Huskies chase off Tigers in big CWAC showdown

Trevor Hilmes rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns, Isaiah Perez added 96 yards on the ground and two scores, and Othello rolled over previously unbeaten Ephrata 38-14 at home Friday night. It was the third win in a row for the Huskies (3-2, 2-0) who take over sole possession of first place in the North Conference standings.

The Tigers (4-1, 1-1) came up big early on both sides of the ball, forcing Othello to a 3-and-out on the game’s opening possession, and then marching 50 yards downfield for the first score of the contest when Zach Berryman hooked up with Jakob Oxos on a 6-yard fade route.

Othello answered back with a 3-yard run from Perez (Azevedo PAT) to tie it 7-7 with 3 minutes left in the first quarter of action. The Huskies took the lead for good on the first of two Hilmes touchdowns on a 4-yard scamper, with just under nine minutes to play in the half.

Othello pushed the score to 21-7 when Perez hit pay dirt for the second time. His 5-yard run was set up by a fake punt and a 20-yard pitch and catch from DJ Guzman to Isaac Barragan.

The Huskies tacked on the knockout blow with a 55-yard strike from Kyler Villarreal to Julian Pruneda to go up 28-7 at intermission.

A second hookup from Berryman to Oxos (PAT) closed the gap to 28-14. Othello made it 31-14 when Azevedo split the uprights from 31 yards out to round out third quarter scoring.

Adding insult to injury, the Huskies executed an onside kick to start the final 12 minutes of the game, and then scored a minute later on a Hilmes 1-yard run.

Ephrata threatened twice in the final nine minutes of the contest, but was turned back by two Othello interceptions.

The Huskies rushing attack grinded out 305 yards on 59 carries. Quarterback Kyler Villarreal completed 3-of-6 passes for 98 yards and a score.

Othello looks to make it four-in-a-row when the Huskies hit the road to Yakima Friday to take on the East Valley Red Devils.