Lessons to be learned from trip to Colville

MEDICAL LAKE — A variety of standpoints made the Medical Lake Cardinal football team’s first game of the 2021 spring schedule hardly an envious task.

For starters the contest was on the road at perennial Northeast A League power Colville where the Indians have been the dominant force since joining the league in 2014, dropping from 2-A play.

Then consider the Cardinals had not played a down of football since November of 2019 and a roster featuring just one senior with game experience and the 48-0 defeat on March 6 was maybe not all that unexpected.

“But, you know, it was a beautiful day, it was just great to have the guys out there competing,” Cardinal head coach Jeremy Bahr said with a little laugh.

Bahr’s take-ways were deeper than that, however, as he launched his third season at the helm. The lopsided result went deeper than the final score. Colville had a hefty edge in yardage, 458 to 63 and the Indians were well-balanced with 244 rushing and 214 passing yards.

“You know we have a sophomore kid, Adam Rutland, and I think he had three or four receptions, two or three just amazing effort plays as far as blocking and it was just super physical,” Bahr said of Rutland who had 49 yards. Eugene Haas had a 4 for 9 day at quarterback for 59 yards.

But Colville had the bigger guns, particularly quarterback Sam Anderson who passed for his team’s first three touchdowns on a 9 for 18, 191-yard afternoon. The first of his two rushing touchdowns gave Colville a 34-0 halftime lead. He added another in the third to complete his 16 carry, 166 yard effort.

“We just had a hard time defending and matching up with him,” Bahr said.

Bahr and his staff game-planned for the traditional unbalanced wing and double wing that’s been Colville’s bread and butter offense since, “I was in high school,” Bahr said.

That was decades ago facing the now-retired Randy Cromwell who won a state title in 2018. New coach Greg Mace, “Changed up their offense considerably,” Bahr said.

With an inexperienced lineup dominated by sophomores and juniors, and the majority taking their first snap at the varsity level, Bahr said the only way to learn is from game experience, particularly like those on Saturday.

“Coach, that guy’s nasty across the ball,” was a comment Bahr heard. “That’s where we need you to get , the tricks of the trade that you get from those in-game experiences.”

That next opportunity comes Friday at home at Holliday Field at 7 p.m. when Medical Lake hosts Deer Park.

Paul Delaney is a retired former Free Press Publishing reporter and can be reached at [email protected].