Conditions and a tough opponent hold Cheney to 230 yards of offense
Cashmere wide receiver Brooks Elliott is brought down by the Cheney defense.
Cheney High School students throw colored powder into the air at kickoff.
Cheney runningback Cole Williams heads upfield toward the Cashmere defense.
Cashmere junior quarterback Sam Phillips tries to turn the corner while being chased by Blackhawks defenders.
CHENEY – Weather and a tough opponent conspired to limit the Cheney High School football team's offensive output - but not their scoring. The Blackhawks got big plays when they were needed and a sterling defensive effort in knocking off visiting Cashmere 22-15 in non-league action Friday night, Sept. 20.
Rain, some wind and abnormally cold temperatures held both teams offenses somewhat in check as the Bulldogs and Blackhawks combine for 365 total yards, with Cheney earning the most at 230, including 169 on the ground. Most of those yards came from junior tailback Dalton Harriett, who opened the scoring with an 11-yard burst in the second quarter and ended it with a 58-yard run that coupled with a two-point conversion pass from Ryan Rieckmann to quarterback Alex Long produced the final score.
Harriett had 125 yards on 14 carries, with Long going 2 for 9 for 61 yards and one TD in the passing department. One of those receptions was a 59-yard fourth quarter strike to Rieckmann on a post route up the middle to put Cheney back on top 14-7 after Cashmere tied it just before the half.
Head coach Bobby Byrd credited Cashmere's defense with being aggressive and forcing Cheney out of its normal offensive rhythm.
"They forced us to grind it out a bit and fortunately, we came out on top," Byrd said.
Defensively the Blackhawks shut down the Bulldogs inside running game, forcing them to the outside where they found a bit of success. The key for Cheney was in the secondary and in the turnover game where they forced five Cashmere turnovers.
Cheney goes to 3-1 on the year and wraps up the non-league portion of their schedule with another 1A Caribou Trail opponent this Friday - Cascade (Leavenworth). According to MaxPreps, the Kodiaks are also 3-1 with wins over Naches Valley (54-2), 2A Ephrata (10-7) and King's (Seattle), with its lone loss coming against Northwest 1A/2A/3A League Mount Baker, 24-2.
Cheney ground out a 20-0 win last year over the Kodiaks at Tom Oswald Field, and Byrd thinks this year's game is going to be "a lot of the same." Like Cashmere, Cascade will operate out of a five-man front on defense with two linebackers, but a less aggressive secondary than the Bulldogs. That said, Byrd thinks they will still try to make it difficult for Cheney to run, especially up the middle.
Offensively the Kodiaks feature 6-foot-3-inch, 205 pound quarterback Cole Warnaca. Byrd said the junior runs well, executes his fakes and is very athletic in their wing-T style offense.
Cascade will run out of a pistol formation quite a bit, using backfield misdirection to throw off defenses. Byrd said Cheney will need to stay focused and disciplined on defense, and execute offensively to earn a win.
"I know that sounds like a broken record, but that's the key, week in and week out," he said.
Add that to a three-hour-plus bus ride to Leavenworth and the Blackhawks will be challenged.
"I'm looking forward to another great battle," he added.
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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