Othello edges Selah, Bulldogs up next

Defense was the name of the game Friday night as linebacker Mando Deleon lays a hard hit on Vikings’ running back Tanner Fife. Photo by Bob Kirkpatrick.

By Bob Kirkpatrick

Editor

It was a battle for field position all night long as two hard-nosed defenses held their ground. But the Huskies were able to keep their seven-game CWAC winning streak intact with a come-from-behind 7-3 victory over the Selah Vikings.

The outcome wasn’t decided until the last minute of the ball game.

“It was a good win for us,” coach Roger Hoell said. “We needed to have a game like that; it helps us prepare for the playoffs.”

Othello, heading into the contest, had rolled over their previous league opponents 326 to 52 but found the going extremely difficult against an unwilling Selah team determined to knock off the high-flying Huskies.

“I thought both teams played a great game defensively. They had a great game plan for us and we had a tremendous game plan for them,” Hoell said. “It just came down to making some plays at the end and we were able to do it.”

The Vikings won the coin toss but elected to defer to the second half.

The first quarter for Othello was marred with mistakes as the Huskies dug themselves a hole at the start of the game. The team’s first possession began at its own five-yard line after Devon Lind took the opening kickoff and was only able to return it to the Huskies 15-yard line.

Othello was whistled for holding on its first offensive play and the ball was moved back to the five-yard line, putting the Huskies in a first-and-20 situation.

After piecing together back-to-back first downs, the Huskies were able to move the ball near mid-field but failed to convert on third and long and had to punt.

A booming kick by Cerrillo and a generous bounce, pinned the Vikings back to their six-yard line. Unable to move the ball, Selah went a three-and-out and punted it back to Othello.

Lind returned the kick to the Vikings 22, where the Huskies began their second possession of the quarter. A false start pushed the ball back to the 27. RB Parker Davis got 13 yards back on a sweep to the right on the next play to make it second and two for Othello. The Huskies moved the ball to the eight-yard line for a first and goal on a pass from Cerrillo to Matt Jensen but turned the ball over on a fumble.

But Othello’s defense held and Selah was forced to punt.

The Huskies took over at the 50-yard line and moved the ball to the Vikings 23 as time expired in the quarter with double zeros on the scoreboard. It was one Hoell would just as soon forget.

“We had 50 yards in penalties and we had a first and goal at the four-yard line and fumbled the ball,” he said. “You can win games like that.”

Defensive tackle Jacob Reichert sacks Selah quarterback Trent Douglass. Photo by Bob Kirkpatrick.

The Huskies moved the ball to Selah’s eight-yard line in the opening minutes of the second quarter, but the drive stalled and the team’s first scoring threat was turned back after the Vikings blocked an 18-yard field goal attempt by Brian Elgin.

Selah took possession and moved the ball to the 41-yard line, but the Huskies forced the team to punt yet again. Lind was in position to field the ball but dropped it as he slipped to the ground and it was recovered by the Vikings at the Huskie 26.

Selah got on the scoreboard four plays later on a 27-yard field goal that barely inched over the crossbar to put the home team up 3-0.

The score held up until two minutes and 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter when Cerrillo hit Lind with a pass over the middle on desperation fourth-down play, who dodged several would-be Viking tacklers on his way to a  33-yard TD. The PAT by Brian Elgin put the Huskies up 7-3.

Othello’s offense seemed to be able to move the ball throughout but was unable to gobble the usual amount of real estate the team was accustomed to the past seven games.

“We didn’t play our best game offensively,” Hoell said. “We missed some blocks and shot ourselves in the foot with penalties on a lot of our drives.”

Late game heroics by the Huskie cornerbacks Lind and Caleb Garza turned back the Vikings final scoring threat with a minute and a half left to help preserve the victory.

“The secondary made a couple of big plays,” Hoell said. “But all the kids out on the field did their job.”

The game was a real gut-check for the Huskies, but it was good experience for the team, he said, because Hoell expects every game in the state playoffs to be as intense. He said the team will be stronger because of it as it exposed some of the things they need to work on to be successful and make a long run in the state playoffs.

“When you play games like this, you really find out where you are at (as a team),” Hoell said. “We’ve always thought our kids were tough physically and mentally and now you find out where they are really at and they find out where they are really at and what they need to do to get better.”

The win keeps Othello in a first-place tie with the No. 1 ranked Ellensburg Bulldogs, whom they host tomorrow night for all the CWAC marbles. The game is sure to challenge the Huskies defensive backfield as the Bulldog’s QB Ethan Sterkel leads the league with 2,354 passing yards and WR Kramer Ferrell is tops with 1,154 receiving yards.

“Ellensburg loves to throw it around … they’d rather throw it than run it,” Hoell said. “But that doesn’t mean they can’t run the ball.”

He said the Bulldogs offense runs multiple formations to make you work for everything you get and the defense is just as tough, shutting teams down all season long.

“They’ve only given up 50 points all year,” he said. “And the offense is averaging over 40 points a game.”

Needless to say, Othello will have to put together its best effort to turn back the Bulldogs.

“This will be a great game for everybody,” he said. “It’ll be fun to watch.”

Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.

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