Odessa holds off Tri-Cities Prep
Odessa tailback Jacob Schmidt (right) rushed for 192 yards and accounted for four touchdowns as the Tigers earned a 1B state championship berth on Saturday.
SPOKANE - Tri-Cities Prep quarterback Will Hoppes put up some gaudy numbers in Saturday's 1B state semifinal game against the Odessa Tigers at Joe Albi Stadium.
But Odessa running back Jacob Schmidt was nearly as good, helping the top-ranked Tigers overcome a 12-point halftime deficit and beat the Jaguars 58-44.
Tigers meet fellow Northeast power ACH for state title on Friday
SPOKANE - Tri-Cities Prep quarterback Will Hoppes put up some gaudy numbers in Saturday's 1B state semifinal game against the Odessa Tigers at Joe Albi Stadium.
But Odessa running back Jacob Schmidt was nearly as good, helping the top-ranked Tigers overcome a 12-point halftime deficit and beat the Jaguars 58-44.
Hoppes, a sophomore, completed 28 of his 46 passes for 414 yards and five touchdowns as the Jaguars (9-4) built a 30-18 halftime lead. Schmidt led the Tigers' second-half comeback behind a determined offensive line, rushing 26 times for 192 yards and three touchdowns. He also passed for a score - a 24-yarder in the third period to Aaron Bruya - and scored five times on two-point conversions.
Odessa (12-0) will meet Northeast League rival Almira/Coulee-Hartline (12-1) at the Tacoma Dome on Friday at 4 p.m. for the state title. ACH defeated Lummi 80-50 in Saturday's other semifinal, and though Odessa won the teams' regular-season matchup in a 56-6 rout, the Warriors appear to be much-improved since then.
The Tigers had difficulty shutting down the Jaguars' passing game, led by Hoppes, who added to his state 1B single-season passing and total offense records in the loss. Hoppes ended the year with 3,826 passing yards (294 per game) and 4,425 total yards (340 per game).
After Tigers quarterback Ryan King opened the scoring with a 16-yard touchdown run, Hoppes hit Rafael Magana on a 24-yard play to put Tri-Cities Prep up 8-6. It was the first of four touchdown hookups between Hoppes and Magana, who caught 17 balls for 274 yards.
King, who finished 6 of 18 passing for 194 yards and one interception, found Schmidt on a pair of second-quarter scoring plays, the first from 58 yards and the second from 53 yards. But Odessa's defense couldn't control Hoppes, who tossed three TDs in the period and had the Jaguars up by two scores at the break.
Schmidt's 6-yard run and King's 2-yarder in the third quarter put Odessa back in front 34-30. The Tigers controlled the ball for nearly seven straight minutes in the period after Bruya recovered a Jaguars fumble.
Trailing 44-42 entering the fourth, Odessa's defense found its stride. Andy McClure recovered a fumble to set up Travis Todd's 1-yard plunge, and a Bruya interception led to Todd's 2-yard score and the final margin of victory.
King added 74 yards rushing on 11 carries, with Alex Null adding 47 yards on seven carries and Todd going for 41 on seven touches. Schmidt's four receptions for 153 yards led the Tigers' receiving corps.
The Tigers will be shooting for the school's third state football title on Friday. Odessa's last championship came in 1993 in an 18-12 victory over Clallam Bay. The last time the Tigers played for the title, in 2000, they lost 34-30 to Inchelium.