LEWISTON — Washington State coach Mike Leach has complimented receiver Tavares Martin Jr. on multiple occasions through fall camp, but on Sunday, Martin had his best day yet in a Crimson uniform.
The freshman from Belle Glade, Fla., had seven receptions for 105 yards and two touchdowns. What was even more impressive than the stats, however, was the degree of difficulty on some of his catches.
Martin’s best reception came on a pass from Tyler Hilinski that saw Martin get sandwiched between a trio of defenders. Not only did Martin hang on for the catch, he stood on his feet as the players collided near the goal line, and then waltzed into the end zone.
“He’s been doing a lot of good things in camp. We just got to get him enough reps that he gets used to things and doesn’t have to think about it so much,” Leach said. “But (he’s) very quick, very flashy and has good hands.”
Hilinski shined with the third team, completing 15 of his 18 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns — both of which were to Martin. The freshman had no interceptions, helping the WSU quarterbacks combine for five touchdowns and no picks. Starter Luke Falk was 16-21 for 144 yards and two touchdowns while second stringer Peyton Bender was 17-28 for 184 yards and one touchdown.
“They threw the ball well. I thought they did good things, both of them,” Leach said when asked about Falk and Bender. “At times they would kind of hurry through stuff or have preconceived notions on how the play was going to unfold, but for the most part stayed within themselves and did good stuff.”
The defense had its solid moments as well, forcing the offense to convert fourth down opportunities on a few occasions to keep drives going. In particular, the linebackers and defensive line were stellar most of the day. Logan Tago had four sacks, including a pair on back-to-back plays against the third-team offense. As a unit, the defense combined for an impressive 10 sacks, and hurried the quarterbacks throughout the day.
“I feel like the defense played real good today in the scrimmage,” said WSU linebacker Ivan McLennan, who combined with Kache Palacio to have a sack against the first-team offense. “A little later in the scrimmage I feel like we gave up some easy plays, but it’s something to look forward to next week, to get better at.”
James Williams led the running backs with 39 yards on four carries, while Falk was second with 19 yards on two carries.
“If it’s there you’ve just got to take off. Leach’s rule is get 15 yards,” Falk said. “I didn’t really do that today but you’ve just got to see it and you’ve got to feel it and sometimes I take off a little too early, but sometimes you just try to make a football play.”
Erik Powell led the kickers with three field goals on three attempts, from 47, 37 and 42 yards. Brett Schafer was good from 37 and 42, while missing his 47-yard attempt.
The Cougars will take today off before practicing at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at Rogers field in Pullman.
Tom Hager can be reached at (208) 883-4633 or by email to thager@dnews.com.
Mariners 10, Red Sox 8, 12 innings
Seattle Boston
ab r h bi ab r h bi
KMarte ss 5 2 2 0 Betts cf 5 1 1 0
Seager 3b 7 1 2 1 B.Holt 3b-2b 5 3 3 0
N.Cruz rf 7 1 1 1 Bogarts ss 5 1 2 3
Cano 2b 7 2 5 3 Ortiz dh 4 0 1 1
Gutirrz lf 4 2 2 4 RCastll rf 6 1 2 1
S.Smith lf 2 0 1 0 T.Shaw 1b-3b 5 1 3 1
AJcksn cf 4 1 2 0 Swihart c 4 0 0 0
Trumo dh 6 0 1 0 Rutledg 2b 2 0 0 1
BMiller pr-dh 0 1 0 0 Cecchin ph-1b 3 0 0 0
JMontr 1b 3 0 0 0 BrdlyJr lf 5 1 1 0
Morrsn ph-1b 2 0 0 0
Zunino c 6 0 2 1
Totals 53 10 18 10 Totals 44 8 13 7
Seattle 304 000 100 002 — 10
Boston 001 210 202 000 — 8
E—Breslow (1), R.Castillo (3). DP—Seattle 1, Boston 1. LOB—Seattle 12, Boston 10. 2B—K.Marte 2 (3), Cano (29), B.Holt (20), T.Shaw (2), Bradley Jr. (5). 3B—S.Smith (4). HR—N.Cruz (36), Cano (13), Gutierrez 2 (7), Bogaerts (4), R.Castillo (4). SB—A.Jackson 2 (15), Betts (16), B.Holt (6). S—Morrison. SF—Ortiz, Rutledge.
IP H R ER BB SO
Seattle
Nuno 41/3 9 4 4 1 2
Wilhelmsen 2 0 1 1 1 2
Beimel 0 0 1 1 1 0
Rodney H,7 12/3 1 0 0 0 2
Ca.Smith BS,3-15 2 3 2 2 3 4
Rasmussen W,2-1 1 0 0 0 2 2
Farquhar S,1-3 1 0 0 0 0 2
Boston
Owens 6 10 7 7 1 10
Ogando 1 2 1 1 1 2
Machi 1 0 0 0 0 0
Tazawa 1 1 0 0 1 0
Breslow L,0-3 2 4 2 2 1 1
Ross Jr. 1 1 0 0 0 1
Breslow pitched to 4 batters in the 12th.
Beimel pitched to 1 batter in the 7th.
Rasmussen pitched to 1 batter in the 12th.
WP—Nuno, Rodney, Ca.Smith.
