Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Garfield-Palouse has won four games in a row
The Garfield-Palouse football seniors stand with their families before a game against Tekoa-Rosalia on Friday, Oct. 25. The seniors are Bryce Pfaff (No. 3), Nick Meeuwsen (No. 14), Macent Rardeon (No. 16) and Landon Orr (No. 44).
PALOUSE - Celebrating Senior Night on Friday, Oct. 25, the Garfield-Palouse (Gar-Pal) Vikings defeated the Tekoa-Rosalia Timberwolves, 48-6, to finish the regular season with a 4-4 record.
The Vikings have now won four games in a row as they head to the postseason.
Seniors this year include quarterback Bryce Pfaff, running back Nick Meeuwsen, lineman Macent Rardon and lineman Landon Orr.
"It's been fun," Pfaff said. "Most of us have played with each other since our GPAC (Garfield-Palouse Athletic Club) days and we have continued to play with each other ever since. We have a tight bond."
Gar-Pal opened the scoring early in the first quarter on a 27-yard touchdown run by junior running back Lane Collier. The Vikings defense stood strong and forced the Timberwolves to punt to their own 31-yard line, setting up a 31-yard TD run by Collier.
Later in the first, Vikings junior running back Keleb Kelnhofer added an 11-yard TD run. With four seconds remaining in the opening quarter, Pfaff connected with Rardon on a 13-yard TD pass to give the Vikings a 26-0 lead.
"We've been determined ever since we lost our first four," Pfaff said. "We've been aching to get a win and now it's four in a row so it feels good."
Collier struck twice in the second quarter on TD runs from 11 yards out and 12 yards out. At halftime, the Vikings had built a 42-0 lead.
Late in the third quarter, Gar-Pal freshman running back Cooper Wells punched in a 10-yard TD run, giving the Vikings a 48-0 lead.
The Timberwolves stymied the shutout with 8:30 to go in the game when junior wide receiver Soren Braun scored on a 16-yard TD run to give the final score of 48-6 in favor of the Vikings.
"We ran the ball really well and got a lot of linebackers blocking really well," Orr said. "The pass game was pretty good too. It's fun having your quarterback be in your class all the way from middle school."
Collier finished the game with 11 rushes for 168 yards and Kelnhofer finished with seven rushes for 125 yards.
The Vikings finish the regular season second in the Southeast 1B Wheat division with a 4-4 record, 4-1 in League play. They will next play in a Grape/Wheat crossover game against DeSales, the fourth-ranked team in the state, at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 1.
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