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Cle Elum Wins Again With Playoffs Not Far Off

Cle Elum Wins Again With Playoffs Not Far Off

Cle Elum hosted Granger last Friday night in what was expected to be a tough test for the Warriors.  Granger had just knocked off the 1st place, and unbeaten, Zillah Leopards the week before, and came in to Cle Elum’s stadium inspired and ready to do the same to the Warriors.   The Warriors, on the other hand, wanted to keep their undefeated conference record intact and keep the #1 seed in the playoff bracket.

For the Granger Spartans, the momentum and inspiration from the big win last week was lost right after the first kickoff. The Warriors recovered an onside kick and scored 5 plays later when running back, Jake Gall, followed his 300 lb. linebacker, Cole Lowenstein, into the end zone for one of Gall’s 4 touchdowns in the first half.   Two of those touchdowns came after receptions from quarterback Tyler Kretschman, who went 10 for 14, with 209 yards passing and 3 touchdowns.   Griffon Alexander scored the other passing touchdown after a blown coverage by Granger left him wide open to catch a 35 yard touchdown pass.  Mitchell Millsap led all Warrior rushing with 11 carries for 111 yards and one touchdown.  The third Warrior running threat, Michael Newman, ran 89 yards on 7 carries and scored as well.

The Granger Spartan offense never was able to gain any ground on the stiff and punishing Warriors defense and at the end of the first half was only able to get 3 first downs.   Only when Coach Tony Kretschman pulled his Warrior starters in the 4th quarter did the Spartans have any luck on the ground.  They were able to manage a 75 yard touchdown drive, with just seconds left in the final quarter, to eliminate the shutout.   Granger’s Resendez, rushed 30 times for 111 yards, and Heitzman and Chaves combined 7 carries for 36 yards.

The final score of 56 – 7 added to the Warriors domination of their SCAC West league.   Their only loss of the year coming to the still unbeaten and #1 state ranked Cashmere Bulldogs.   Cle Elum will travel to La Salle next week to take on the 2-5 Lightning.  Then will gear up to face the toughest test of the year as the 6 – 1 Zillah Leopards come to town.

I am the Founder of the Northwest Prep Report. For 17 years I have led the way to the best of my ability to promote the best talent from the Pacific NW free of charge. It is my pleasure to continue to serve High School athletes from all over the Pacific NW and beyond. Formerly with Rivals.com my sites have now crossed over 8,000 stories, 7 MILLION Video Views, and 15,000 regular followers. Together with the best football people in the USA we pursue excellence for our NW athletes.

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