Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Colfax 6-foot, 200- pound junior running back Mason Gilchrist rushes through a hole in the defensive line of the Medical Lake Cardinals during a football jamboree on Aug. 28 at Lind-Ritzville High School in Ritzville.
COLFAX — Football season is back after a two-year, COVID-19-laden hiatus.
For the Davenport Gorillas, this season opens with a challenging matchup with the Colfax Bulldogs on Friday night, Sept. 3, starting at 7 p.m.
The Gorillas and Bulldogs haven't matched up since 2019 when Colfax eked out Davenport 28-26. During last year's COVID-shortened season, Davenport finished 2-3, while Colfax went 3-2 with close losses to top league teams Liberty and Chewelah.
Friday's matchup is a fascinating chess match between the physicality of Davenport on the line and the skilled, experienced outside players Colfax fields.
The Gorillas should run their usual shotgun single-wing offense featuring a lot of rushes from running back Marcus Delafield, wing Brenick Soliday, and quarterback Evan Gunning, in an attempt to push the Bulldogs around and control the clock offensively.
"We're preparing to do what we do best – run the football," Davenport Coach Justin Young said.
"That is a very tough offense to prepare for," Colfax Coach Mike Morgan added. "Davenport, in (Young)'s offense, always gives my defensive coordinator nightmares."
Colfax has senior experience in offensive skill positions and is led by senior quarterback Damian Demler, the signal-caller of a 2019 Bulldogs team that made the state playoffs. But Colfax lost 11 seniors, including on their line.
Morgan is starting all juniors and sophomores in the trenches, which could be to Davenport's advantage with a line that includes stars Willie Waters and Wyatt Telecky, as well as linebacker Sam Schneider.
"Skill-wise, we have more experience," Morgan said. "But let me tell you, as a coach you'd rather have the opposite – an experienced line, and more youth and skill on the outside."
Young said getting pressure on Demler while pushing around Colfax's youthful line and not allowing him to make easy throws is important.
"We have to pressure the quarterback. That will always be a key," Young said. "We have pretty good defensive backs that can stay with receivers, so we have to make sure they have a tough time on the line."
Before any games are played, it's difficult to know how good any team is, Young noted. The only film that exists on current squads is from jamborees.
Drew Lawson is a reporter and sports writer for Free Press Publishing, including the Cheney Free Press and Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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