Rogers QB tips scales as Pirates pillage Pullman

Sep. 23—The thing about balance is both sides of the scale need an equal amount of weight. Last week the Pullman High football team got some weight on one side of the scale with a 35-7 2A Greater Spokane League win over North Central. On Friday, Pullman (2-2, 1-1) got to see the weight fill the other side and lost 40-20 to the Rogers Pirates of Spokane on Homecoming week.

"(Rogers) is a heck of a football team," Pullman coach David Cofer said. "One heck of a ball club. They're really well-coached, they did a really nice job of exposing when we broke down a little bit. We knew they were going to be tough — they're probably the most talented team in the league."

Here are some of the highlights from Friday's game.

Getting mobile

The biggest struggle the Greyhounds had on the night was stopping the dynamic dual-threat Rogers (4-0, 1-0) quarterback Aaron Kinsey.

After opening the first couple plays at wide receiver (and recording a catch while doing so), Kinsey torched the Pullman defense with his arm and his legs.

Kinsey finished with 300 yards of total offense and four touchdowns — three rushing and one passing.

The Greyhounds' defense was able to slow down Kinsey in the third quarter and got favorable field position to start a couple drives after blocking a punt and the Pirates shanked another, but was only able to get six points out of the endeavor.

"We came out and fought in the second half," Cofer said. "Ultimately, offensively we just didn't get it done."

Homecoming for Northcroft

Pullman starting quarterback Caleb Northcroft was back in the lineup for the first time since suffering an injury in the second half of a game Sept. 8 against Moscow.

Northcroft's first drive probably wasn't the welcome back he wanted.

On just his second throw in almost six quarters — Rogers senior defensive back Ja'Shon Moore picked off the senior signal-caller and returned it 74 yards to the house.

Northcroft continued to struggle and threw another pick to junior safety Triston Bates in the second frame — but started to find his form in the second half and completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Brown for the only score of the third quarter.

Connor Stewart relieved Northcroft in the final drive of the game and finished it off with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Champ Powaukee. Cofer clarified after the game that Stewart filling in for Northcroft was a matter of getting the backup quarterback more reps with the game, at that point, out of hand.

A performance fit for royalty

One of the Greyhounds' highlights from Friday's loss was the continued strong performance of junior halfback Brady Coulter.

Coulter, who was announced as junior homecoming royalty during halftime, was by far the most utilized skill player on Pullman's offense. He had 21 total touches between catching and rushing the ball for a total of 145 yards.

He also had a 33-yard pass completion to Brown off a double-pass that set the Greyhounds up with first-and-goal — which Coulter finished off with a one-yard touchdown run.

"Brady's our energizer — we know that," Cofer said. "We feed off his energy and we need guys to mimic that. I just felt like we were a little flat there in the first half. We'll get better, and we'll move on."

Making history

Rogers' 4-0 start is the first time the team has achieved that mark since 1968. It hasn't been that long since the Pirates went two years without recording a win — and now the team might be on the top looking down at the rest of the Greater Spokane League.

"We talked to our boys and said 'you're only as good as the next game you play,'" Rogers coach Ryan Cole said. "So, right now, our win-loss record is 0-0. We just take it one game at a time."

Rogers 14 20 0 6—40

Pullman 7 0 6 7—20

FIRST QUARTER

Rogers — Ja'Shon Moore 74 interception (#85 kick)

Rogers — Kinsey 19 run (#85 kick)

Pullman — Brady Coulter 1 run (Northcroft kick)

SECOND QUARTER

Rogers — Kinsey 20 run (kick failed)

Rogers — Kinsey 5 run (#85 kick)

Rogers — Ronald Warrick V 88 pass from Kinsey (#85 kick)

THIRD QUARTER

Pullman — Gavin Brown 10 pass from Caleb Northcroft (kick failed)

FOURTH QUARTER

Rogers — Gavynn Bodman 5 run (kick failed)

Pullman — Champ Powaukee 9 pass from Connor Stewart (Northcroft kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

PASSING — Rogers: Aaron Kinsey 9-13-0—184; Fritz Reiher 3-3-0—18. Pullman: Caleb Northcroft 13-28-2—85; Connor Stewart 6-10-0—62; Brady Coulter 1-1-0—33

RUSHING — Rogers: Gavynn Bodman 24—96; Kinsey 11—109; Triston Bates 3— -2; Isaiah Thompson 1— -1. Pullman: Coulter 16—79; Northcroft 3—8.

RECEIVING — Rogers: Ronald Warrick V 5—142; Ja'Shon Moore 5—53; Kinsey 1—7. Pullman: Gavin Brown 7—74; Champ Powaukee 6—63; Coulter 5—46; Brayden Randall 2—15

Kowatsch can be contacted at 208-848-2268, tkowatsch@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @Teren_Kowatsch.