MOSCOW - The wait is over.
After two frustrating visits to the state finals, Grangeville High notched its first football state title with a 36-6 victory over the Firth Cougars before a sizable hometown contingent at the Kibbie Dome on Friday night.
"I'm just real happy for the kids," coach Jeff Lindsley said.
Surely, plenty of the members of those previous teams were in attendance.
"This has been a long time coming," said Eugene Webb, a former Bulldog fullback 30 years ago, who watched Friday's Class 2A tilt from the nosebleed seats of the Dome.
"This place is going to erupt," he predicted.
Relentless tailback Justin Robie finished his senior season with 2,957 yards.
He rushed 29 times for 259 yards and two TDs - and stepped narrowly out of bounds on several plays that could have resulted in scores (and perhaps a 3,000-yard season).
Afterward, the opposing coach, Keith Drake, could only sigh: "Robie was Robie."
Two other Bulldogs tallied touchdowns: Cody Robinson rushed five times for 49 yards and two TDs, and wideout Derek Brown added a touchdown catch on a play-action pass from Grangeville quarterback Cody Keeler just outside the Firth end zone.
After the win, the halcyon days were established for a young Grangeville fan who ran up to Bulldog defensive tackle Cody Vrieling, wearing his jersey.
"I like your jersey," Vrieling told the younger No. 44, to which the kid replied: "I want to be just like you."
"That just hit me," Vrieling said. "It's awesome to be a role model for these kids."
After the championship trophy was hoisted, students danced with players at midfield, many of them holding up one digit - the ranking the Bulldogs have held much of the season.
And next year, the entire Bulldog starting defense returns.
"This is a very young group," said Lindsley, adding that most of the offense returns.
The Bulldogs utterly dominated this postseason, outscoring opponents 164-38 despite being smaller on the line than several of their foes - causing one previous opponent's coach to comment: "They must have muscle milk in their huddle."
"The identity of this team is the sum of its parts," Lindsley said.
"Ever since we were little, and we started playing football in fifth and sixth grade, we've always looked up to the people that (almost) won it, and wanted to be like them," Vreiling said. "Just winning it: it's better than anything you could wish for ...
"Our community, they want steak and potatoes and good Idaho high school football; they've sure come behind us this year, and been behind us every year, even though we don't always win. We've got the best community to support football. And about every other old person you know, they played football one time in their life."
Some of those old men were surely jitterbugging in the streets Friday night.
Grangeville 13 7 0 16-36
Firth 0 0 0 6- 6
Grangeville - Justin Robie 51 run (kick failed)
Grangeville - Cody Robinson 31 run (Josh Dame kick)
Grangeville - Robie 54 run (Dame kick)
Grangeville - Derek Brown 10 pass from Cody Keeler (Dame kick)
Grangeville - Robinson 7 run (Dame kick)
Grangeville - Safety
Firth - Kris Lockyer 25 pass from Jacob Orme (run failed)
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Edelman may be contacted at bedelman@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2277.
