Jacks lose season opener vs. East Valley

QUINCY — The Quincy High School football team started fast, but East Valley (Yakima) had more speed in the end and defeated the Jacks 42-14 Friday night in the season opener for both teams.

“I think we just had trouble catching up to their speed,” said Quincy coach Russ Elliott after the game. “They had some pretty good skill receivers out there. And they executed really well.”

Quincy scored the first two touchdowns of the game, taking the opening kickoff and driving down the field, keeping the drive alive on a fourth down run by senior quarterback Ethan Gregg. Gregg also scored the touchdown to put Quincy up 7-0.

Quincy’s second touchdown came with the help of some quick thinking by sophomore Jace Reyes. A Jacks punt grazed an East Valley player as it landed, and Reyes caught it on the bounce and ran upfield.

Reyes said he played junior varsity as a freshman, moving up to special teams duty on varsity halfway through the 2022 season. Friday was his first full varsity game.

“First of all, I’ve got to focus on catching it, because if I don’t catch it, I’ve got everyone yelling at me,” he said. “And then after that, it’s just finding open room, trying to get it as far as I can, no matter who comes at me.”

Reyes also scored the touchdown, catching an 18-yard pass from Gregg.

East Valley came back with a quick touchdown, with sophomore running back Braden Albrecht scoring on a 19-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Jaxson Berg. The Jacks led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter.

But East Valley scored 28 unanswered points in the second quarter, with the last touchdown coming with about five seconds left in the quarter. The Red Devils led 35-14 at the half.

Both teams were scoreless in the third quarter; East Valley scored on a 50-yard pass play with 9:24 left in the game to push the score to 42-14, where the game ended.

“I thought we battled pretty hard in the second half, minus that one touchdown,” Elliot said. “We have some young guys that are playing hard, and just kind of learning, and that’s how it goes.”

Quincy will travel to Ephrata on Sept. 8 for the annual Battle of the Basin. The game starts at 7 p.m. at Ephrata High School, 333 Fourth Ave. NW.

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