Kamiakin blanks Central Valley

SPOKANE -- Central Valley's defense was late to the State 4A play-in game.

The offense never made it.

The end result was a 21-0 win for Kamiakin before a sparse crowd of 1,005 at Albi Stadium late Saturday afternoon, earning the Braves a return trip on Friday to face Ferris in the first round of the state playoffs.

"We just had too many major mistakes early that took us out of it," CV coach Rick Giamipetri understated.

If the game had been on an indoor field, maybe Central Valley would have had a chance.

The Bears had five first-half turnovers -- and one to start the second half -- all within 32 yards of their own end zone. On the flip side, the Bears snared four interceptions in the first half but all deep in their own territory.

"When you play against a team like CV and give them four picks, you're in trouble," first-year Kamiakin coach Scott Biglin said. "But our defense came to play."

Central Valley had just three first downs and 36 yards of offense in the first half. The Bears never took an offensive snap in Kamiakin territory until the Braves shanked a punt into the wind with 1:28 left in the third period but that threat ended when they couldn't convert a fourth-and-1 at the 10.

"Our plan was to just bring pressure off the edge, take away the rollout," Kamiakin defensive coordinator Tim Maher said.

The start did not give an indication of what was to come with the Braves going 73 yards lickity-split after the opening kickoff. Corey Hutchinson hit three of four passes, the first two covering 31 and 35 yards before his swing pass to fullback Matt Minnich covered the final four yards.

The CV defense settled down after that but the offense wasn't up to the challenge.

The Bears had six first half possessions. The first ended with a fumble on their 26, the second with an interception at the 30. Then in the opening minutes off the second quarter a Kamiakin punt was touched and lost at the 28.

In the last minute of the half Shad Fletcher returned an overthrown pass by CV sophomore quarterback Gaven Deyarmin 40 yards for a touchdown for a 14-0 lead.

The Braves missed a short field goal after the Bears opened the second half by fumbling on 34 but on their next possession when 64 yards in five plays, the last 28 on a pass to Tim White, for the final score.

Hutchison finished with 12 completions in 28 attempts for 189 yards, with White catching seven passes for 116 yards. The Braves had 104 yards rushing, a testament to the CV defense because Dom Davis had 123 yards on 30 carries.

"We knew if we were going to win this game it was going to be with quick passes or screens," Biglin said. "Ultimately we got our running game going."

Kamiakin 7 7 7 0 -- 21

Central Valley 0 0 0 0 -- 0

SCORING PLAYS

K--Minnich 4 pass from Hutchison (Bowe kick)

K--Fletcher 40 interception return (Bowe kick)

K--White 23 pass from Hutchison (Bowe kick)

STATISTICS

RUSHING--K, Davis 30-123, Minnich 1-1, White 2-(minus 3), Hutchison 5-(minus 17). CV, Evans 13-59, Borgman 4-23, Deyarmin 2-7, Nungester 1-1.

PASSING--K, Hutchison 12-28-4-189. CV, Deyarmin 5-12-2-27, Crump 3-10-1-18.

RECEIVING--K, White 7-116, Griffiths 3-54, Heath 1-15, Minnich 1-4. CV, Garcia 2-31, Nungester 3-6, Justus 2-5, Lawrence 1-3.

FIRST DOWNS--K 15, CV 7. FUMBLES-LOST--K 3-0, CV 6-4. PENALTIES-YARDS--K 2-25, CV 5-44.