SPARKS - Galena High showed the rust of having a week off following its win over McQueen.
"We were way too flat; overconfident," lineman Adam Kirtley said. "An 0-4 team and we had a bye last week. It took us a while to get going."
Galena running back Jimmy Sargent gained more than 100 of his 172 yards in the second half, and the Grizzlies' defense shut out Spanish Springs over the last three quarters in a 33-7 victory Friday night in a High Desert League game.
The Grizzlies improved to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in league play. They host Fallon next week, and certainly will be favored in that game.
"I knew we would have a difficult time tonight," Galena coach Steve Struzyk said. "We were lucky to get out of there with a win. We came out rusty after not
playing.
"We couldn't run our zone plays. We had to go to our trap plays. The group up front finally figured it out. We had a hard time putting hats on hats. We couldn't get outside on them."
Actually, the Grizzlies didn't need to. Sargent was like a pinball in the second half, bouncing off Spanish Springs defenders and getting through small creases. He was appreciative of his offensive line which has done a good job all year.
"They're getting the Port of Sub sandwich that I won for getting athlete of the week," Sargent said. "I couldn't do it without these guys.
"It was a combination of me getting better as the game went along and them wearing down. The line did a great job of coming across and opening holes."
Sargent was huge in the third quarter on the Grizzlies' first scoring drive of the second half following a Pete Lazzari interception and 24-yard return that gave Galena great field position at its own 44.
It only took five running plays to drive 56 yards, and Sargent got the call on every one of them. After a 2-yard loss, he ripped off a 33-yard gain down to the Cougars' 25. He ran for 10 yards and a first down on the next play, and followed that with a 5-yard gain to the 10. He scored on the next play, and Chris Ewald's extra point made it 26-7.
"Our line coach challenged us at halftime," lineman Grant Cummings said. "We open a tiny hole, and Jimmy hits it and goes as far as he can."
A 4-yard punt early in the fourth quarter gave the Grizzlies excellent field position at the 32, and they didn't waste it.
Four straight running plays by Sargent moved the ball down to the Cougars' 3-yard line, and on third-and-goal, Jacob Anderson (6-for-16, 116 yards) lofted a pass into the middle of the end zone to Jesse Snodgrass for the score. Snodgrass caught three passes for 70 yards in his best effort of the season.
Galena allowed just 76 yards on the ground, dominating the line of scrimmage. Spanish Springs did hit some big plays through the air, but Galena's defense stepped up when it needed to.
"We could have done better," defensive tackle Billy Durden said. "Our pass defense wasn't that good. Everything was happening so quick. Not like the McQueen game."
"The defense was average," Struzyk said. "We're playing better teams then we did in our first two wins."
Galena self destructed on its first possession of the game, as a holding penalty wiped out a 3-yard scoring run by Sargent. Anderson misfired on the next two downs, and Ewald came on to kick a 28-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 6:12 left.
Camron Longobardo fumbled two plays after the ensuing kickoff after being hit by Jake Mansfield. Durden recovered at the Cougars' 24. That set up Anderson's 1-yard pass to Jason Parkinson. Ewald's PAT made it 10-0 with 2:57 left.
Spanish Springs drove 80 yards for its only score of the game, as Andrew Thompson threw a 35-yard pass to Scott Lannom, who broke two tackles at about the 20 and roared into the endzone. The PAT made it 10-7.
Galena came back on the next possession with a 39-yard field goal by Ewald. The key play of the drive was a 37-yard pass play from Anderson to Snodgrass for a first down at the Cougars' 26.
Spanish Springs moved the ball to the Galena 36, but Longobardo coughed up the ball and T.J. Latino recovered for the Grizzlies, who eventually punted the ball away.
The Grizzlies got the ball back at their own 29 with 2:43 left in the half.
Runs of 9 and 11 by Sargent moved the ball to the Galena 49. Anderson hit Steve Blackhart with a 17-yard pass down to the Cougars' 34. Sargent gained 10 down to the 24. After Galena was penalized five yards, Sargent was stopped for a short gain. On the next play, Anderson and a wide-open Blackhart hooked up for a 28-yard TD pass to make it 19-7 with 1:40 left in the half.
"It was a combo route," Struzyk said.
"The inside guy runs a seam route and the outside guy goes out and up. It puts pressure on the cornerback."
The Grizzlies certainly earned the respect of Spanish Springs coach Scott Hare,
"I think Galena and Reed right now are probably the favorites to win a state championship," Hare said.
"We played hard tonight. The score doesn't indicate that."