Blackhawks add to own demise

The University Titans left Cheney on Sept. 23 with a solid 27-8 Greater Spokane League football win where they rolled up nearly 300 total yards and got a pair of touchdowns from Malaki Miller.

But the Blackhawks contributed mightily to the outcome in the game at Tom Oswald Field according to head coach Bobby Byrd.

"The U-High defensive front was good, but at the end of the night it was our own mistakes that defeated us," Byrd wrote in an email. "We had opportunities and big plays that were called back."

Miller also added 156 yards rushing for the Titans (1-2 GSL, 1-3 overall) who earned their first GSL victory of the season, but his pair of scores in the third quarter put distance between the two teams and gave U-Hi a 20-0 lead.

"Our defensive unit battled hard," Byrd said. "U-High did a god job with their running attack and controlled the clock." Linebacker Syme Singeo had six tackles to lead that department while Owen Scott led the secondary with 4.5 tackles and an Interception.

University pushed its lead to 27-0 on a Dominic Longo interception return in the fourth quarter before Cheney answered with a Jakeb Vallance TD run of 38 yards. Vallance was the Blackhawks' (1-3, 1-3) offensive leader with 137 total yards. "Jakeb has become a dual threat," Byrd said. "Our goal this week will be to get him more time and allow our other playmakers to take on that load."

Next for the Blackhawks is Lewis and Clark tonight (Thursday, Sept. 29) at Union Stadium in Mead at 7 p.m.

"LC has a tough ground attack with a condensed option offense, and defensively they are run a 4-man front with aggressive backers," Byrd reports. "They have ground out two wins over Ferris (38-6) and Ridgeline (47-27). It will be a good test for us."

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