Second win over Inchelium would give Odessa B-8 state title
By Don Ruiz of the Tacoma News Tribune
Inchelium is a northeast Washington community of about 390 souls, except for this weekend when more than three bus loads of them will leave town.
They’re bound for Tacoma, where on Saturday they will watch their Inchelium Hornets battle the Odessa Tigers for the state B-8 football championship.
“It’s going to be like a ghost town here,” Inchelium coach Duane Gatlin said. “I remember in ’83 when we went over there for the championship game, somebody made the comment that, ‘Boy, if Inchelium had a bank, today would be the day to rob it.’ But fortunately we don’t have a bank.”
Inchelium overlooks the Columbia River from the eastern fringe of the Colville Indian Reservation. The school has 262 students spread from kindergarten to 12th grade. About 100 of those are high schoolers.
Seventy-five miles south is Odessa. It has a population of about 950, making it more than twice the size of Inchelium. A huge grain elevator signals your arrival in town, and once there you’ll find two banks, a grocery store and a couple gas stations.
As in Inchelium, the community unites behind its high school sports teams.
“These smaller schools here, there’s not a lot of social stuff going on, so Friday and Saturday nights are football and basketball games,” Odessa coach Bruce Todd said. “It’s kind of the entertainment for the community."
The townspeople have been well entertained. Both schools have claimed a pair of state 8-man football championships, and the tradition of winning runs deep.
“Things run in a cycle here,” Gatlin said. “You get good teams, and then you get those better teams.”
Odessa hit a down cycle in 1999, when the Tigers staggered through a 4-5 season. But they bounced back big this season, starting with a season-opening win over Inchelium, 22-8.
Neither coach believes that result will have much meaning when the teams tee it up again in the Tacoma Dome.
“The year before they beat us, 44-0, in the first game of the year,” Todd said. “I don’t know if they overlooked us. We’ve improved a ton during the course of this season, but I’m sure they’ve improved, too.”
Gatlin believes his team has improved, and he credits lessons learned against the Tigers.
“They really came out and took it to us,” he said. “That was kind of a blessing in disguise for us, because it kind of opened our eyes. We said, ‘Uh-oh, we’re not as good as we thought, so we’d better work a little bit harder.”
Odessa has more banks. On Saturday, the Hornets will be working hard to give Inchelium more state championship trophies.
Inchelium (9-1) vs Odessa (10-1)
Saturday, 4 p.m.
About the teams: Odessa suffered through a 4-5 season in 1999 but rebounded this season. The Tigers are led on offense by senior QB Heath Voice and aptly named running back Paul Dart, a 165-pounder who averaged 9.3 yards per carry. The Odessa defense was led by all-league linebacker Shawn Smith, who averaged 10 tackles per game, and all-league defensive end Kurtis Starkel, who averaged 7.5 tackles. Inchelium starts the same eight players on offense and defense, and uses several of the same guys on special teams. Among them are Jacolby Simpson, a junior quarterback; David Tonasket, who led the team in rushing with 1,666 yards; and Chris Burch, the Hornets’ leading tackler and second leading rusher, with 589 yards. …. Odessa won, 22-8 in the teams’ season opener.
Coaches: Duane Gatlin has coached Inchelium for 19 years and has won two state titles. Bruce Todd is 14-6 in two seasons at Odessa. He succeeded longtime coach Myron Kramer, who led the Tigers to two state titles and two runner-up finishes.
Playoff history: Inchelium won state championships in 1983 and ’91. Odessa won B-8 titles in ’89 and ’93.
What to watch: Both teams like to play a pounding style, by 8-man standards. They combined for 30 points in the season opener. Another low-scoring game — by 8-man standards — is possible.
News Tribune pick: Odessa, 38-28.
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