Wahluke wraps up first season under Ryan Antos
Rodney Harwood/Sun Tribune - Sophomore cornerback Jonathon Manzo will be a big part of the 2019 Wahluke Warriors football program.
MATTAWA — They played football for the sake of playing football, one last time before the 2018 season came to an end.
Quincy and Wahluke were a couple of programs not involved in their various postseason brackets. It was just Quincy (4-6) from the Central Washington Athletic Conference 2A ranks playing 1A Wahluke (4-6), wrapping up its first season under the director of first-year head coach Ryan Amos.
When it was all said and done, Quincy finished its season with a 28-0 victory on the road at Mattawa.
The Warriors started the season 2-0 with wins at Wapato and saw Alex Valdez kick the game-winning field goal in the home opener to beat Granger. The statewide powerhouse Royal Knights, who are on their way to history if they win a fourth consecutive 1A state title, rule the SCAC East and the 1A ranks for that matter. But Wahluke stayed the course with losses to both Royal and Connell.
They got a little taste of something good with the return of quarterback Oscar Rodriguez, who was the WIAA Player of the Week for his effort in leading the Warriors to a 50-13 win over Kiona Benton.
Wahluke had a chance to retain one of the SCAC East playoff spots, but three consecutive losses to River View, College Place and Warden took them out of contention.
“I truly believe in this coaching staff and what they’re doing. We got a new coach this year (Antos) and he’s been installing some new stuff,” junior Jose Ceyala said. “We’ve been blown out in some games, but we never quit.
“Everybody was always saying, ‘Are you with me?’ ‘Do you have my back?’ That’s the way we are in Matta. We’re family.”
They played like family with a big win on Senior Night with a 34-6 win over Highland, before wrapping up the season against the 2A Quincy Jacks.
For Senior Night photos or to view the Jose Ceyala interview, go to suntribunenews.com or click:
Wahluke Senior Night
https://www.facebook.com/wahlukeathletics/photos/pcb.1912397122207469/1912395945540920
Jose Ceyala interview
https://www.facebook.com/SunTribune/videos/166461090958028