Cheney loses 12-10 to Lewis and Clark

At first glance Cheney’s heartbreaking 12-10 Greater Spokane League football loss to Lewis and Clark at Union Stadium in Mead came as result of a blocked field goal. But Blackhawks’ head coach Bobby Byrd knows better.

“People look at a game and may think it comes down to one play, but as well as we did play, we could have taken advantage of other opportunities earlier in the game,” Byrd wrote in an email.

The Tigers’ James Sheridan will someday maybe have a story to tell his kids as with less than a minute to play he shot through a gap and blocked Joshua Bingham’s 26-yard field goal to preserve the win. The loss was Cheney’s third in a row as the Blackhawks dropped to 1-4 while LC stands at 3-2.

Cheney led 7-0 on a Jakeb Vallance to Micah Ragaza-Bourassa pass for 10-yards in the first quarter. LC pulled to within 7-6 in the second quarter on a Cooper Jeffries 6-yard run.

Bingham booted a 23-yard field goal in the second quarter that sent Cheney into halftime with a 10-6 lead. But early in the third quarter Gentz Hilburn took off on a 50-yard touchdown ramble that put the Tigers up 12-10.

While pleased with general improvements he’s seen in recent weeks, “We need to finish,” Byrd said.

Cheney outgained LC 278 to 137 with all of the Tigers’ yardage coming on the ground. “Offensively we moved the ball the most consistently than we have been and controlled the clock,” Byrd said.

Vallance had 219 of his team’s total by himself, including 100 on the ground. “Our offensive line did a great job of protecting Jakeb and allowed for him to escape cleaner if things were not open down field,” Byrd said. Kordell Laher added five catches for 61 yards.

 Cheney defense did its job greatly limiting a normally explosive LC run game.

“All around our defense played disciplined,” Byrd said. “The D-line of Devon Perro, Alex Hubbard, Miles Hoover and Gage Seubert had a standout game,” Byrd said. Cheney travels to winless Ridgeline (0-4) on Friday, Oct. 8 for a 7 p.m. with the Falcons. “(It will be) another good matchup of two hungry teams,” Byrd said.