Blackhawks defeat Bears 48-0, stay undefeated

When Cheney High football coach Bobby Byrd said his team would not overlook the Moscow Bears, he meant it.

The Blackhawks picked up a 48-0 nonleague win over the Bears on their home turf in Idaho, Oct. 9. This is Cheney’s third shutout of the season, which includes a 28-0 win over Colville (Sept. 4), and a 49-0 victory over Idaho’s Lakeland High (Sept. 18).

Cheney got on the scoreboard early with quarterback Jake Martin’s scoring pass to Cam Hardt. Martin followed it up with another scoring pass to Logan Kendall.

Ty Graham made a 60-yard rushing touchdown to make the score 21-0 in the first quarter.

Martin threw a 5-yard scoring pass to Kaden Hagel, to give the Blackhawks a 27-0 lead at the end of the first half. He continued his impressive throwing in the second quarter after throwing scoring passes to Graham and Hagel.

“Josh Martin had a great game against Moscow,” Byrd said. “We had several receivers and tight ends all get receptions. He executed the game so well.”

Byrd commended Brian Anderson, Cheney’s quarterback coach, on his work with Martin during practice. Martin was 20 for 25 for 319 yards for the night.

Graham capped Cheney’s final scoring drive with his second rushing touchdown. He had seven carries for 97 yards for the game. C.J. Johnson also had a good performance, having 15 carries for 111 yards.

Cheney’s defense shined with Andrew Witt and Brayden Butikofer making interceptions in the second half. Graham and Harrison King each had a sack. In six games, Cheney’s opponents have scored only 34 points.

“The guys out there were just having fun, it was great to see the kids doing well,” Byrd said.

Byrd also credited captains Martin, Graham and Logan Pratt for showing their younger teammates how to practice and the mental focus.

“We have a tight locker room,” Byrd said.

Cheney, 6-0 overall and 1-0 in Great Northern League play, travels to West Valley to face the Eagles (4-2, 2-0) in league action, Oct. 16. West Valley comes into the game with back-to-back GNL wins over Pullman (Oct. 2) and East Valley (Oct. 9).

Byrd said his team is peaking at the right time as they head into what should be the hardest three games of the season, with West Valley being their “toughest test.”

“Hopefully this game will tell us where we stand,” Byrd said. “We’re going to get the kids focused and ready to play a tough West Valley team.”

Al Stover can be reached at [email protected].