'Competing and playing deep'

OTHELLO — The Othello Huskies football team feel like they have reason to be optimistic going into the 2022 season.

“We expect to compete and be playing deep into November,” said assistant coach Kevin Hale. “We’re going to be senior-dominated. We had a really good spring, we had a lot of participation in the weight room over the summer, Idaho team camp was excellent on all levels.”

The Huskies qualified for the state playoffs in 2021 with a 6-3 record, losing 30-13 to Steliacoom in the first round.

‘We’ve been building up to this, and we expect to be really good this year,” Hale said.

Head coach Roger Hoell emphasizes tenacity, Hale said.

“With Coach Hoell’s mentality, it’s about toughness,” Hale said. “We’re always tough.”

The running game will be the basis of the Huskie offense.

“We are a power running team, but we can use speed to our advantage,” Hale said. “Coach Hoell wants us to be the most physical team out there.”

Running back Sonny Asu returns for his senior season and will help speed up the Huskie ground game. Senior Julian Alegria made the Central Washington Athletic Conference all-league third team at running back and will join Asu in the backfield.

Sophomore Mason Perez returns on the offensive line after making the all-league offensive second team as a freshman. Perez also made the all-league first team on defense. The Othello offensive line also features senior all-league first team tackle Giovanni Love.

The defense plans to dominate, Hale said. Defensive players to watch include Perez, Alegria - who was all-league first team as a defensive end - and senior Terrill Freeman, who also was all-league first team on defense.

“Our defense is simple by design. We will use a dominant defensive line to disrupt opposing offenses’ execution. Our linebackers and defensive backs are fast and ferocious,” he said.

But with about 90 players turning out, the Huskies will have a lot of weapons to throw at opposing teams.

“Honestly, we’re really, really deep,” Hale said. “That’s going to be, I think, our biggest strength, is that depth. Even our second string guys are really, really good. On most other teams, they’d be starters.”

Othello has a long tradition of football excellence; since Hoell became the coach in 1996 the Huskies have earned two state championships, a second-place state finish and had a run of 19 straight playoff appearances, Hale said.

“In the last five years, even if you include COVID, we’ve made the state playoffs three times,” he said.

Cheryl Schweizer may be reached at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.

Schedule:

Sept. 3 - @ Connell - 7 p.m.

Sept. 9 - vs Royal - 7 p.m.

Sept. 16 - @ Ephrata - 7 p.m.

Sept. 23 - vs Selah - 7 p.m.

Sept. 30 - @ Grandview - 7 p.m.

Oct. 7 vs Prosser - 7 p.m.

Oct. 14 - @ Ellensburg - 7 p.m.

Oct. 21 - @ Kelso - 6 p.m.

Oct. 28 - vs East Valley - 7 p.m.

Roster

3 Ezra Gonzalez

4 Sonny Asu

5 Adriel DeLeon

6 Eliez Gutierrez

7 Maddox Martinez

8 AJ Vasquez

9 T.J. Murdock

10 Ka-El Ozuna

12 Spencer Lawson

16 Quade Gonzalez

21 Alex Mendez

22 Jack Sorensen

24 Erick Sandoval

26 Forrest Roylance

28 Julio Gomez

31 RJ Ramirez

32 Jordan DeLeon

34 Michael Vallejo

38 Terrill Freeman

40 Kyle Rasor

42 Josue Solorio

44 Julian Alegria

46 Brandon Garza

50 Mason Perez

51 Steven Carmona

52 Cameron Stovern

54 Abe Veliz

55 Jaden Perez

58 David Delgado

60 Jesus Mendoza

62 Carlos Cruz

68 Anthony Solorio

72 Kellen Pendergast

75 Will Parrish

76 Giovanni Love

77 Myles Ritchie

78 Trey Suarez

80 Carmine Garza

81 Collin Simmons

82 Xzyan Martinez

83 Troy Mendez

84 R.J. Martinez

85 Brayden Buduan

88 Dayton Vanlandingham

90 Jaxon Gomez