COLVILLE - In a game reminiscent of many past Colville football wins at the home stadium, North Central got a heavy dose of a physical run game and a lights-out defense which bled clock and limited scoring chances, highlighting a 22-0 Crimson Hawks’ victory Friday night.
Colville, now 2-0 on the young season, enters its league opener Thursday at Riverside (1-1) geared up to face a Ram squad that made the Class 1A state quarterfinals in 2021 and is considered by many to be a league contender once again this year. Kickoff is at 7:00 PM in Chattaroy.
“Riverside is a well-coached, veteran group who has had a lot of success recently,” Head Coach Greg Mace said. “I believe our kids should go into this game with a lot of confidence as well. We are a good football team that has been overlooked by a lot of people. This will be a physical football game against a good opponent. Which team will be more physical?”
Against the visiting Wolfpack, the answer to that very question was Colville, despite the fact that North Central had its share of key defensive stops that kept the score within striking distance for much of the game. After Cale Roy’s first interception of the season deep in Wolfpack territory sullied the opening offensive possession, the Hawk defense set its own tone. Beginning its drive on their own 16-yard line, North Central went backward, losing yards on a pair of runs and a sack by defensive end Sam Mitchell. Punting from their own goal line, an errant snap over Cameron Dewey’s outstretched hands netted the first Colville points of the contest.
It would prove to be the only points that the Hawks would need - the type of early-season defensive statement that local fans have been accustomed to for years.
“The defensive unit continued the trend of getting as many hats to the ball as possible on Friday night. This is my favorite part of this squad,” Mace explained. “They are able to rally around the football quickly and efficiently, and on Friday, they produced turnovers. This is a part of the game that our defense has been lacking the last few years.
“This crew knows that to be great we have to create turnovers, and we did that in spades Friday night.”
North Central would find little room on the ground or in the air against Colville, managing just 164 yards of total offense and not converting a single third down (0-for-10) in the game. Junior quarterback Tommy Elliott was held to a 41.7% completion rate (10-for-24) and was intercepted four times. Colbie McEvoy, Braden Dunham, Emmet Marshall and Brock Benson each generated a turnover for the defense, with Marshall returning his 35 yards to end the last penetration into Hawk territory late in the third quarter.
“Emmet Marshall was once again all over the field. He has truly become a sideline to sideline backer, and a real leader of this Blackshirt group,” said Mace. “I was very pleased with the safety play from freshmen Brock Benson and Mason Beardsley. Benson made a great play on a deep interception and Beardsley fit really well against the run all night.
“It has not taken those guys long to get adjusted to the speed of the game on Friday nights.”
Taking a back seat to the defensive performance on this night, the Colville offense still had its own successes, most notably in the running game. A week after throwing for 275 yards, the Hawk ground attack netted 255 yards on 51 attempts, controlling the clock and imposing their will when opportunities arose. Isaiah Porter-Mills picked up where he left off from the week before, rushing for 93 yards on 17 carries and all three Colville touchdowns, the first a 15-yard scamper on the drive after the safety that put the Hawks ahead 8-0. Mason Beardsley added 65 yards and Roy 57, proving on a night when the pass game wasn’t clicking that there was no reason to reach for the panic button.
“North Central was able to watch our game against Rogers the previous week, and they were sure to not let us beat them deep,” Mace said. “They played their safeties extremely deep all game to limit McEvoy and (Allan) McKeraghan all night. Due to this, the game plan quickly evolved into running the ball against a light box. The nice thing about this team and the weapons we have is that most of the time we will have answers for the problems defenses present. North Central took away the pass game, so we were able to run the ball, and our backs and offensive line did a marvelous job of that all game.”
Looking for a way to watch the game if you are not traveling to Riverside?
Click Here
Colville 22, North Central 0
Scoring Plays
First Quarter
COL - Safety, ball snapped out of end zone
COL - Isaiah Porter-Mills 15 run (run failed)
Second Quarter
COL - Porter-Mills 4 run (Johnathan Reeves kick)
Third Quarter
None
Fourth Quarter
COL - Porter-Mills 1 run (Reeves kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing
North Central: Trey Workman 9-55, Nicholas Elliott 1-3, Simon Gabriel Morales 1-(minus) 1, Aiden Hamm 1-(minus) 4, Tommy Elliott 3-(minus) 16
Colville: Porter-Mills 17-93, Mason Beardsley 15-65, Cale Roy 8-57, Sam Mitchell 6-31, Allan McKeraghan 2-15, Team 3-(minus) 6
Passing
North Central: T. Elliott 10-24-4-127
Colville: Roy 5-13-2-66
Receiving
North Central: Workman 4-84, N. Elliott 3-21, Jaheim Jaron Ross-Mance 1-13, Makai Daniels 1-9, Cameron Dewey 1-0
Colville: McKeraghan 3-52, Porter-Mills 1-8, Beardsley 1-6
