Othello beats Wapato 41-0, hosts Quincy for Huskie Homecoming
OTHELLO – Six down, one to go. To get to post-season football, that is.
The Othello Huskies shut out the Wapato Wolves 41-0 last Friday to win their sixth straight CWAC football game and remain undefeated in league play.
After victories over East Valley, Selah, Toppenish, Grandview, Ephrata and Wapato, the Huskies arrive at Homecoming Week with a league record of 6-0.
It was the defense that received top honors Monday morning from Huskie coach Roger Hoell
“The defense was awesome,” he said after the shutout. “We gave up 63 total yards and had good field position all night. We were able to operate on a short field.”
The Pack Attack not only shut down the Wolves offense, but they four created turnovers leading to Othello touchdowns.
Sammy Azevedo had two fumble recoveries and a pick six and Miguel Garcia had a pick as well.
Othello’s ground-and-pound rushing attack gained 151 yards on 32 carries, but the Huskies used the air route to score their points. Junior quarterback D.J. Guzman only threw only 11 passes, but four of them went for touchdowns.
Kyler Villarreal hauled in scoring passes of 19 and 45 yards and Asai Villarreal caught touchdown passes of 37 and 25 yards.
Guzman added eight carries for 70 yards to his 123 passing yards. Fullback Trevor Hilmes pitched in with 15 yards and a touchdown on four carries. Freshman back-up fullback Isaiah Perez chipped in with an eight-yard scoring run.
Wapato held league leading rusher Reese Jones to 59 yards on 15 carries.
This Friday Othello hosts the Quincy Jacks for Huskie Homecoming with all the craziness of dress-up days, hall decorations, pep assemblies, Huskie Olympics and the Homecoming Dance.
Hopefully, the football team can focus on the task of defeating the Jacks who arrive at Huskie Stadium with a 2-4 league record. Othello’s senior football players have not beaten Quincy. The Jacks have won the last two years.
“Don’t let their record fool you as to what kind of team they are,” Hoell said. “They have weapons, they play hard and they play with a lot of emotion and heart. They will go from snap to whistle. They give every team a battle.”
With all the possible distractions surrounding Homecoming Week, Hoell is preaching the need to stay focused to his players.
“They are 6-0 and you don’t want to (throw) it away by getting so wrapped up in Homecoming you lose focus on the game,” Hoell said. “A win pretty much assures us of some sort of post-season play. So you have to stay focused.”