Riverhawks beat Palouse Thunder
Riverhawks 40, Thunder 26
LAPWAI, IDAHO - The Columbia Basin Riverhawks overcame four first-half turnovers and near 100 degree heat to defeat the Palouse Thunder 40-26 in an Evergreen Football League match up. The Riverhawks improved their record to 2-5 on the season.
The team traveled well and had enough numbers to rotate players and deal with the heat issues. Late in the game a couple of players had to leave the field with heat exhaustion issues but were fine after cooling down.
The Riverhawks scored first on their third possession of the first quarter via a 28-yard touchdown pass from Czak Conley to Brandon Gomez. The PAT kick failed.
Palouse took the lead 7-6 on its next possession following a long kickoff return and face mask penalty.
Later in the second quarter with Conley stunned on a tackle that caused a fumble which the Hawks recovered, AJ Eldridge came in and ran the option for two plays and scored. The drive covered 64 yards. Eldridge then ran in the conversion to give the Riverhawks a 14-7 half time lead.
"AJ gives us a different dimension because he was a running quarterback in high school," head coach Jim Whitaker said. "He has very good speed and ball skills. He runs that option very well and is a tribute to the fine coaching he had at Royal City."
The Thunder took the second half opening kickoff and began deep in their end. On the first play from scrimmage, Justin Falconer intercepted a pass and set the Riverhawks up for a short drive. Five plays later Conley hit Gomez again for a two-yard touchdown pass.
The Thunder answered with two long passes to set up a short touchdown pass on their next possession to close the score to 20-14 after the PAT kick.
After a Riverhawks punt, the Thunder runningback led his team to another score. The PAT kick was blocked by Ryan Whitaker, making the score 20-20.
Late in the third quarter the Riverhawks took over at their own 25 and drove the field to score. The fifth play of the fourth quarter was a 57-yard scoring pass from Conley to Zach Lewis. Lewis took a short pass from Conley to the end of the field. Eldridge ran in the conversion on an option, giving the lead to the Riverhawks at 28-20.
Palouse then drove down the field using the long pass and their big back to make the score 28-26.
The Riverhawks could not get a first down on their next possession and turned the ball over on downs. But Joey Egia intercepted the Palouse quarterback on the next series to put the offense back in business.
The Riverhawks used three passes and four runs to move 70 yards as the fourth quarter wound down. The score came on an eight-yard toss from Conley to Brandon Gomez. All of Gomez's catches were for touchdowns.
A fourth-quarter interception and 40-yard run back set the offense up at the Palouse 20-yard line. A run followed by a 28-yard touchdown pass from Conley to Lewis made the score 40-26.
The defense finished with three interceptions on the day. Nick Moore led the team with two quarterback sacks and Anthony Thomas had one. Linebacker Egia led the team in tackles.
The offense had its best effort of the day despite four turnovers. Total offense for the day was 312 yards with 242 coming via the pass. Conley finished 14 of 30 with five touchdowns and three interceptions. Lewis was the top receiver with 151 yards on seven receptions and two touchdowns. Gomez had 3 receptions for 38 yards and three touchdowns. The rushing total of 134 yards was divided between Hector Ledezma's 76 yards and Eldridge's 68 yards on three carries.
The 40-26 victory was the Riverhawks' first league road win of the season. They finish the season against the Stateline Miners at the North Central High School field in Spokane at 3 p.m. on Saturday.