Othello rolls into CWAC championship game with win over Toppenish
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin HeraldOthello defensive end Isaiah Perez (44) flushes Toppenish quarterback Adonis Shaul (4) during the final defensive stand during Friday night's CWAC game at Husky Stadium.
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Othello punt returner Patrick Azevedo (6) brings the ball back during CWAC action against Toppenish Friday night.
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin HeraldOthello receiver Trevor Hilmes (32) had to turn defender on this pass over the middle against the Toppenish defense Friday night.
OTHELLO — Sam Azevedo was out there on an island with Toppenish knocking on the door with third-and-7 on the Othello 29 with four minutes remaining and the game hanging in the balance.
He might have been sweating, but he wasn’t working on his tan. Toppenish quarterback Adonis Shaul had already torched the Huskies for four touchdown passes and was looking to give the Wildcats (5-3, 2-2 CWAC) the lead in what was supposed to be a meaningless, nonleague game.
It was senior night and homecoming in Othello — it meant something.
Shaul, who was 16-of-31 for 325 yards and four touchdowns, dropped back went through his progression, but the whole stadium knew where he was going. Isaac Perez, who already had a 71-yard touchdown pass to his credit, came out of the slot on a corner route. Shaul put it on him, but he and Azevedo scrambled in the end zone and the 6-foot, 160-pound Wildcat receiver lost possession when he hit the ground.
That defensive play when it mattered most helped the No. 1 seeded Huskies (5-3, 3-1) from the CWAC North hold off Toppenish 29-25 and roll into Saturday’s CWAC championship game with a head of steam.
“(Perez) caught that one deep pass earlier, so I knew they were coming at me. I was so happy when that ball popped out when he hit the ground,” Azevedo said. “You don’t want to get beat on something like that.
“We need to work on our coverage because we got beat bad. They couldn’t run (Keyano Zamarripa 3-9, Shaul 2-8), so they had to pass and we held our own when it mattered.”
On fourth-and-7, Othello sophomore Isaiah Perez came off the edge and flushed Shaul out of the pocket, and Anthony Veliz chased him down from the backside and the Huskies took over on downs.
Othello football tradition is about power running and the Huskies pounded the ball inside with Perez at the fullback and dipped outside with quarterback Kyler Villarreal on the option read. Villarreal carried 17 times for 200 yards and scored all four touchdowns, including a 65-yard run to give Othello the lead with 5:38 remaining. Perez punished Toppenish defenders for 114 yards on 18 carries. Trevor Hilmes was money as well, adding 134 on 28 carries.
In the world of music, they say the band makes it rock and the roadies make it roll. With the Othello football team, the road to the end zone is plowed by an offensive line that dominated. Guys like right tackle Cameron Bain, right guard Elijah Roylance, center Adriel Gutierrez, left guard Anthony Pastor and left tackle Humberto Martinez paved the way for 448 yards on the ground.
“I feel like we held our own tonight. This was a big night, homecoming, senior night for the seniors. It was one of the biggest home games of the season. We decided to go out there and give it our all,” Bain said. “Toppenish switched some things up on the defensive front, but we made the adjustments.”
Villarreal couldn’t have been more happy with his offensive line.
“I’m real proud of them, they were amazing,” the Huskies quarterback said. “I told them we need to push harder and if we do that we’re going to win this game. I told myself this is the last time I’m going to play on this field and if I have a chance to break one, I’m taking it. I’m not going to stop and the line made that possible.”
Othello faces Selah (7-0, 4-0) for the CWAC championship at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday in Grandview. Both teams will advance to the 2A state tournament. The game is for seeding purposes.
Ephrata (6-2, 3-1) will play Prosser (6-2, 3-1) in the early game, which begins at 3:30 p.m. The Winner hosts a GNL school on Nov. 4 and the loser travels to the GNL.
Score by quarters
Toppenish 6 6 6 7 — 25
Othello 7 7 7 8 — 29
Oth — Kyler Villarreal 8 run (Patrick Azevedo kick)
Top — Isaac Perez 71 pass from Adonis Shaul (PAT no good)
Oth — Villarreal 5 run (Patrick Azevedo kick)
Top — Chris Grant 50 pass from Shaul (PAT no good
Oth — Villarreal 23 run (Patrick Azevedo kick)
Top — Manuel Selan 24 pass from Shaul (PAT no good)
Top — Parker Reynolds 30 pass from Shaul (Sheldon George kick)
Oth — Kyler Villarreal 65 run (Isaiah Perez run)