West Valley pulls away in second half for 42-14 win over rival East Valley | GSL football

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Sep. 19—Not all rivalries are created equally.

Some so-called rivalries are name only.

As for Spokane Valley rivals, football has been the sport that has offered the most consistent rivalry between the East and West schools.

West Valley made a statement in the second half between the schools along the Trent corridor Friday, as the Eagles pulled away 42-14 over the visiting East Valley Knights in a 2A Greater Spokane League opener for both teams.

The final score doesn't show it, but it was a tight game through the first half between the rivals who have been playing for 58 years. And East Valley scored the game's first touchdown.

But better execution and taking advantage of turnovers opened things up for the Eagles (3-0).

WV took the opening kick of the second half, taking a 21-7 lead when wide receiver Gavin Maney and quarterback Nathan Zettle connected for a third touchdown.

EV (1-2) didn't back down. The Knights moved 65 yards on 11 plays, pulling within 21-14 when quarterback Gideon Raczek executed a nice play-action fake and found tight end Wyatt Metcalf on a 7-yard touchdown pass with 2:18 to go in the third.

That's when things started to unravel for the Knights. Zettle dropped back to pass on third-and-6 and seeing nobody open, scampered 31 yards for a touchdown and a 28-14 lead.

Moments later, defensive back Korrigan McConnell returned an interception 26 yards to extend the lead to 35-14.

And a fumble on EV's next play set up the final score.

"We knew we were going to be in for a fight," WV coach Craig Whitney said. "Their kids play hard and their coaches put them in the right spot. We've got to figure some things out, but I'm proud of our kids."

The 6-foot-4 Maney finished with four catches, three going for touchdowns, and 121 yards.

"I really like Gavin," Whitney said. "He does some nice stuff. It's a pleasure to coach him."

"I just try to go up and make a play and put our team in a good spot to win the game," Maney said.

EV moved effectively on its first possession, but a fumble ended the drive at WV's 40-yard line.

The Eagles used two pass competitions for 52 yards to get to the Knights' 8, and Elijah Newman gained four more to the 4. But that's where the drive would stall when EV made a nice open-field tackle at the 7 to squash the drive.

EV then put together a 16-play drive and scored when Kyler Goll rambled in from 5 yards out with 9:53 to go in the second quarter.

WV answered quickly, scoring three plays later when Maney hauled in a 79-yard pass in stride from quarterback Zettle to even the score at 7-7.

Both teams had two more possessions before WV took the lead thanks to starting at the EV 35. Zettle found Maney in a mismatch on a 14-yard scoring connection, putting the Eagles ahead 14-7 with 2:21 to go before halftime.

WV takes on North Central at ONE Stadium next Friday.

"This game was way closer than it shows," Whitney said. "It was a battle until the end. Hats off to Adam (Fisher, EV coach). It's good to start league like this. We've got to keep running our base stuff on defense and lining up on offense and carrying out our assignments. There are a lot of things to clean up."

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