No. 1 Patriots take on No. 3 Indians on Thursday

Touchet High School football coach Gary Dorman became a victim of unfortunate circumstance this week when the game film he received from Liberty Christian coach Craig Lukins was broken, denying him the chance to watch Patriots running back John Lesser run for 300 yards and score five touchdowns for the umpteenth time this season.

Still, the good-natured Dorman couldn’t resist directing a little friendly ribbing at LC’s first-year coach.

“I accused their coach of snapping it before he gave it to me,” Dorman jokingly said. “Come to think of it, he didn’t deny it.”

Game film or not, there’s no denying that Thursday’s matchup between top-ranked Liberty Christian (9-0 overall, 6-0 Southeast 1B) and No. 3 Touchet (8-0, 6-0) could be the best 8-man football game this year, at least during the regular season. The game will start at 7 p.m. at Hanford High School.

“They’re every bit as good as their ranking,” Lukins said of the Indians, who have allowed a league-low 82 points this season — an average of just over 10 points a game — with two shutouts. Plus, they’re pretty good on offense, too, averaging more than 57 points a game thanks to electric players such as running backs Leo Garcia (1,151 rushing yards, 16 TDs) and James Kates (347 yards, 8 TDs), and tight end Carlos Rincon (7 catches, 252 yards, 5 TDs).

“(I’m concerned about) their physicality and ball control,” Lukins said. “They have some 16-play drives where they hold the ball for seven minutes. If they figure out a way to get 3 yards and a cloud of dust, that could give us some trouble.”

Speaking of trouble, Touchet will have the monumental task of trying to stop John Lesser (2,516 yards, 36 TDs rushing; 1,206 yards, 24 TDs passing), who recently broke former Tri-Cities Prep running back Joe Campbell’s state 8-man records for rushing yards, all-purpose touchdowns and points.

“Nobody has stopped him for the last two years, maybe three. He’s going to get his yards. He’s too good not to,” said Dorman, who will try to contain Lesser without ignoring the Patriots’ other talented players such as running back Nico Shupe (718 rushing yards, 15 TDs), or receivers Mitch Godwin (17 catches, 489 yards, 11 TDs) and Cameron Godwin (13 catches, 277 yards, 5 TDs). Also, LC is averaging more points a game (80.4) this year than any team in the state at any level.

“Football is about blocking and tackling,” Dorman said. “We can’t put all our eggs in one basket. Collectively, I hope we’ve got three or four kids who will do their job and be in position.”

MEAD (5-4) VS. HANFORD (4-5), 6 P.M., FRAN RISH STADIUM: The Falcons will try to stop a four-game losing streak against a Panthers team that averages more than 29 points a game. Hanford has some young players — QB Josh Fonner, RB Tayvonne Milller, DL Taren Rosa — that have emerged as stars to watch. Mead QB Payton Loucks and WR Bryan Anderson will try to establish a connection.

FERRIS (2-7) VS. PASCO (1-8), 6 P.M., EDGAR BROWN STADIUM: The Saxons have lost three in a row and could have trouble containing Bulldogs RB Kaleb Ash, who could break 1,000 yards on the season with a big game.

SOUTHRIDGE (3-6) AT UNIVERSITY (5-4), 6 P.M.: The Suns have impressive wins against CBBN champion Moses Lake and at Walla Walla. Can RB Zayid Al-Ghani do enough damage to hand the Titans a fifth consecutive loss? Titans QB Logan O’Neill led the Greater Spokane League in passing yardage and touchdowns, with help from WR tandem Griffin Thorson and Tanner Chase.

OTHELLO (4-5) AT PROSSER (8-1), 7 P.M., ART FIKER STADIUM: Huskies RB Reese Jones must be contained, but the Mustangs, led by QB Tanner Bolt and RB Michael Kernan, have an overwhelming edge at the skill positions in this CWAC matchup.

This story was originally published November 4, 2015 at 9:22 PM with the headline "No. 1 Patriots take on No. 3 Indians on Thursday."