Lyle-Klickitat-Wishram won ugly last Friday, holding off visiting Soap Lake, 9-6, in the home opener of its 2006 football season.
On the whole, however, the Cougars (1-1) gave an effort that made their coach proud.
"All in all, it was a pretty good game for us," Cougars Coach Dave Barthlow said.
On a night when the Cougars unveiled a new offense, it was their defense that made the difference.
LKW's defensive unit bent but broke just once, allowing an 8-yard touchdown--on a fourth-and-1 quarterback sneak with 8:06 remaining in the second quarter--that capped a 68-yard drive by the Eagles (0-2).
But a strong rush on the point-after try forced Soap Lake kicker Jordan Davis to mishit the ball, preserving a 7-6 advantage for LKW.
That was one of several game-changing plays turned in by an LKW defensive unit that surrendered 50 points in the Cougars' Week 1 shutout loss at Spangle.
"The defense really worked hard and did a very good job against a much bigger team," Barthlow said. "When they were driving, we were able to stop them" more often than not.
Following Soap Lake's touchdown, Davis made up for his missed PAT by lobbing the ensuing kickoff over LKW's front five and toward the visitors' sideline. Teammate Frank Velasquez raced in and recovered the perfectly placed ball at LKW's 26-yard line to put the Eagles in prime field position.
LKW held its ground, however, and took over on downs at its 25 with 6:36 remaining in the half.
But the Cougars' offense, which scored its only points of the game on its opening drive (on an 18-yard run by senior tailback Reggie Grace with 6:53 left in the first quarter), couldn't get anything going against the Eagles' equally stingy defense.
After two penalties, a quarterback sack and an incomplete pass, LKW sophomore Jeromie Mason punted. However, his second punt of the game was into a stiff wind and went for just 7 yards before being downed at LKW's 23.
So, with 3:53 to go in the half, Soap Lake was again in position to take the lead. Aided by a roughing the passer penalty on LKW, the Eagles got the ball first-and-goal at the Cougars' 9-yard line.
The drive ended, however, when LKW junior defensive back Jonavan Jim intercepted a third-and-goal pass at the goal line and returned it 20 yards. The half ended with LKW still on top, 7-6.
"I was pleased with the way our defense stepped up and really held Soap Lake down," Barthlow said. "They completed only two passes; one was a screen and the other one we got a hand on and tipped."
In the second half, the defensive battle continued as the opposing offenses combined for just three trips into the Red Zone (the area between the 20-yard line and the goal line).
LKW's two Red Zone visits occurred in the third quarter. Both times the Cougars, who mustered 123 yards of offense in 40 plays, turned the ball over on downs.
Barthlow, who earlier in the week scrapped LKW's Wing-T in favor of the I-formation and the pro set, found the Cougars' offensive struggles understandable yet still frustrating.
"We should have scored more points than we did but it seemed like every time we had a drive going, we committed penalties that would move us back, or we would have a bad hand-off or pitch," he said.
Fortunately for LKW, Soap Lake experienced the same problems.
After another defensive stand, the Eagles drove from their 20 to the Cougars' 14 but couldn't convert on fourth-and-14 to keep the drive alive.
The Cougars, who took over with 10:31 to play, did just enough offensively in the fourth quarter to burn time off the clock, then got two terrific punts from Mason that pinned the Eagles deep in their own territory.
Mason's last boot traveled 57 yards, rolling dead at Soap Lake's 6-yard line with 3:06 remaining and putting 94 yards between the Eagles and their last best shot at the victory.
But before Soap Lake could punch its way out of the corner Mason's punt had left it in, LKW sophomore lineman Chris Wolff delivered the defense's knockout blow with 2:40 to go, sacking Eagles quarterback Viktor Babak in the end zone for a safety.
Next up:
The Cougars travel to Kittitas this Friday for a non-league game against the Coyotes that kicks off at 7 p.m. Kittitas (1-0) defeated Wellpinit, 34-6, in its season opener.
In preparation for the Week 3 matchup, LKW's head coach said the Cougars "will be spending more time on the new offense this week." The new offense, he said, is better-suited to LKW's personnel and its strengths.
"We've gone to the I-formation and the pro set so we can spread the defense out a little more, so we can get outside to use our speed," Barthlow said.
LKW scrapped its experiment with the Wing-T, he explained, "because I didn't feel we were big enough inside to keep running the inside game."
Barthlow noted LKW finished the 2005 season running the I and pro set, so the switch from the Wing-T isn't as radical as it seems.
"The players really like running it," he said of LKW's new offense. "Also, I think we can add more to these two sets as the season goes by."
Against Soap Lake, fullback Noah LaFrenz and tailback Reggie Grace combined for 85 rushing yards, accounting for two-thirds of the team's total offensive output.
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