Huskies win, move on to state tournament

OTHELLO – Tied at seven through the first 24 minutes, Othello shut Rogers (Spokane) out in the second half and added two touchdowns of its own to defeat the Pirates 20-7 on Saturday afternoon, qualifying for the 2A State Football Tournament with the win. 

“We were feeling pretty good, we had a really good week of practice,” Othello defensive coordinator Kevin Hale said. “We knew Rogers was a really talented team, that they were going to give us some problems with their speed. The way they spread you out, it complicates things. They played really hard, and you saw that today.” 

After forcing a Rogers punt on their first drive of the game, the Huskies marched down deep into Pirate territory before losing a fumble in the red zone. Another defensive stand forced a Rogers punt, and a long return by junior RJay Garza set the Huskies up on the Pirate 10-yard line; three plays later, junior Gavin Carl scored on a six-yard run to give Othello the lead. 

“I thought the play was going to be dead, but I found a way to break it out following Mason (Perez) and a couple other of my lead blockers,” Carl said. “Broke a tackle, bounced it out and kept moving my legs.” 

Rogers tied the game on its next offensive drive, scoring on a 13-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter. Othello was marred by turnovers and penalties in the first half on Saturday, though the defense stood tall to keep the game tied at seven entering halftime; that included a goal line stand, where junior Andrew Sorenson sacked the Pirate quarterback to end the second quarter and keep Rogers out of the end zone. 

Othello turned the ball over three times in the first half; the early fumble, a muffed punt and a thrown interception. 

“That was the message – just play clean,” Hale said. “We knew if we did, we’d have a good chance of winning the football game. That’s been our message all year long. We were able to do that, the kids took the message to heart.” 

Creating rushing lanes was another topic of discussion at halftime. 

“We talked about changing the way we handled the d-line up front, because they were filling in our gaps where we needed to run,” Carl said. “We made some arrangements and figured it out.” 

The Huskies drove down the field to begin the second half, with senior Jordan DeLeon capping off an eight-play, 68-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter. Two drives later, Carl scored his second touchdown of the game on a 35-yard run, where the junior broke several Pirate tackles on his way to the end zone. 

“I don’t even know how I managed to turn that one into a touchdown,” Carl said. “I just followed my lead blockers, cut up field right behind Mason (Perez), broke a tackle and just booked it for the end zone.” 

The Othello defense held the Pirates to a season-low seven points on Saturday, giving up under 200 yards of offense in the win.  

Garza sealed the win with an interception in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter. 

“We wanted to take away some of the things that they do well, and for the most part, we were able to,” Hale said. “They were getting us on a few things, but we forced them to be patient. Our line up-front was constantly getting pressure.” 

A member of that defensive line was senior Mason Perez, who frequently blew up Rogers plays off the snap in the second half by breaking through the offensive line. Perez also recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter. 

“If they said ‘I’ve got help right here,’ I knew it was a pass play, so I’d just go up the gap that the help wasn’t at,” Perez said. “Just straight through the gap.” 

Othello head coach Roger Hoell had to leave the game early in the first quarter Saturday, after a player ran into him on the sidelines following a play. After a brief delay in play, which included both teams taking a knee on their respective sidelines, Hoell left the game in an ambulance. The longtime Othello head coach spoke to the team following the win via video call, which garnered loud reactions from players in celebration. 

“The kids were shaken up, but credit to them for keeping it together and just playing,” Hale said. “It took us a while to really get back into it, but credit to them for overcoming adversity. It’s really been amazing this season, how they’ve overcome one thing after another.” 

State brackets were not available in time for press deadline, but games begin later this week. 

“We’re going to be playing another really good team, but if we play clean and have a really good week of practice, we’ll have another good chance of winning,” Hale said. 

Box score 

ROG: 0-7-0-0 7
OTH: 7-0-13-0 20 

    Othello defenders group up for a tackle during the second half against Rogers (Spokane) on Saturday afternoon. The Huskies held the Pirates to a season-low seven points.
  

    Othello junior RJay Garza (2) stretches high to haul in a 28-yard catch in the third quarter against Rogers (Spokane) on Saturday.
  

    Othello senior Mason Perez (50) breaks through the Pirate offensive line to pressure the quarterback. Perez recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter.