. 4 playoff game.
LIBERTY LAKE – The Ridgeline Falcons hosted their first ever home playoff game on Saturday, Nov. 4 for the 3A district round.
They won big, taming the Panthers 38-14 in the heavy rain.
The bad weather caused some turnover issues as well, and that is a big part of why the Falcons dominated.
The Falcon defense kept Panther quarterback Beau Oaksmith under pressure for most of the game, forcing him to flee the pocket. This pressure forced him to make hurried passes resulting in multiple interceptions.
In the first half Oaksmith was able to break free for some big runs which kept the Panthers close.
He ended up with 158 yards on 22 carries for the game.
Oaksmith connected with Win Chandler for the first score of the game, which went for 74 yards early in the second quarter.
Camden Haddad will go down in history as the first Falcon to score a home field playoff touchdown in Ridgeline.
Ridgeline had a couple of turnovers in the first half, and a couple of failed fourth down conversions as well.
Those mistakes allowed Seattle Prep to keep the score close through the first half, and it was LeGrant's second score at the end of the second quarter that put Ridgeline in front.
LeGrant totaled 124 rushing yards and 79 receiving yards on the game.
Ridgeline's defensive efforts forced seven turnovers on the day, and the offense was able to capitalize on several of those takeaways. Six of those were interceptions.
The defense didn't always have to rely on the offense though. Ridgeline had failed another fourth down conversion inside the 10-yard line in the beginning of the third quarter.
Seattle Prep took over, and Oaksmith was hurried from the pocket once again and tried forcing a pass but it was picked off.
Falcon defender Brody Shimp was able to grab the interception and return it for a quick pick six to put Ridgeline up 28-14.
Falcon quarterback Landon Garner had one touchdown pass on the day, and this was to Brayden Allen. Garner tallied 288 yards through the air. Allen ended up catching eight passes for 125 yards and the touchdown. Defensively he added two interceptions as well.
That put the Falcons up 35-14 as they completely dominated the second half.
Matthew graduated from West Virginia University-Parkersburg in 2011 with a journalism degree. He's an award-winning photographer and enjoys writing stories about people.
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