Huskies pull away to stay in CWAC hunt

Caleb Garza (7) got plenty of help from his fellow Othello Huskies as they cruised to a 38-17 CWAC win on Friday.

The Othello Huskies (in red) had enough defense to keep Selah out of the end zone enough times to win 38-17 on Friday.

by Alan Dale<br> Herald Sports Writer
| October 25, 2010 1:12 PM

The Othello Huskies (in red) had enough defense to keep Selah out of the end zone enough times to win 38-17 on Friday.

OTHELLO - Now the plot thickens.

With the help of archrivals Ellensburg and their own strong performance Friday night, the Othello Huskies football team has worked its way into position for not only a Class 2A state playoff berth once again but also into a chance for hosting a first round game.

The Huskies took care of their end with a strong 38-17 win over a pesky Selah Vikings squad in a Central Washington Athletic Conference (CWAC) encounter while Ellensburg knocked off Toppenish, 49-12, to knock the latter down below the league's top three.

Now, Othello (6-2, 6-1) finds itself tied with Ellensburg (6-2, 6-1), for second place in the CWAC behind leaders Prosser (7-1, 7-0).

If both win this weekend, the two - Othello and Ellensburg - will battle it out on Nov. 4 on the Bulldogs' home turf for the league's second seed, barring a Prosser collapse, and a chance to host a first round state playoff game.

Othello set themselves up for this two weeks of intrigue behind their win over Selah (3-5, 3-4) that didn't come easy early on.

But the Huskies rode the strong legs of Caleb Garza and a defense that bent but didn't break to hold off the visitors and claim the win.

Othello scored first of Garza's seven-yard run and the Huskies led 6-0.

Selah would answer with a long, grinding, drive off its own to take the lead 7-6.

However the Vikings had few answers for Garza who sprinted into the endzone from 31 yards and a two-point conversion pass from David Garza to Sam Para made it 14-7 Othello after one quarter of play.

Caleb Garza scored his third touchdown from four yards out and added a 25-yard field goal at the halftime whistle to propel Othello to a 23-10 lead at the break.

Othello would score twice more in the third quarter, with Caleb Garza running the last of his four scores, from 35-yards, and Andrew Gomez tacking on a 1-yard plunge to secure the win.

Caleb Garza finished with 213 yards rushing on 25 carries, while David Garza went 5-for-9 passing for 93 yards. Caleb Garza also completed one pass on a fake punt that went for 40 yards.

Othello plays host to Grandview Friday for Senior Night.