Garza, Valdez guide Othello to key CWAC victory

Royal 42, Davenport 7; Lind-Ritzville 26, Republic 6; Almira/Coulee-Hartline 52, Curlew 6; Lake City 22, Moses Lake 9; Connell 54, Warden 0

Prep football recaps

OTHELLO - In a key contest for positioning in the Central Washington Athletic Conference playoff race, the Othello Huskies' ground and air attacks dominated the Ellensburg Bulldogs' defense on Friday.

Othello quarterback Marc Garza completed 7 of 11 passes for 114 yards and three touchdowns, while James Valdez carried 19 times for 143 yards in the Huskies' 42-21 win over Ellensburg. All three of Garza's scores came in the first half as the Huskies went to the locker room with a 35-7 lead.

Garza opened the scoring with a 6-yard touchdown run, then connected with Michael Harvey on an 18-yard play. The Huskies seized a 21-0 cushion as Garza and Harvey hooked up from 9 yards, and after Ellensburg's Drew Ronning caught a 22-yard TD pass from Ethan Sterkel, Othello closed the half on a 15-yard hookup from Garza to Raymond Rodriguez and a 5-yard Valdez run.

Othello forced five Ellensburg turnovers, recovering three fumbles and intercepting Sterkel twice. Garza rushed 10 times for 72 yards, while David Walker added 51 yards on 14 carries.

The Huskies (5-3 overall, 5-2 CWAC) are in good shape to receive one of the conference's four playoff spots, and can all but lock up their spot this Friday when they travel to Quincy for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

Royal 42, Davenport 7

ROYAL CITY - The Knights rolled to a 35-0 halftime lead in their final non-league game of the year with the visiting Gorillas on Friday.

Hector Ledezma, who rushed 14 times for 77 yards, opened the scoring with a 5-yard run in the first quarter. Colt Brown added another score later in the period on a 19-yard reception from Austin Allred.

In the second quarter, Ledezma bolted in from 19 yards out, Allred scored on a 5-yard run, and Cash Brown returned a punt 62 yards for a TD. Royal's final score came in the third quarter when Allred reached the end zone on a 16-yard scamper.

Allred finished 8 of 14 passing for 181 yards, and added three carries for 36 yards.

The Knights (7-1 overall, 5-1 South Central Athletic Conference) will host River View this Friday at 7 p.m.

Lind-Ritzville 26, Republic 6

REPUBLIC - The Broncos stepped out of league play on Friday and held the Tigers scoreless until the fourth quarter.

Lind-Ritzville's Matt Saetre, who had a team-high 90 yards on 15 carries, put the Broncos out front with an 8-yard run in the first quarter. L-R made it 14-0 after one period on Mike Osborn's 39-yard pass to Cory Whitmore.

The Broncos extended their lead to 20-0 at halftime on Jacob Milner's 11-yard run, then got their final points in the third period as Osborn found Whitmore from 3 yards out.

L-R's offensive line dominated, allowing its backs to compile 214 yards on 41 carries. Isaiah Grant added 12 carries for 68 yards and Milner ran 10 times for 41 yards. Osborn completed 10 of 15 passes for 137 yards - including three completions apiece to Whitmore and Trace Jones.

Tyler King led L-R's defensive effort with 13 tackles. The Broncos limited Republic to 135 yards and forced three turnovers - interceptions from Kerry Tyler and Paul Swanson, and a fumble recovery by Erik Hille.

The Broncos host Warden in a non-league game this Friday at 7 p.m.

Almira/Coulee-Hartline 52, Curlew 6

CURLEW - The Warriors earned another 45-point mercy rule victory on Friday, scoring 30 points in the first quarter before the game was stopped at halftime.

Jordan Hughes, who carried 10 times for 38 yards, got the first of his two touchdowns from 3 yards out early on. He added a 5-yard run to cap ACH's first-period scoring.

In between, quarterback Josh Goodwin got into the act, throwing for a 4-yard score to Kyle Tucker and a 19-yarder to Hughes. In the second quarter, Goodwin found Curtis Visker on a 17-yard pass play, Nate West scored on a 3-yard run, and Cody Jess added a 13-yard run.

Goodwin finished 4 of 5 through the air for 59 yards and ran four times for 65 yards. West was the Warriors' defensive leader with nine tackles and two fumble recoveries, and also added 40 yards rushing on eight touches.

The Warriors face a tough task this Friday when they travel to Columbia-Hunters for a 2 p.m. kickoff. The winner sews up the Northeast 1B League's No. 2 seed to the playoffs.

"We haven't always put teams away when should this year and we did that last week," ACH head coach Brandon Walsh said. "It was important for us to get tuned up and sharp going into our next game against Columbia-Hunters."

Lake City 22, Moses Lake 9

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho - The Chiefs' offense struggled yet again as Moses Lake lost its third consecutive game on Friday, this one to the defending Idaho 5A champion Timberwolves.

Moses Lake got on the scoreboard first when Josh Loera hooked up with Ryan Coulston for an 11-yard touchdown in the first quarter. But it would be the only time the Chiefs would hit paydirt.

Lake City grabbed a 7-6 lead later in the first after Christian Hanna intercepted Loera, the first of four Moses Lake turnovers, setting up Jared Heston's 21-yard TD run. Lake City made it 14-6 at halftime after Byron Hout blocked a punt that led to Heston's 5-yard TD run.

Matt Harris nailed a 22-yard field goal to bring the Chiefs with 14-9 in the third quarter. But Hout put the capper on the Timberwolves' victory in the fourth, stripping Loera of the ball and returning it 45 yards.

Junior Solis led Moses Lake's ground attack with 85 yards on 18 carries. Loera added 74 rushing yards on 10 carries and was 13 of 26 passing for 81 yards and two interceptions. Coulston caught six passes for 40 yards to lead the Chiefs' receiving corps.

Moses Lake finishes Columbia Basin League play this Friday at Yakima's Zaepfel Stadium, a 7:30 p.m. kickoff against the winless Davis Pirates.

Connell 54, Warden 0

CONNELL - The top-ranked Eagles built a 34-0 halftime cushion and rolled to their fifth shutout win of the season, beating the Cougars in a SCAC contest on Friday.

Connell quarterback Brett Clyde was 8 of 14 passing for 149 yards and three scores - a 7-yarder to Sean Didier, and plays of 26 and 44 yards to Randy Anderson. Clyde also rushed four times for 68 yards, scoring on plays of 1, 15 and 53 yards.

Warden's Chris Kalous had a team-high 45 yards on eight carries, while Ivan Cuevas had seven carries for 30 yards. Cougar quarterback Scott Phillips was just 1 of 11 for 5 yards and was picked off three times.

Warden travels to Lind-Ritzville this Friday for a 7 p.m. non-league game with the Broncos.