Nighthawk neighbors agree to visit 7-0 Bulldogs

North Central jayvees came to the rescue at Colfax Friday when the Bulldogs earlier were left without a foe for the homecoming game. Colfax took a win over the Indians in a close game. The last time Colfax marked a win over a GSL team was 51 years ago when the 1958 Bulldogs rolled to an undefeated season. That game also involved North Central.

Again, Colfax football players will have to switch modes Friday when they host the Tekoa/Oakesdale/ Rosalia Nighthawks at Schmuck Park. The `hawks will make the short trip south for a first-ever matchup between Colfax and their tri-school neighbors who campaign in the SE Big B league.

Colfax will host the neighbors after posting a 31-28 win over the North Central jayvees from Spokane in last Friday’s homecoming game. The North Central team, which arrived in two buses, was booked after Republic pulled out of the NE league at the start of the season.

Colfax freshman Matt St. Mary, one of the Bulldogs reserves who had a chance to shine in the second half of the Colfax homecoming game, struggles to escape a tackler

The Nighthawks will arrive after blanking Liberty/Christian 33-0 Friday for their second big win in as many weeks.

Tekoa/Oakesdale/Rosalia also fills a hole in the original Colfax schedule. The date had originally been booked as a road trip to Kettle Falls to play a favorite foe from the Colfax NE-A days. That game date opened up when Colfax agreed to sign the game date over to Springdale.

The net result was a big saving in bus miles for schools involved.

At right, senior Will Hatley makes a stop in the first half.

The unique Colfax-North Central matchup Friday saw the Bulldogs rip to a 31-0 lead early in the second half. Both teams staged down to the reserves, and North Central came charging back. The Indians scored their last TD with nine seconds on the clock, but the comeback charge ended there.

Colfax Coach Mike Morgan credited the NC coaches and players for making the trip. He noted North Central really had nothing to gain when they agreed to play Colfax in what amounted to a big school-small school script despite the jayvee tag.

North Central’s jayvee defense jolted Colfax at the start of the game by stopping the first Bulldog offensive series in three plays. The three-and-out served as a wakeup call for the varsity starters.

“I usually have 10 or 11 plays scripted for our opening drive, but that just didn’t happen,” Morgan reported.

Morgan pointed out a big part of the Colfax win hinged on a breakdown of the NC kicking game, particularly the punts.

A blocked punt by Sam Mellor set up the first Colfax TD at 7:52. Alvin Li wound up the loose ball and scored.

North Centrals next drive bogged down on penalties and Li picked up another TD in the first quarter

Li was booking the varsity action after two other Colfax backs were sidelined. Tyler McNannay, also a key ingredient for the Colfax run with his kicking talents, was out with an injury sustained in practice, and backup JJ Robinson had to leave the scene after sustaining a hit.

Colfax hit it again with 4:07 left in the half when Stetson Steiger pickup up another failed NC punt attempt and rambled for a TD.

The next NC drive was stopped when Will Hatley picked off a pass at at the six-yard line. That launched a Bulldog drive which went all the way to the three yard line. Colfax finally collected the score on the fourth down with Teade bucking the ball into the end zone.

The score went to 31-0 in the third quarter on another score by Teade, before the game momentum quickly flipped over to the North Central reserves.

They hit four tallies in the last quarter with Tyler Yates hitting Seth Wolfe on a play that covered 26 yards for a score. The Indians picked up another TD at 3:12 on a run by Yates. Another score came on 2:09 with a 42-yard run by Thomas Boring.

Coach Morgan noted after collecting the ensuing kickoff the Bulldogs figured they needed just one first and 10 to keep possession and put the win in the box. They collected the first down on a solid run by Matt St. Mary who marked a big night.

But NC notched it up again when a Colfax handoff was dropped and Jack Ritter ran it back into the end for North Central

That cut the Colfax lead down to three points with nine seconds left on the clock. This time the Bulldogs managed to collect the kickoff and burn off the clock.

Coach Morgan said he looks forward to this week’s matchup with the Nighthawks. One of the factors which sealed the deal was the urging from players on both ends.

“A lot of these guys know each other, and they wanted to play the game,” Morgan reported.

Some of the Nighthawks this summer played Legion baseball with Colfax players.