Othello Huskies drop opening game, CWAC action next
Reese Jones is tackled by Connell’s Caleb Price, on Othello’s second play, reverse to Jones.
OTHELLO – The Connell Eagles rode the talents of quarterback Brian Hawkins, tight end Steven Kroontje and running back Jaxs Whitby for 41-16 victory over the Othello Huskies here Friday.
Hawkins completed 11 of 21 passes for 142 yards and one touchdown. Whitby racked up 194 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries. Kroontje caught four passes for 75 yards and one touchdown.
Connell dominated the line of scrimmage, opening holes for Whitby and basically eliminating any running lanes for Husky fullback Trevor Hilmes or tailback Reese Jones.
“Their line is good,” Othello head coach Roger Hoell said Saturday while watching game film. “They have great get-offs. They just have athletes.”
The Connell game was non-league. The next seven games are all CWAC league games against opponents the Huskies have handled over the years.
East Valley, Selah, Toppenish, Grandview, Ephrata, Wapato and Quincy are all beatable opponents. The Huskies do not play Prosser and Ellensburg until the last two weeks of the season.
“If we can steadily improve, then game 10 will mean something,” Hoell said.
The Huskies were often their own worst enemy Friday. Three lost fumbles gave the Eagles a short field and resulted in three Connell touchdowns.
Those three scores and a 61-yard Whitby run for a touchdown resulted in a final score that really didn’t reflect Othello’s good play.
“The points are not indicative of the game,” Hoell said. “One Connell score was a fumble return for a touchdown and the last touchdown, with 1:07 left, was a 60-yard touchdown.”
“We are a lot better than we were last year,” Hoell added. “This game was more competitive. We are just better all the way around. You could see the improvement. For us, it is line play on both sides of the ball where we have to pick it up.”
The Huskies had a few tricks to combat the eight defenders Othello expected the Eagles to put in the box to keep Jones and Hilmes bottled up.
However, Othello fumbled Connell’s opening pooch kick and did not get a chance to run an offensive play until after Hawkins completed a 17-yard scoring pass to Kroontje and the Eagles had a 6-0 lead.
Othello’s first offensive play was a reverse to receiver Collin Freeman for a big gain to inside Connell territory. The Huskies came back with another reverse to tailback Reese Jones and, suddenly, Othello was inside the Eagle 30-yard line.
The Huskies scored on a 26-yard pass from D.J. Guzman to Reese Jones, and the score was tied at 6-6.
“We felt the passing game was there,” Hoell said. “They were so sold out on the run, with eight guys in the box. I liked our match-ups with our guys on the outside.”
The Eagles quickly broke the 6-6 tie when an Othello fumble ended up in a 12-yard Connell touchdown and 13-6 lead.
The Huskies struck first in the second half with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Guzman to Freeman. Sandoval’s PAT was good, and Othello trailed 27-16.
That was as close as Othello would make it. Connell scored twice more.
Othello was never able to establish its power running game, but the Huskies did have some success in passing the ball.
“I think for the first time in a lot of years, we had more passing yards than rushing yards,” Hoell said.
The task of chasing the state playoffs begins this Friday at East Valley. It appears the Huskies defense will need to focus on the Red Devil quarterback.
Lucas Juarez threw for three touchdowns and ran for a fourth score while Alex Hampton gained 128 yards on 11 carries in East Valley’s 41-21 victory at Cascade of Leavenworth. Matt Estrada caught seven passes for 134 yards and two TDs.