(BRANDON HANSEN/Chewelah Independent)

Chewelah’s Nick Franks drives to the hoop. (Taylor Newquist, Statesman-Examiner photo)

Cougars win first game of the year…

The Colville-Chewelah matchup doesn’t mean as much thanks to the Cougars dropping to the 2B ranks, but it is still a heated rivalry since the two schools are separated by a short 20-minute drive.

Chewelah picked up its first win of the year, downing their rival 53-49 in nonleague boys basketball action on Thursday. Lukas Kubik led the Cougars with 15 points while Colville’s Jory Dotts notched 18 points.

Chewelah led 33-18 at halftime and then fended off a furious Colville comeback in the fourth quarter where the Indians outscored the Cougars 16-9. More

(COLIN HAFFNER/Chewelah Independent)

Kettle Falls boys basketball drops first of season to 1A foe

Matthey Thompson had 18 points for Kettle Falls in their Thursday game with Deer Park, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a big opening quarter for the Stags leading to a 75-55 Deer Park win.

Kettle Falls fell behind early, spotting the Stags a 15 point lead after the first quarter, but the Bulldogs fought back, outplaying Deer Park over the next two quarters to whittle down the the deficit. Deer Park came back with strong play in the fourth to put things out of reach and come away with the win.

Cade McKern pitched in 16 points in the loss, and Braylen Pfeffer added another 11 to go along with Thompson’s 18.

The Bulldogs (1-1) will now hit the road for their next game when they take on Tekoa-Oakesdale Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Lady Bulldogs lose at home

The visiting Deer Park Stags handed the Kettle Falls Bulldogs their first loss of the season after breaking things open in the fourth quarter 43-34.

Both teams battled to a tie through three quarters, with the Bulldogs getting the upperhand and a four point lead at the half. Deer Park managed to knot things up after the third, and clamped down on the Kettle Falls (3-1) offense to finish off the comeback and get the win.

Zarah Johnson and Mya Edwards topped the scoring for Kettle Falls with 9 points apiece on the night.

The Bulldogs turn to their next matchup looking to get back to their winning ways when they travel to take on Tekoa-Oakesdale Dec. 13 beginning at 6 p.m.

(THE COUNCIL OF GRIT/Three newspaper guys)

The newspapers of Eastern Washington are joining together to put together a “GRIT RANKING” for our side of the state. Thanks to the efforts of Taylor Newquist of the Statesman Examiner, Brandon Cline of the Ritzville Adams County Journal and myself (pudgy Ginger Brandon Hansen), we will be highlighting several GRITTY things during the winter sports seasons. It can include players, coaches, aspects of sports or just be a rant. We agree on the rankings and then publish them to you, the reader.

Keep in mind our opinions are ridiculous and mean nothing. Still we will be more reputable than any AP prep poll because apparently those guys don’t like Eastern Washington. Consider this the GRITTIEST OF GRITTY rankings.

No. 1 – Road miles for Colville and Kettle Falls teams

Colville and Kettle Falls basketball road miles It takes a hard-nosed bunch to willingly sign up for extra miles marauding around Northeastern Washington in the dead of winter from one basketball game to the next, but that’s exactly what Colville and Kettle Falls want to do – go the extra mile. The Indians and Bulldogs basketball teams are both expected to travel over 1,400 miles this season, making them no stranger to a cold bus seat, a bumpy ride in the emergency exit or the soft tap of their heads against a side window tying to sleep on the way home. Less-gritty teams like Chewelah, or Deer Park will barely travel half the distance, with the Stags at 718 miles and the Cougars at 663. Somebody must be afraid of straying too far from home. – Statesman Examiner’s Taylor Newquist

(Brandon’s Notes: Well if you don’t want to travel a lot don’t live in Southern Canada… aka … Northern Stevens County)

No. 2 – Josh McClure, Lind-Ritzville/Sprague boys basketball

After splitting his time between JV and varsity as a sophomore last season, LRS’ Josh McClure is averaging 9.3 points per game in the team’s first three contests of the season. He scored nine points in the team’s home-opener, shooting 3-5 from beyond the arc. The catch? McClure is a 6-foot 6-inch big man with a smooth shot that has surprised opponents, busting myths that bigs at small schools in WA either can’t or shouldn’t shoot the ball from more than five feet away from the basket. -Ritzville Adams County Journal Brandon Cline

(Brandon’s Notes: A big guy that shoot in high school basketball?! That’s the best kind of big guy in high school basketball. Count me on the Josh McClure hype train, which is probably so gritty its a train that is just a bunch of box cares with a steam engine at the front)

No. 3 – Chewelah Wrestling Coach Kim Hogan

After quite literally traveling the world, Kim Hogan is back as wrestling coach of the Cougars and takes a team over from Tim Slater that placed third at state last year and returns two state champions and a bevy of other state placers. This team has a chance to do something very special this year in the Tacoma Dome. Except that Kim shaved his beard that he had been procuring for a while and had mastered the look of Luke Skywalker from The Last Jedi. He missed an opportunity to wear a robe all season, drink blue milk and tell his wrestlers vague jedi-isms before wrestling matches. – Chewelah Independent’s Brandon Hansen

No. 4 Eliza Galbreath, Lind-Ritzville/Sprague girls basketball

Galbreath has been a fixture in LRS athletics for four years, and is ready to take the South Division by storm in her senior season. She’s averaging 14.7 points per game to start the season, including a 27-point effort in the team’s win over the 1A Riverside Rams on Dec. 7. Galbreath & sophomore Dakota Killian form a tall and lengthy duo in the paint for the Broncos, who look to be contenders for earning one of the conference’s berths to regionals. -Ritzville Adams County Journal Brandon Cline

No. 5 Kettle Falls’ Braylen Pfeffer

Strap a pair of goggles on a 6-foot-1-inch sophomore forward and what do you have? A glass eater with the look to match. Braylen Pfeffer is a valuable youngster, breaking through a seven-man senior class to make contributions to the Bulldogs this season. He scored five in their opening win over Selkirk, and with the goggles brings the perfect amount of Horace-Grant 90’s style to the court. – Statesman Examiner’s Taylor Newquist

(Brandon’s Notes: The more 1990s NBA references we can have in NE 2B North basketball, the better.)

No. 6 – Cassidy Whittekiend, Chewelah girls basketball

We’re going to misspell her name eighty times this year but we’re also going to have to mention her a bunch. She scored 20 points in Chewelah’s opener against Newport and has battled back from an injury last year to be in this spot. She’s a speedy guard and could end up being a big part of a Cougar run this season. – Chewelah Independent’s Brandon Hansen