Prep Page 10-06-11

Five games were on the slate for GSL football in week five.  The week started off with two games on Thursday, and finished with three on Friday.

• Gonzaga Prep shanghai'd the Pirates from Rogers, 59-12.  The Bullpups were combined for 235 yards on the ground, two touchdowns through the air, and a defensive score as well.
• University and Mt Spokane played an exciting game that was not decided until an onside kick was recovered with four minutes left in the game.  The Titans edged the Wildcats, 31-28.  Zach Bruce rushed for 177 yards, plus had two picks on defense for U-High.
• Ferris battled Central Valley, the winner would remain undefeated atop the GSL standings.  The Saxons pounded their ground attack, and won 28-10.  The win was highlighted by a 53-yard touchdown run by Kole Heidinger.
• The Mead Panthers defeated Shadle Park, 31-7.  Shadle drew blood first, and had aspirations of breaking through to the win column when they scored on a 40-yard pass in the first quarter.  Mead then responded with first quarter touchdown, and shut the Highlanders out for the remainder of the game.
• Lewis and Clark upended North Central 28-16.  One touchdown each quarter was enough for the Tigers to keep the Indians at bay.

The standings are now:

Team	W	L	W	L
Ferris	5	0	5	0
Central Valley	4	1	4	1
Lewis and Clark	4	1	4	1
Mead	4	1	4	1
Gonzaga Prep	3	2	3	2
North Central	2	3	2	3
University	2	3	2	3
Mt. Spokane	1	4	1	4
Rogers	0	5	0	5
Shadle Park	0	5	0	5

Week six kicks of tonight with the following matchups:

Thursday

• Mead Panthers vs Rogers Pirates, Joe Albi, 4:45pm
• Mt Spokane vs Ferris Saxons, Joe Albi, 7:15pm

Friday

• Lewis and Clark vs Shadle Park, Joe Albi, 5:30pm
• Central Valley at Gonzaga Prep, 7pm
• University vs North Central, Joe Albi, 8pm

Prep Volleyball Standings:

Team	W	L	W	L
Mead	6	0	7	0
Mt Spokane	5	1	6	1
Gonzaga Prep	4	2	6	2
Central Valley	4	2	5	2
North Central	3	3	6	3
University	3	3	5	4
Shadle Park	3	3	4	5
Rogers	1	5	3	8
Lewis and Clark	1	5	2	6
Ferris	0	6	0	9

Please let me know if you like what you see here!  Also, if you are headed to any of the games this week, I'd love to hear from you in the comments section, thanks!

Rink Round Up 10-04-11

Lots of local hockey action this week to catch up on!

WHL:  The Spokane Chiefs opened up the Veterans Arena on Saturday night, hosting their rivals, the Tri-Cities Americans.  After starting the season with a loss on the road at the Toyota Center in Kennewick, the Chiefs were looking to get into the win column.  The festivities started with the Chiefs naming Darren Kramer as their team captain, in front of 9,348 fans.

The first period was all the Chiefs would need, netting the puck three times.  The onslaught continued in the second, as Cheifs center, Anthony Bardaro scored his third goal of the night.  Thanks in part to Bardaro's Hat Trick, the Chiefs would take a 6 - 1 lead into the locker room after two periods.  Each team would score once in the third, giving Spokane its first win of the year, 7 - 2.  Mac Engel had a strong showing in goal, stopping 31 of the 33 shots he faced.

Spokane boards the bus again, playing on the road twice this week.  They travel to Vancouver to take on the Giants on the 5th, and the to Kamploops versus the Blazers on Friday the 7th.  The Chiefs then play their third game in four nights back in Spokane, Saturday the 8th.  Tickets are available here, if you want to watch the Chiefs play the Kelowna Rockets.  The Rockets currently have a record of 2 - 0, but will also be playing their third game in four nights, after a home-and-home series with the Americans.  The puck drops at 7:05, Saturday night at the Veterans Arena.  The game will also be broadcast on 1510, KGA.

KIJHL:  The Spokane Braves played KIJHL powerhouse Fernie on the road on the first of October, and played well, but were unable to get a win to show for the effort.  The Ghostriders of Fernie scored three goals, while only giving up one.  Sean Collins and Gil Givens were credited with a helper on the goal by Alex Marmon.  The game's third star was given to Spokane's net minder, Branden Amatto, who stopped 40 of the 42 shots.  Spokane plays three times this coming week, twice at home.  Be sure and check back for updates on the Braves!

U18:  The Junior Chiefs wrapped up the second week of Washington's tiering tournament at the Toyota Arena, and at the TRAC, down in the Tri Cities.  Spokane faced off against three teams from the Seattle area.  Spokane played the Kent Valley team to a 3 - 3 draw on Saturday morning.  They then found their stride and defeated the Junior Thunderbirds from Sno-King, 7 - 2.  Unfortunately, they were unable to secure the momentum from Saturday night's great showing, and got into trouble early and often against the Seattle Admirals.  Spokane's skaters  found them selves in the penalty box often, and were unable to apply any pressure being a man down.  Seattle scored six times, and Spokane left the game empty handed.

The Junior Chiefs head to Penticton to play in a ten-team tournament, and will play four times.  I will post results as soon as they are made available to me!

If you know of any local sporting teams that you would like mentioned on this blog, please contact me here, and leave comments too.  I check back often, and will certainly do my best to include all of the sporting news Spokane has to offer!

Quick Rink Peek

Just a quick peek in on Spokane weekend hockey:

WHL:  Spokane held serve, and lit into the Americans to wrap up a home and home series to start the season.  Spokane scored 3 times in the first to effectively put Tri-Cities back onto the bus.  Spokane continued the pressure, all the way to a 7 - 2 final.  Anthony Bardaro had a hat trick for the hometown Chiefs.  Net minder Mac Engle stopped 20 of the 22 shots he faced.

KIJHL:  The Braves again struggled to gain ground in the standings, losing to a strong Fernie Ghostriders, on the road, 7 - 2.

U-18:  The Junior Chiefs started the second weekend of the Washington State tiering tournament in Tri-Cities, with two games.  The morning game was a 3 - 3 draw with Kent Valley.  The boys from Spokane played much stronger in the night-cap.  They beat the Junior Thunderbirds from Seattle, 7 - 2.

Be sure and check the weekly Rink Round up on Monday for an in-depth review of the weekend hockey action!

Please post comments, even if your just stopping by to read what I have to say, thanks!

Less Than Mainstream 09-29-11

This is the first of what I hope to be a recurring post here at Spokane Sports Scene.  I would like to highlight sporting activities in the Spokane area that aren't quite what you'd find on ESPN.  These are the sports that the NCAA is not really ready to start handing out scholarships to athletes over.  This is where you'll look to learn about Disc Golfing, Geocaching, and other sports that are "Less Than Mainstream."

Discgolf is a sport that started decades ago, and has been slowly growing in popularity.  It has somewhat of a cult following, but is seeing more and more participants every year.  The rules are simple, it can be challenging and rewarding, and is ALWAYS fun.  Currently there are two disc golf courses on public land in Spokane, plus several other courses in the outlying areas and a few on private land.  The cost is agreeable, Spokane's two courses are free to play, and little is needed in the way of equipment.  You can play an entire round with one disc, that can be picked up at locations around Spokane for about ten bucks.

The rules are very similar to golf, affectionately distinguished by participants of this sport as "ball golf," but without all the formalities.  Just like ball golf, disc golf has a tee box, a fairway and a hole.  Disc golfers throw their disc from the tee box, then throw it again towards the hole from where it landed.  The goal is to toss the disc into the hole in the fewest throws possible.

Techniques to throw the disc vary.  It can be thrown back-handed, a traditional "Frisbee" throw.  It can be thrown side-arm, known as fore-handed.  Tomahawks and Thumbers are both types of over-hand throws also used.  The styles of throwing the disc varies for drives, approaches and putts as well.  Youtube is great for tutorials, I highly recommend the posts put up by disc manufacturer, Discraft, they are highly informative.

The courses in Spokane, Downriver and Highbridge, are laid out in public parks.  There is an occassional hiker or jogger in the area, so be cautious of where you are throwing your disc, but the areas are predominantly used by fellow disc golfers.  The layouts can be somewhat confusing on your first trip, but recently improved signage has certainly helped.  The vast majority of local players know that finding your way around on your first time can be daunting, and are more than willing to help point you in the right direction.  Maps can be found here and I suggest you at least take a look, if not printing one and having it in your pocket.

Higbridge Teebox, Hole #3

                                                                       
If you are a seasoned disc golfer, and want to give some input, please leave a comment!  I am hoping to keep you readers abreast of upcoming events in disc golf, so please keep checking back, and post comments to keep me informed.  Get out there and do some chukin'!

Prep Page 09-28-11

Wednesdays are a pretty good day for me to start this particular post, and I hope to run it weekly.  I plan on including a wrap up of the previous weeks football games, plus provide the standings for football and volleyball.  This week will focus on the GSL, but I hope to be able to include other leagues as well as time goes on.

Week four in football saw the following action:

•       Defending state champs Ferris defeated Rogers in a one-sided affair, 61-0.  Ferris standout, Kile Heidinger ran for 221 yards and found the end zone 3 times.
•      Central Valley doubled up University, 28-14.  Running back Gaven Deyarmin scored twice for the bears.
•      Mead beat North-side rival Mt. Spokane, 48-24.  Panther Davian Barlow scored twice on 186 yards rushing.
•      Lewis and Clark traveled to Gonzaga Prep, and were unkind to their hosts, beating them 31-21.  Prep was given a steady diet of Tiger Ammar Johnson, who rushed for 216 yards on 44 carries, crossing the goal line twice.
•      What looks to be a long season shaping up for my alma matter, Shadle Park suffered their fourth defeat of the season at the hands of their rival, North Central, 17-10.  The Indians were lead by Jake Hoffman who rushed for 174 yards and a score, while also throwing for a touchdown.
• 
  

Week five match ups:

    Thursday:

• Gonzaga Prep vs Rogers at Joe Albi, 4:45
• University vs Mt. Spokane at Joe Albi, 7:15

      Friday:

• Shadle Park vs Mead at Joe Albi, 5:30
• Ferris at Central Valley, 7:00
• North Central vs Lewis and Clark at Joe Albi, 8:00

Standings

Football

Team	League	Overall
Central Valley	4-0	4-0
Ferris	4-0	4-0
Lewis and Clark	3-1	3-1
Mead	3-1	3-1
Gonzaga Prep	2-2	2-2
North Central	2-2	2-2
Mt Spokane	1-3	1-3
University	1-3	1-3
Rogers	0-4	0-4
Shadle Park	0-4	0-4

                                                                               Volleyball

Team	League	Overall
Mead	4-0	5-0
Gonzaga Prep	3-1	5-1
Central Valley	3-1	4-1
Mt Spokane	3-1	4-1
North Central	2-2	5-2
University	2-2	3-3
Shadle Park	2-2	3-4
Rogers	1-3	2-6
Lewis and Clark	0-4	1-5
Ferris	0-4	0-7