Tigercats fall to Pomeroy, 0-3 in league play

The LWK Tigercats faced another tough league loss on Friday night against the Pomeroy Pirates when the Tigercats fell to Pomeroy, 50-8. The loss drops the Tigercats to the bottom of the Southeast 1B league with a 0-3 record.

While the Tigercats were defeated in the homecoming match up of the season, members of the University of Idaho marching band cheered on the Tigercats Friday night. Washtucna band teacher Lora Hille coordinated the visit from the band and through donations and band members volunteering their time, the UI band and school band performed together throughout the evening.

The Tigercats suffered from multiple fumbles early in the game with the Tigercats losing possession on half of them. The Pirates jumped out to an early lead with the Tigercats being unable to respond with a touchdown until the final seconds of the first half.

The Tigercats are still without starting quarterback Joey Guske, but he is expected to return to the field this week for the Touchet game. Guske suffered a collarbone injury in the league game against Sunnyside Christian two weeks ago.

Junior athlete Chance Rice stepped into the starting quarterback position and after a couple of fumbles in the first quarter, gained composure and helped successfully lead the Tigercats’ offense. The Tigercats primarily stayed with a running game out of their new offense, with Rice going to the air only a few times during the night.

The Tigercats had difficulty containing the Pirates left side runs out of the snap, and the Pirates used the weakness to accumulate the majority of their points throughout the night. The Pirates held the LWK team to only 148 yards on the night, while the Pirates put up 418 yards in the night’s game.

The Tigercats looked to Stephen Erickson and Bo Rice to lead the running game for the night, and Erickson scored the Tigercats’ only touchdown of the game on a nine-yard run with just .4 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

Graham BeDell ran in the end zone for the two-point conversion and the Tigercats ended the half trailing the Pirates 20-8.

After an extended halftime for the announcement of the homecoming royalty and a special performance by the UI band, the Tigercats took the field with determination to close the scoring gap between the two teams.

The Pirates continued to slowly chip away at the Tigercats, running multiple points in from over 30 yards out. The Pirates concentrated on their running game, and rarely went to the air during the game.

The third quarter proved detrimental for the Tigercats when Pomeroy scored three touchdowns. The 40-point mercy rule went into effect in the fourth quarter after Pomeroy took a 50-8 lead over the Tigercats.

Erickson led the Tigercats in rushing with 70 yards on 12 carries, and 15 yards on a pass from Chance Rice. Bo Rice racked up 42 yards on 15 carries, while Chance Rice ended the night with 10 carries for 21 yards.

The Tigercats go on the road Friday night to face Touchet with game time at 7 p.m.

(Katelin Davidson can be reached at [email protected].)