Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Gorillas are No. 7 in WIAA RPI rankings
Davenport senior running back Marcus Delafield surges away from three Lake Roosevelt defenders. Delafield ran for 224 yards and two touchdowns in Davenport's 28-8 win over the Raiders Thursday, Sept. 23.
Davenport senior running back Marcus Delafield (right, No. 12) and junior quarterback Evan Gunning (center, No. 15) dive on a fumbled punt during the first half of the Gorillas' 28-8 victory over Lake Roosevelt Thursday, Sept. 23.
COULEE DAM-The Gorillas may have leveled up for their lone nonconference game after scheduling Lake Roosevelt, the No. 10 ranked 2B school in the state AP poll, once Oroville cancelled the previously scheduled matchup with Davenport. But the final result didn't show that, as Davenport traveled to Coulee Dam and routed the Lake Roosevelt Raiders 28-8 Thursday, Sept. 23.
The first half was evenly matched. Davenport took an 8-0 lead on a 5-yard touchdown run by senior fullback Sam Schneider and two-point conversion run by sophomore quarterback Evan Gunning. Lake Roosevelt tied the game on a 72-yard touchdown pass and successful two-point try, and the two teams were even 8-8 at intermission.
Davenport then stepped on the gas pedal and ran the ball down the Raiders' throats, executing the style of play head coach Justin Young prefers to see. Senior running back Marcus Delafield scored two touchdowns in the third quarter, and Gunning added a one-yard run in the fourth quarter as the Gorillas outscored Lake Roosevelt 20-0 in the second half.
"We got off to another slow start. Penalties killed us...and we kept shooting ourselves in the foot," Young said. "But in the second half we adjusted and played way better."
Delafield toted the rock 28 times for Davenport to the tune of 224 yards and two touchdowns. Junior wingback Brenick Soliday, who was limited due to an injury suffered the week prior at Northwest Christian, managed 55 yards on three carries. Schneider had five carries for 30 yards and a touchdown, while junior running back Jayvee Fudurich took many of Soliday's carries and capitalized with 37 yards on five attempts.
The Gorillas played a day after the WIAA started releasing its football RPI rankings, which rank all WIAA high school football teams in the state based on winning percentage, opponent's win percentage, winning percentage of opponent's opponents and strength of schedule. The rankings will reportedly help the selection committee decide the bracket for state competition.
Davenport currently ranks seventh amongst 2B schools in the RPI rankings after improving to 3-1 by beating Lake Roosevelt. The Gorillas' lone loss was to the top-ranked team in RPI, Lind-Ritzville/Sprague.
NWC, which Davenport beat handily two weeks ago, is the third NE2B team and are ranked 16th.
The Gorillas have five games remaining to make a push for a crossover game with District 6 and a potential berth in the state playoffs.
Next up is Asotin, a game scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. The Panthers are 2-2 this season with victories over Kettle Falls and Reardan and losses to Chewelah and Colfax.
"We're going to have the same plan we always do, which is to run the football and be physical," Young said. "We want to control the clock, so we can't shoot ourselves in the foot."
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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