Granite Falls tops Lakewood for Coach Joe

GRANITE FALLS — This one was for Coach Joe.

With the memory of former assistant coach Joe Montooth, who passed away just before the season began, fresh in their minds, the Granite Falls High School football team scored a victory that would have made Montooth proud, beating Lakewood 20-13 Friday night.

“This is a team (Montooth), for lack of a better word, despised,” said Granite Falls senior Zach Jones, who rushed for two touchdowns and made 11 tackles on defense. “It felt good to win this one for him.”

Jones and fellow senior Coty Walker combined to rush for 289 yards and score all three of Granite Falls’ TDs as the Tigers (1-2 in the Cascade Conference, 2-3 overall), ran the ball at will against the Cougars (0-3, 2-3).

But it was Montooth who served as the inspiration. Montooth, who coached for 12 years at Granite Falls and was slated to serve as offensive coordinator this season, died in his sleep on July 26, just weeks before the season began. The Tigers are dedicating the season to Montooth’s memory, and Friday’s result was the one they wanted most.

“This was one he always wanted to win,” Granite Falls coach Tracey Bechtholdt said. “So this was a special one for the kids.”

It was Granite Falls’ thunder and lightning combination of Jones and Walker that carried the load for the Tigers. The speedy Walker did his work on the perimeter, carrying 33 time for 175 yards. Meanwhile, the bruising Jones — who was an all-conference offensive lineman a year ago — gained the rugged yards up the middle, rushing 20 times for 114 yards.

Those two constituted the entirety of Granite Falls’ offense as the Tigers didn’t put the ball in the air once.

“Our running game comes and goes, they just figured it out tonight,” Bechtholdt said. “(Walker and Jones) are a very good combination.

“We had a tough week last week (in a 17-3 loss to Coupeville), so this was a real character check for our team.”

It proved enough to overcome the Cougars, but only just as Lakewood took it to the wire.

Granite Falls combined its running game with Lakewood turnovers to build a 14-0 lead in the second quarter — the second touchdown coming on a 98-yard drive following Ryan Teter’s drive-thwarting interception.

But with star junior quarterback Justin Lane at the helm the Cougars have the ability to respond in a hurry. Lane twice led Lakewood on scoring drives that cut the deficit to seven. Then, with the score 20-13, he drove the Cougars to the Granite Falls 25-yard line with five minutes remaining.

However, on fourth-and-10 Lane was sacked — Jones inevitably the culprit — and the Tigers running game was able to salt the rest of the game away.

Lane finished 14-for-22 for 181 yards, including a 9-yard scoring strike to Trent Melhart. At one point in the second half Lane completed nine straight passes.

“That big fourth-down sack really hurt, but all night long we battled,” Lakewood coach Dan Teeter said. “We saw our kids really cared tonight, they’re hurting after the loss, and that’s a positive in a way. Last week (after losing 54-34 to King’s) we had kids joking around. But tonight I’m proud of the way the kids battled.”

The first half was evenly contested, with both offenses moving the ball steadily. The difference was turnovers as the Tigers recovered a fumble, made an interception and stopped the Cougars twice on fourth down, and Granite Falls emerged with a 14-7 lead. Walker’s 22-yard scamper off left tackle made it 7-0, with Jones’ 1-yard plunge completing the 98-yard drive to double the lead.

Lakewood got back in the game late in the first half using its own running game, Lane scoring on a keeper from 2 yards out to make it 14-7 going into halftime.

At Granite Falls Middle School

Lakewood0760—13

Granite Falls7760—20

Granite Falls—Walker 22 run (Gumke kick)

Granite Falls—Jones 1 run (Gumke kick)

Lakewood—Lane 2 run (Hawkins kick)

Granite Falls—Jones 19 run (kick failed)

Lakewood—Melhart 9 pass from Lane (kick failed)

Records—Granite Falls 1-2 in league, 2-3 overall. Lakewood 0-3, 2-3.