Othello High School football falls in season finale, 27-21

Othello High School football wrapped up the season last Thursday against East Valley High School, falling on the road 27-21. The Huskies ended the spring at 4-3, competing in the Greater Spokane League.

East Valley finished with 322 yards passing in the win with three touchdowns, including one for 95 yards. Othello defensive coordinator Kevin Hale said the defense gave up too many big plays down the stretch. The Huskies held East Valley to just 12 yards rushing.

Othello did most of its damage on offense on the ground, with 245 yards rushing on a pair of touchdowns. The Huskies added 133 yards passing with one touchdown through the air, but came out empty-handed on three red zone trips.

Sophomore Sonny Asu left the game with an injury in the second quarter, hindering the Huskies on both sides of the ball.

Wrapping up the season, Kevin Hale said it goes without saying that this season had a different feel to it.

“When we started practice, there was snow on the ground,” Hale said. “The guys did okay with it.”

Hale said he felt the team did exceptionally well given the circumstances and he was happy with the progress they made this spring. He said the coaching staff is pretty excited to see what the squad can do in the fall.

Familiarity was one of the biggest differences to the season playing in the GSL, Hale said. He said it changed up the team’s preparation somewhat, but actually proved beneficial in a sense.

With no postseason on the line, Hale said the team could try out a few different things.

“In that sense, it was actually helpful to play against teams we weren’t expecting,” he said.

Losing the 2021 seniors will hurt the Huskies mostly on the offensive and defensive line, Hale said. He said the underclassmen will really have to step up on the line of scrimmage.

But, he said, most of the skill position players will be back next year and he’s excited about what some incoming players can add to the mix.

“Our JV team was 4-1, our freshman team was 4-0 so we’ve got some young guys coming up in addition to the guys we’ve got,” Hale said. “We really feel like the next couple of years can be really special, especially led by a couple of great athletes like Sonny and Julian (Alegria.)”