Cascade pulls away, ruins Quincy debut

LEAVENWORTH - The Quincy Jackrabbits didn't have the ideal start to the Terry Dion era.

In Dion's first game as Quincy head coach last Friday, the Jacks struggled on both sides of the ball and wound up on the short end of a 40-13 final at Cascade-Leavenworth in a season-opening, non-league football game.

Cascade rolled up a 345-207 advantage in total yards and broke free from a close contest at halftime. Dion was quick to point out his young team's positive points and the adjustments the Jacks will try to make in time for this Friday's Central Washington Athletic Conference opener at home against the Selah Vikings.

"Everything, on tape, is very correctable and we matched up very well (with Cascade)," Dion said. "Hopefully our learning curve is going to be pretty good as the season goes forward."

Behind sophomore Breck Webley, the Jacks were able to run the ball effectively early on. Webley led Quincy with 90 yards rushing on the night. Quarterback Jesse Gonzales connected with Skyler Perez for a 5-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, and Quincy's halftime deficit was only 13-7.

The score remained close until midway through the third quarter, when a Kodiaks score was immediately followed by a Quincy fumble on the ensuing kickoff. Cascade converted on that turnover and was never threatened again.

Quincy's other touchdown came in the fourth quarter when Perez hauled in a 42-yard pass. Perez, a junior, finished with six catches for 90 yards.

Cascade controlled the tempo with its rushing attack, compiling 235 yards on 46 carries. Gonzalez had 118 yards passing for Quincy.

Dion sees a lot of similarities between the Jacks and Selah. Both teams are on the young side and without much depth, and Dion thinks the key will be how well his defense responds to the Vikings' versatilty. Selah runs a wing-T as its base offense, but also likes to mix in four-receiver sets.

"I think it's going to be a really exciting game," Dion said. "It's our first game at home."