Kettle Falls RB Leo Clendennen notched 150 yards rushing with a touchdown. (Brandon Hansen photo)

Nave scores three touchdowns for state runner-up Liberty…

The Kettle Falls Bulldogs got no favors from the schedule as their “gentle” introduction to the season was facing No. 4-ranked and last year’s state runner-up Liberty. Jawuan Nave ran for two touchdowns and hauled in another scoring catch in a highlight reel performance that helped his squad down the Bulldogs 52-14 in NE 2B play on Friday.

Liberty led 21-0 after the first quarter but Cade McKern was able to punch the ball in from the one-yard line to put Kettle Falls on the board before halftime.

Nave finished with 181 yards rushing and also hauled in an interception on defense. Kettle Falls saw a wrecking ball performance from running back Leo Clendennen, who notched 150 yards rushing and a second-half touchdown.

Kettle Falls hosts Davenport next week, a team that defeated Springdale 29-0 on Friday.

LIBERTY 52, KETTLE FALLS 12
Liberty            21  19  12  0-52
Kettle Falls      0   7    7   0-14

SCORING PLAYS
L- Nave 15-yard run (conversion successful)
L- Heer 45-yard run (Heer kick)
L- Holling 29-yard pass from Fletcher (kick failed)
L- Nave 29-yard run (kick failed)
L- Nave 6-yard pass from Fletcher (kick failed)F
K- McKern 1-yard run (Thomas kick)
L- King 2-yard run (Heer good)
L- Holling 26-yard pass from Fletcher (kick failed)
L- Heer 43-yard run (kick failed)
K- Clendennen 21-yard run (Thomas kick)

Medical Lake was the only NEA League team that suffered a loss last night. Everybody else picked up a victory as the majority of Upper Right Washington squads played against Idaho teams. Here’s our rundown of area football action last night, for full box scores go over to the Spokesman’s prep football page.
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The Chewelah Independent realizes there are more teams that play locally than just the Cougars. We’re taking trips to many of the local football teams to see how they stack up against the Cougars and the rest of the state. 

Remember when Kettle Falls used to have a waterfall?

The team: Kettle Falls Bulldogs. A hard-nosed running team that should have a stable of running backs. Think the NWO but in blue and gold. I hope somebody get’s my late 90s wrestling reference. They’re in the 2B classification that has a bulk of ranked teams in Southwest Washington, and the rest of the ranked teams seem to be in Kettle Falls’ league.

This is the NWO in case you didn’t know.

The town: Kettle Falls. Perhaps the one team in the league in the 2Bs that had to relocate when they made the Grand Coulee Dam. I think this deserved note. There’s probably some old high school football field at the bottom of the Columbia River right now. Frozen Tundra Green Bay? Try the bottom of the river! Anyways, Kettle Falls has lots of a timber mills, lots of camping and is by Lake Roosevelt. It could pass as the setting for the first Rambo movie.

Old Kettle Falls in the 1890s

Old Kettle Falls now.

Last year: 4-6. Under first-year and former Chewelah coach Loren Finley, the Bulldogs found success against a lot of teams in their league. They also ran into some tough squads that reached the state title game (Liberty), made the state semifinals (Asotin) and made the state quarterfinals (Northwest Christian).

“My expectation is we beat all the teams we did last year and I think we can compete well against the other teams,” Finley said.

How Kettle Falls thinks the league will shape up: They have the state runner-up the first week of the season, so they know it’s a tough league.

Liberty is currently ranked No. 4 in the first prep poll. Asotin is No. 5 and Northwest Christian is No. 9.

Studs to watch: Another year in Finley’s system has the coach feeling there will be improvement. He has a very experienced backfield on offense, while the linebacking corp and secondary should be the standout groups on defense.

“We have a lot of kids with enthusiasm,” Finley said.

The Bulldogs have 15 kids returning from last year’s squad along with five freshman and two players new to football.

Who isn’t new to football is team captain and fullback Leo Clendennen, who set a school lifting record in the squat and bench this summer.

Leo is strong. Be afraid of Leo.

So have fun getting blocked or trying to tackle this junior. Fellow captain Cade McKern returns at quarterback for the Bulldogs and as a sophomore he’s bigger, faster and stronger from his freshman campaign. With a year experience under his belt, Finley should have a veteran signal caller for many years to come.

Collin Thomas might be the smartest center you mean, as along with being strong he spent a lot of practice and camp time learning the QB position so he’ll be like a second signal-caller out there. He’ll just be hiking the ball instead of throwing it.

Marcello Mendez and Jordon Clendennen are two experience running backs that will help keep the Power T offense running quickly.

What stinks in Kettle Falls: Going to the Drive-In theatre in between Colville and Kettle Falls and have the car behind you turn on their lights roughly four times during the movie. Are you looking for your car keys or something?! Also there’s no falls anymore in Kettle Falls because of the dam. Sad.

What is great in Kettle Falls: The town grouch. Is there a better title to get in a small town? I’ve already begun living in a garbage can alongside Highway 395 hoping that people in Chewelah start calling me the town grouch.

The Independent’s Take: The Bulldogs were a fun team to follow and watch last year. They’ll be a fun group to follow again. 4-6 can quickly turn into a playoff team if plays go a certain way and players improve from last year. Considering Liberty got really offended when a west-side paper called them a small town – so much so they had an Liberty insurance company post a story on its website about how great the team is – I will be rooting hard for Kettle Falls this year.

The Chewelah Independent realizes there are more teams that play locally than just the Cougars. We’re taking trips to many of the local football teams to see how they stack up against the Cougars and the rest of the state. 

Unlike other towns in the NEA League, Colville can brag about being an actual fort during the pioneer days.

The team: Colville Indians. You know the team parents bring up in every JJSHS athletic meeting as the team we need to beat. Anyways, they’re pretty good if you ask me. State contender material in a 1A classification that consists of ritzy west side private schools or rural towns scattered around the state.

This is the hard-nosed smashmouth FOOTBRAWL we’re used to in the NE Washington corner of the state. That and we can only run the ball when the weather is terrible here. (Katie Leithead photo/Statesman Examiner)

The town: Colville. Seat of Stevens County! The Seattle of NE Washington, complete with traffic after 9 p.m. because of road construction. Proud owner of two roundabouts. They have Vaagens Bros. which constitutes as roughly 85 percent of the entire county’s economy! And don’t forget Walmart. Everybody from Chewelah goes to Walmart up there, then comes back and tells everyone they hate Walmart.

There is probably a good explanation for this.

Last year: 7-4. Colville returns 13 starters from last year and is picked by the Spokesman-Review as the No. 1 team in the league. This coupled with the fact that they’ve won three of the last four NEA League titles and I’m going to go on a huge limb out here and say Colville is the league favorite. Yeah that’s my hot take of the preseason, I know I’m really being a rebel, but hopefully the hate mail doesn’t come streaming in.

“Our kids have high expectations every year,” Colville coach Randy Cornwell said. “They work hard year-round to prepare themselves to compete at a high level every year.”

They defeated Chewelah 43-12 last year and had a three-game winning streak before losing 27-6 in the first round of the state playoffs to Royal. Fun fact, I’m assuming this is Royal from Royal City. Royal City in central Washington has the most generic Wikipedia page of all time. It’s like somebody uploaded a template and then forgot to put in the actual information of the town.

Does anyone have one of those stain sticks?

How Colville thinks the league will shape up: They’re not kidding themselves, despite having the pedigree, it’s still going to be a battle. Their big bullseye has to be on the Stags. Namely because they have a ritzy Bi-Mart. Oh and maybe because Deer Park won the NEA League title last year, going undefeated before losing in the state playoffs. They looked big both in numbers and player size at the jamboree so it seems that the NEA League title will go through Northern Spokane County.

(Deer Park also has a converted ambulance that broadcasts the games live on You Tube. WELL WELL WELL, LOOK WHO HAS SOME OLD MONEY)

“We have a competitive league,” Cornwell said. “Deer Park, Freeman and Newport will all be good teams and Chewelah is on the rise and will be tough to beat and Lakeside has a winning tradition.”

Studs to watch: The Indians have two-time returning all-league linebacker Tristen Lewis, and after internet searches I cannot disproved he’s related to Ray Lewis. Last year QB John Knight – which is top ten for quarterback names – returns for the Indians after throwing for 992 yards and nine touchdowns last year which is basically the Air Raid offense in the run-heavy NE League. Knight’s favorite target All-League receiver Dawson Flugel comes back at receiver (and DB!). Flugel is the Cooper Kupp of the NEA League, hauling in 27 catches for 527 yards and five touchdowns.

John Knight returns at QB this year for the Indians, meaning somebody is going to have to sack him unless they want their secondary to be shredded. (Katie Leithead photo)

The line should be a strong point as well, as starting offensive lineman and linebacker Michael Fitzsimmons is back, and offensive lineman and defensive lineman Jacon Newsom is coming back after an injury-shortened campaign next year.

Cornwell added this is a squad of hard workers that are dedicated, play well together and have decent team speed.

What stinks in Colville: THE FIELD! Last year when Chewelah and Colville played it was the Mud Bowl. It was so bad when Chewelah played Omak in the crossover round the next week they still had mud on their uniforms because it didn’t come out. This wasn’t just a muddy field, it was one of those barnyards in mid-Novemeber that you need muck boots to get through. Oh and this plays to Colville’s strengths. If they get a home playoff game, I’m going for the mud photos alone, and to see a west side team marvel at why they’re not playing on artificial turf. I’ll need a boat to navigate the sidelines to take photos though.

This is supposed to be an away jersey.

(Also one of the chain gang guys for Colville moved the ball marker barefoot in the freezing cold and mud. Stevens County – got to love it)

What is great in Colville: Ronnie D’s!?! Is this even a debate? If you’ve lived in Stevens County you’ve had an ice cream cone or a burger special there. The funny thing is they haven’t updated their decor in 30 years.

The Independent’s Take: With a strong pedigree and a good program – look to Colville to set the tone in the league this year along with Deer Park. We’re guessing that the Deer Park-Colville matchup will be for the league title. Expect Colville to be a state power. The most recent state poll has them coming in at No. 9.

They also have a great Twitter account, follow them here.