Othello fall sports a season to remember
Bob Barrett Photo - Second team All-CWAC defender Isabel Hardiek returns to anchor the Huskie defense.
Bob Barrett Photo - Second team All-CWAC league wide receiver Kyler Villarreal returns to give returning quarterback DJ Guzman a target.
Bob Barrett Photo - Honorable Mention All-CWAC league defender Rilee Heist returns to help the Huskies keep the opponents from scoring.
Bob Barrett Photo - Othello's Trevor Hilmes (32) makes a tackle against West Valley as cornerback Jose Gomez (28) provides assistance.
It has been a fall sports season to remember at Othello High School. For seven weeks, the volleyball, football and girls soccer teams were either on top or tied for the top spot in the CWAC.
The football team ended up 7-2, tied for second with Prosser and Selah. The Huskies beat Selah in a modified Kansas City tie-breaker to earn the second seed.
Othello lost to West Valley of Spokane in the crossover game to end their season.
Twenty-five seniors were introduced to the home crowd on Senior Night at Huskie Stadium. Othello lost eight senior starters on defense and three on offense.
On offense, the Huskies will return most of their line including Adriel Gutierrez, Anthony Pastor, Humberto Martinez and Steven Aubrey. They also return quarterback D.J. Guzman, fullback Trevor Hilmes, tailback Asai Villarreal and wide receiver Kyler Villarreal.
The defense kept Othello in its games this year and the graduation losses there are more damaging. Othello will return only linebackers Sammy Azevedo, Isaiah Perez and Trevor Hilmes. The defensive line and the entire secondary is graduating.
The returning linemen and skill players on the offensive side gives Othello the foundation to build on for next year. Hopefully, Othello can take the one more step and return to their customary spot in the 2A state playoffs.
Bernie Garza’s girls soccer team ended the season at 7-2 and shared the league title with Ellensburg, Selah and Ephrata. Clarkston defeated Othello in the crossover to end the Huskies season.
Seven seniors graduate from the soccer team, including the league’s leading scorer, Nikki Velazquez. The next two scorers for Othello, Kaylee Martinez and Tori Cantu, also graduate.
The Huskies’ inability to put the ball in the net proved to be their undoing against the playoff teams late in the season.
Returning defensive all-league selections Isabel Hardiek and Rilee Heist are the building blocks for next year’s Huskie side.
Othello’s Steve Parris was selected as CWAC volleyball Coach of the Year.
The volleyball team suffered late-season losses to Prosser and Ellensburg to end the league season at 7-2, tied with Selah for second place.
Like the football and soccer teams, the volleyball team lost to their Great Northern opponent in the crossover to be eliminated just one victory away from earning a berth in the state 2A tournament.
Eight of the 12 Othello volleyball players are graduating seniors. Honorable mention setter Macy Hampton, outside hitter Mykiah Hollenbeck, middle blocker Alyssa Hawley and setter Mikayla Garza are the returning netters.
As usual, the teams lost a lot of talent to graduation. But hopefully the Huskies can build around their returning starters and take one more step forward and earn berths in the state tournaments next year.