Othello pounces on Jackrabbits

Othello 63, Quincy 12; Toppenish 51, Ephrata 7

QUINCY — Othello scored twice in the first quarter to take a 14-0 lead and withstood a second-quarter rally from the Quincy Jackrabbits to stay perfect in Central Washington Athletic Conference play with a 63-12 road victory.

Othello running back Matt Jensen scored the first two touchdowns of Friday night’s contest and finished with three scores to help the Huskies win their sixth conference game of the season and their sixth game overall following an opening-week loss to the 1A classification’s second-ranked team — the Connell Eagles.

Jensen opened the scoring Friday night with a five-yard touchdown run and scored on a six-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Jeremy Cerrillo to hand the Huskies a 14-0 first-quarter lead.

Although Othello took a two-touchdown advantage into the second quarter, the Quincy Jackrabbits would respond.

Wide receiver Trevor Hyer hauled in a 17-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jackson Hodges for Quincy’s first score of the contest and the Jackrabbits trailed 14-6 following the missed extra-point opportunity.

The Jackrabbits would keep the potent Othello offense out of the end zone on their next possession and senior running back Breck Webley helped Quincy pull within two points of Othello when he took a handoff from Hodges 96 yards for a touchdown and Quincy trailed 14-12 midway through the second quarter.

Webley’s touchdown run was encouraging both offensively and defensively, Quincy head coach Steve Wallace said.

“(Othello was) first and goal from the two and we pushed them back two yards,” he said. “Then Webley broke some tackles and took it 96 yards for a touchdown.”

While the Jackrabbits scored two straight touchdowns and rattled off 12 straight points to pull within 14-12 of the fourth-ranked Huskies, Othello scored the next 14 points heading into the half and the next 49 points overall to put Quincy away.

After Webley’s 96-yard scamper helped Quincy pull within a score of Othello, the Huskies capitalized on the ensuing kick off.

Senior Chris Brunetti returned the kick 76 yards for a score and a 21-12 Othello lead, Wallace said.

“We got a little too excited from that point,” he said. “We were jumping up and down on the sideline and the next thing we knew the kid was returning the kick off 76 yards for a touchdown.”

The Huskies took a 28-12 lead into the half when Jensen scored his third touchdown of the first half following a one-yard touchdown pass from Cerrillo. Othello’s Parker Davis scored a pair of third-quarter touchdowns on the ground and senior wide receiver Devon Lind pulled in a three-yard touchdown pass from Cerrillo — Cerrillo’s third touchdown throw of the night — to give the Huskies a 49-12 lead heading into the fourth.

Othello added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to complete the 63-12 romp.

Othello will host the Wapato Wolves Friday night while Quincy travels to Grandview to take on the Greyhounds. Both games are scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.

Toppenish 51, Ephrata 7

TOPPENISH, Wash. — Toppenish capitalized on a potent rushing attack and an inexperience Ephrata defense to gain 437 yards on the ground on their way to a 51-7 Central Washington Athletic Conference victory.

Toppenish’s rushing attack accounted for six touchdowns — two each from Rafael Osorio and Ivan Macias — and quarterback Daniel Maldonado threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Sergio Sanchez to cap the scoring for Toppenish as the Wildcats took a 51-0 lead late into the fourth quarter.

Ephrata head coach Jay Mills said his team struggled defensively Friday night.

“We didn’t tackle very well,” he said. “We got physically dominated at the line of scrimmage. It is tough when you play a running team who is physical like that.”

The Wildcats were able to take advantage of a three 100-yard rushers to take time off the clock and put points on the scoreboard.

Although Toppenish held a shut out late in the contest, Ephrata would not be denied a score of their own.

Ephrata running back Dakota Blair scored on a 20-yard touchdown run for the Tigers’ only score and Ephrata dropped to 0-6 in Central Washington Athletic Conference play and 0-7 overall.

Ephrata finished with 149 yards of total offense, all of which came on the ground. Blair led all Ephrata runners with 69 yards rushing on seven carries.

Ephrata’s quest for their first win of the season doesn’t get any easier Friday night as the Tigers host unbeaten and top-ranked Ellensburg. The opening kick off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Ephrata is young and inexperienced and the Tigers need to improve during the offseason, Mills said.

“Our kids have to play their gaps and get stronger in the weight rooms,” he said. “There is not much we can do about it with four games to go.”