By Rob Ollikainen, World sports writer
The Wenatchee World
Posted April 16, 2007

EAST WENATCHEE -- If you're going to lose, it's always better to gain something from it. The Wenatchee Valley Rams got a valuable look at the type of athleticism they'll face in next Saturday's Evergreen Football League game against archrival Walla Walla in a 21-20 nonleague loss to the Snohomish Vikings Saturday at Wildcat Stadium.

"It was a great tuneup for Walla Walla," assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Mickey White said.

White was filling in for head coach Paul Preston, who missed Saturday's game after spending Friday night in the hospital for medical observation related to a heart condition. Assistant coaches Brad Barnes and Bill Alexander kept the wheels running on offense.

White expects Preston to be return to the sidelines for Saturday's EFL tilt against the team that knocked Wenatchee Valley out of the league semifinals last year.

"He's going to be fine," White said. "It will be nice to get him back."

Snohomish was a league opponent that Wenatchee Valley Bucks played against before the Bucks became the Rams three years ago.

White said the Vikings are vastly improved and now a strength of the Northwest Football League.

"They have some great athletes," White said. "They were by far the quickest backfield our team has faced yet. Their quarterback and running backs had great speed out there on the corner."

The Vikings captured a 14-0 lead in the first half before the Rams tied it up on a six-yard pass from Dave Mott to Joe Zelinski with 18 seconds remaining in the first half.

Nate Gowing's 3-yard burst gave the Rams a 20-14 lead in the third quarter, but the extra point sailed wide after one of three bad snaps made by the Rams in the game. It left the door open for Snohomish to regain the lead on a two-yard Daimino Stewart keeper with two minutes left in the game.

A promising last-ditch Rams' drive ended with an interception on the Vikings' 27-yard-line.

Rams quarterbacks Mott and Levi Heyen split time under center and combined for 206 yards on 15-of-30 passing. Stewart, the Vikings' elusive signal-caller, rushed for 82 of his team's 220 yards and scored two touchdowns on the ground. Stewart had a key first-down scramble on third-and-17 in the game's final scoring drive.

Dan Keffeler had eight tackles to lead the Rams' defense. J.D. Strocsher had seven, and Grant Dunn tallied six stops.