Quincy battles back, but Vikings hold off Jackrabbits
Othello 28, Toppenish 14; Wapato 33, Ephrata 26; Wahluke 22, Warden 6; Soap Lake 40, Manson 7; Chewelah 34, Lind-Ritzville 14; ACH 38, Curlew 21; Columbia 44, Odessa 12
QUINCY — Quincy spotted visiting Selah four touchdowns Friday night as the Vikings kept the Jackrabbits winless in conference play with a 28-6 victory.
Selah scored a pair of first-quarter touchdowns and took a 14-0 lead into the half over the revamped Jackrabbits.
Despite the early deficit, first-year Quincy head coach Steve Wallace said his team played well.
“We got behind early and the kids fought back,” he said. “We kind of settled down and we moved the ball.”
Selah’s Tanner Fife scored three touchdowns and rushed for 148 yards on just 12 carries to help the Vikings improve to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in Central Washington Athletic Conference play.
Quincy held Selah to fewer than 300 yards of offense and Wallace was impressed with his defense’s effort.
“We held them under 300 yards overall which was one of our goals heading in,” he said. “We forced three turnovers and we had a couple of sacks that put us in some third-and-long situations instead of third-and-shorts.”
With Quincy trailing 28-0 late in the fourth quarter, quarterback Jackson Hodges broke up the Selah’s shutout bid with a four-yard touchdown run on a quarterback keeper to help the Jackrabbits pull within 28-6 at home.
Quincy fell to 0-3 in conference play and 1-3 overall following the loss to Selah.
Hodges finished the night 3-for-9 passing for 40 yards and a pair of interceptions and rushed 11 times for 24 yards. Quincy junior Manny Ybarra led the Jackrabbits rushing attack with 75 yards on 19 carries.
Wallace is in his first year with the Quincy program and he said his team is coming along early in the season.
“The thing I am really impressed with is their knowledge is coming around,” he said. “They are starting to understand the game a little bit more.”
Quincy returns to action Friday night when they travel to top-ranked Ellensburg to take on the co-conference leading Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m.
Ellensburg is in a three-way tie atop the Central Washington Athletic Conference with Selah and the Othello Huskies.
Othello 28, Toppenish 14
OTHELLO — After playing through a scoreless first quarter, the fourth-ranked Othello Huskies put the pressure on visiting Toppenish on their way to a 28-14 victory.
Othello remained unbeaten (3-0) in Central Washington Athletic Conference competition with the victory and improved to 3-1 overall with the victory.
The Huskies were coming off a dominating road victory over previously unbeaten and top-ranked Prosser and took a 7-0 second-quarter advantage when running back Matt Jensen scored on a nine-yard touchdown run. Jensen would finish the night with 65 yards rushing on 16 carriers for two scores to lead the Huskies past Toppenish.
Othello continued to put the pressure on Toppenish before the half when senior wide receiver Chris Brunetti caught a 50-yard touchdown pass from senior wide receiver Devon Lind for a 14-0 lead as the conference foes entered the locker room.
The Huskies added to their lead in the third quarter when Caleb Garza took his only carry of the game 56 yards for a touchdown and Othello led 21-0.
Othello added their fourth and final touchdown on a one-yard touchdown run from Jensen and the Huskies led 28-0 heading into the fourth quarter.
Although the Huskies led late in the contest, the Wildcats would not go quietly.
Toppenish scored a pair of touchdowns on short runs to break up the shutout and pull within 28-14, but the damage had been done and Othello remained unbeaten in conference play. Othello’s only loss of the season came at the hands of the Connell Eagles.
Connell is ranked No. 2 in the 1A classification.
Wapato 33, Ephrata 26
WAPATO, Wash. — Ephrata senior running back Travis Flint scored each of the Tigers’ four touchdowns on the road Friday night, but the Ephrata defense struggled late as Wapato rallied for a 33-26 conference victory.
Ephrata fell to 0-4 overall and 0-3 in Central Washington Athletic Conference play while Wapato improved to 1-2 in conference action and 2-2 overall.
Flint was a one-man show for the Tigers Friday night, carrying the ball 35 times for 197 yards and three touchdowns to help winless Ephrata to a 6-0 halftime lead over the Wolves.
After Flint’s first score gave the Tigers a 6-0 halftime advantage, Wapato opened the second-half scoring when George Gomez hauled in a 35-yard touchdown pass from Gabe Arambul to pull even at 6-6 in the third quarter.
The Wolves took their first lead of the contest on their next possession when running back Cody Nickoloff scored on a 54-yard run to give Wapato a 12-6 lead.
Although Wapato took a 12-6 advantage, Flint and the Tigers would respond with a two-yard scoring run and a successful two-point conversion attempt for a 14-12 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Ephrata added to their lead early in the fourth quarter when Flint scored his third rushing touchdown of the contest on a 45-yard run and Ephrata took a 20-12 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Wapato responded to Flint’s score with one of their own when Nickoloff scored his second touchdown of the game on a four-yard run and the Wolves pulled within 20-18.
Wapato’s two-point deficit was short-lived as Flint returned the ensuing kick off 90 yards for Ephrata’s final score of the contest and the Tigers led 26-18 in the game’s closing minutes.
With 3:59 left in the contest and Ephrata maintaining their 26-18 advantage, Nickoloff scored his third touchdown of the contest on a 15 yard run and the Wolves pulled even at 26-26 late in the game.
After Ephrata was unable to respond on their next possession, Nickoloff scored on a 17-yard touchdown run with just 34 seconds left and Wapato survived a late slugfest with Ephrata for their first conference win of the season.
Wahluke 22, Warden 6
MATTAWA, Wash. — Warden’s Adam Hansen returned a Wahluke kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to help the Cougars pull within 16-6 of the Warriors, but Wahluke would hold on for the South Central Athletic Conference victory.
Warden and Wahluke played through a scoreless first quarter before the Warriors broke up the 0-0 tie in the second when Jose Jiminez caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Mikai Hirai for a 6-0 Warriors lead.
The Cougars were unable to respond to Wahluke’s first score on their next possession and the Warriors took a 9-0 lead into the half following a 32-yard field goal from Hermis Rivera.
Warden’s defense continued to keep the Cougars in Friday night’s contest, keeping Wahluke scoreless in the third quarter before Jared Sabin caught a six-yard touchdown pass from Hirai for a 16-0 lead.
Warden would get themselves on the scoreboard on the kick off when Hansen returned it for a score and the Cougars found themselves trailing 16-6 with time running out on the conference contest.
With the Cougars hanging around late, Wahluke’s Ricky Silverio scored on a 27-yard touchdown run to ice the game for a 22-6 win at home.
Warden senior quarterback Arturo Reyes was 22-for-38 passing for 148 yards and two interceptions. Reyes also led the Warden rushing attack with 49 yards on 12 carries.
Soap Lake 40, Manson 7
SOAP LAKE — Soap Lake remained perfect in 2009 Friday night on their way to a commanding 40-7 victory over Central Washington 2B conference rival Manson at home.
Although Manson scored the first seven points of the conference contest, the Eagles would score the final 40 to coast to the 40-7 victory.
The Eagles were dominant on the ground Friday night, rushing for 437 yards to dominate the line of scrimmage and the scoreboard to improve to 3-0 overall and 3-0 in conference play.
Chewelah 34, Lind-Ritzville 14
RITZVILLE — Lind-Ritzville scored the game’s opening touchdown on a 31-yard run by running back Micah Brown, but Chewelah scored 20 unanswered points to close out the half and the Cougars rolled to a 34-14 victory.
Brown scored his second touchdown of the night and the Broncos opened the second half the same way they opened the first, with a touchdown. Brown’s second score of the contest helped the Broncos pull within 20-14.
While Brown’s second touchdown helped Lind-Ritzville pull within a score of Chewelah, the Cougars returned the Broncos’ kick off 93 yards for a touchdown and Chewelah never looked back on their way to the non-conference victory.
ACH 38, Curlew 21
COULEE CITY — Almira/Coulee-Hartline scored 30 unanswered points to open the first half of Friday night’s contest with Curlew and the third-ranked Warriors rolled to a 38-21 win over the Cougars.
The Warriors scored the first five touchdowns of the game before allowing Curlew to score the final three touchdowns of the Northeast 1B Conference contest.
Dylan Tipps opened the scoring with a 60-yard touchdown run to spark the Warriors offense and Almira/Coulee-Hartline cruised to their fourth victory of the season.
The Warriors continue their pursuit of perfection Friday afternoon when they travel to Wellpinit to take on the Redskins. The opening kick off is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Columbia 44, Odessa 12
HUNTERS, Wash. — Columbia of Hunters, Wash., opened Friday night’s contest with Odessa on a 36-0 run and the Lions rolled to the 44-12 victory.
Odessa responded with a score just before the half but they couldn’t overcome the 36-6 deficit in the second half and the Lions cruised to the Northeast 1B conference victory.
Odessa hosts Curlew Friday night at 7 p.m. in Northeast 1B Conference competition.