Proving themselves

COEUR d'ALENE - The pregame talk was about the visiting team with the big-name quarterback.

On Friday night, Lake City made a big name for itself, outscoring the Shadle Park Highlanders of the Greater Spokane League 56-34 in a track meet of a high school football game, which saw the teams combine for more than 1,200 yards of offense.

"It was a big win," said Lake City senior Connor Newby, who rushed for 287 yards and two touchdowns, and caught a TD pass after his interception set up the game's first score. "It was a game that we had to prove ourselves. ... Coming into the game, everybody was talking about Brett Rypien and Shadle Park and putting up all of these numbers. But we just came out and proved ourselves."

Rypien, the Boise State-bound quarterback, passed for 487 yards and four touchdowns against Lake City (4-0). But Rypien, who holds the Washington state high school record for passing yards in a game with 613, was also intercepted three times.

In addition to Newby's pick, which came on the first play of the game, Walker Jones stepped in front of a swing pass in the right flat for the interception, and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown for a 34-20 lead with 7:08 left in the first half.

In the fourth quarter, Scott Helsper picked off Rypien at the Lake City 1. The Timberwolves turned that into a 99-yard, eight-play drive, with quarterback Michael Goggin running the final 7 yards on a keeper and a 56-34 lead with 6:37 remaining.

The teams were on an Arena Football League-scoring pace in the first half, with eight touchdowns in the first 17 minutes. But Lake City kept Shadle Park (2-1) out of the end zone on its final four drives in the second half. In addition to Helsper's interception, the T-Wolves stopped Shadle on downs three times.

In the third quarter, the Highlanders drove to the Lake City 5, where Brandon Dotson knocked Rypien's pass down on fourth down. Shadle drove to the Lake City 3 on its next series, but Newby broke up a pass at the goal line on fourth down.

Lake City didn't pressure much, but rather, picked its spots with pressure at the end. The T-Wolves got burned for a TD on one blitz, but made up for it with big defensive plays at the end.

"This was a huge win," Troxel said. "We're not physical beasts, but everybody says we hit, and they're pretty disciplined. Those defensive stands were pretty unbelievable. A guy like that (Rypien), you can never give him the same thing; he's too good, he'll pick you apart if you give him the same thing over and over and over again."

Given that, Shadle still totaled 626 yards of offense. Lake City countered with 622 - 416 on the ground. Goggin added 102 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries, including some big runs late in the game when the Timberwolves were trying to burn the clock.

Goggin also passed for 206 yards and three scores. Jerry Louie-McGee caught nine passes for 124 yards and a score as Lake City matched Shadle yard for yard.

"This is a very good high school football game," Troxel said. "Defense, they're growing up; they're getting better. And offensively ... Mike made some nice reads, some nice runs, Newby's a beast, and Jerry's Jerry. He makes all of it go, because everybody's so conscious of him. He reminds me of a No. 11 I lived with (his son, Matt Troxel)."

Lake City scored on four of its first six possessions, and its first two of the second half to build a 49-34 lead. Then, its defense did the rest when it mattered.

"Going up against Brett Rypien, it really tested our secondary," Newby, a free safety on defense. "We were a little sloppy in the first half but we tightened it up toward the end. And our defense had some great stops near the goal line, and we just played T-Wolf football."

Lake City travels to Tumwater (Wash.) next Friday.

Shadle Park 14 12 8 0 - 34

Lake City 20 14 15 7 - 56

First quarter

LC - Connor Newby 10 pass from Michael Goggin (Casey Bourque kick), 11:06

SP - Jayden Nguyen 8 pass from Brett Rypien (kick blocked), 9:07

LC - Newby 65 run (Bourque kick), 7:03

LC - Brandon Dotson 17 pass from Goggin (pass failed), 2:32

SP - Mike Morris 43 run (Nguyen pass from Rypien), 53.9

Second quarter

SP - Morris 4 pass from Rypien (pass failed), 8:58

LC - Jerry Louie-McGee 57 pass from Goggin (Bourque kick), 7:41

LC - Walker Jones 42 interception return (Bourque kick), 7:08

SP - N'Keil Nelson 72 pass from Rypien (pass failed), 1:05

Third quarter

LC - Goggin 20 run (Goggin run), 11:05

SP - Sam Stratton 23 pass from Rypien (Stratton pass from Rypien), 8:56

LC - Newby 15 run (Bourque kick), 5:11

Fourth quarter

LC - Goggin 7 run (Bourque kick), 6:37

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING - SP, Morris 17-123, Rypien 4-14, Munson 1-2. LC, Louie-McGee 17-27, Goggin 17-102, Newby 23-287.

PASSING - SP, Rypien 26-53-3-487. LC, Goggin 17-24-1-206.

RECEIVING - SP, Nguyen 10-131, Stratton 2-61, Nelson 2-84, Morris 5-23, Duty 7-188. LC, Newby 3-36, Louie-McGee 9-124, McKenzie 1-10, Dotson 2-20, Hunter 2-16.