7-0 Huskies football ready for upcoming Prosser contest

OTHELLO — After stopping Quincy, 41-7, for their seventh straight win last Friday, the Othello Huskies are ready to face defending state 2A football champion Prosser.

Both teams are 7-1 overall, but Othello is 7-0 in the CWAC, while Prosser is 6-1. Othello is looking for a rare defeat of Prosser and a rise toward the top.

The Huskies have done what coach Roger Hoell asked of them after the season-opener – win the next seven games to make the final two with Prosser and Ellensburg meaningful.

Othello will be tested this Friday, when the Mustangs invade Huskie Stadium. This will be the toughest contest the Huskies have faced since the season-opening loss to Connell.

“They like to spread you out and create spaces,” Hoell said.

The Mustangs returned only four starters on offense and two on defense this year. But the returning offensive starters include 2A Player of the Year quarterback Tanner Bolt, who threw for 280 yards and all three of Prosser’s touchdowns in its 22-15 victory over Tumwater in the state finale.

Prosser also returns Michael Kernen, who has moved from running back to receiver. He caught three touchdown passes last week against Wapato.

A win against Prosser will keep Othello’s undefeated league streak alive. A loss against Prosser and a victory at Ellensburg the following week would leave all three teams tied for the title with one loss.

“Regardless of what happens on Friday, the league title will still be up for grabs on Thursday,” Hoell said.

The Huskies struck early and often against Quincy to open a 32-7 advantage before the Corvettes carried the homecoming royalty in front of the homecoming crowd.

Othello’s defense continued to create turnovers leading to Huskie touchdowns. Quincy tried to move the ball in the air and the Huskie defenders came up with three interceptions, a fumble recovery and a muffed punt recovery.

“Why is it everyone facing us is throwing the ball?” Hoell asked. “Quincy’s tendency on film was to run the fly sweep and the quarterback trap, but they abandoned the running game to throw the ball.”

Quarterback D.J. Guzman threw a quick out to Kyler Villarreal on first-and-10 from the Huskie 28-yard line, and Villarreal turned the five-yard completion into a 72-yard touchdown. The junior receiver scampered down the far sidelines in front of the Jackrabbit bench all the way to the end-zone, and Othello was up, 6-0.

Freshman linebacker Isaiah Perez pounced on a Jack fumble and the Huskies quickly turned Quincy’s turnover into Othello points. Villarreal went up high to come down with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Guzman, and Othello was ahead, 12-0.

Quincy then put together its lone scoring drive of the night. Moving the ball down field with several short passes, the Jacks found the end-zone when quarterback Kaeden Murphy scored to narrow the gap to 12-7.

The Huskies answered when Reese Jones took a late pitch from Guzman, turned the corner and outran the Jack defenders on a 32-yard touchdown run to give Othello an 18-7 lead.

Senior cornerback Micah Giles intercepted a Jackrabbit pass to give Othello another scoring opportunity. Villarreal made a nice sliding catch of a Guzman pass to give the Huskies an 18-yard score and record his third touchdown pass of the first half.

This time the PAT was good and Othello was up 25-7.

Quincy continued to move the ball via the air, and Othello’s defense continued to come up with turnovers. After Junior outside linebacker Sammy Azevedo came up with an interception, junior tailback Asai Villarreal scored on a seven-yard run to give the Huskies a 32-7 advantage.

The Huskie defense continued to provide turnovers in the second half. Irvin Sandoval stripped Quincy quarterback Kaeden Murphy off the ball and senior defensive end Robbie Guerrero recovered the fumble on the Jacks 20-yard line.

Jose Chairez booted a seven-yard field goal to give Othello a 35-7 cushion with 6:49 remaining.

The Huskies last scoring drive was engineered by substitutes, with Julian Pruneda at quarterback and Bernabe Garza and Isaac Velazco at running back. Garza had four carries for 29 yards on the drive. Velazsco scored on a one-yard run to provide the final margin of victory.

Othello gained 254 yards on 41 rushing attempts with tailbacks Jones (10-74) and Villarreal (12-67) leading the charge.

Guzman was 6-9 passing for 164 yards and three touchdowns. Kyler Villarreal caught five passes for 159 yards and three touchdowns.