East Valley holds off Quincy Jackrabbits

Prosser 53; Ephrata 7; Othello 7; Selah 3

QUINCY — The Quincy Jackrabbits rallied late during their homecoming game Friday night, but the East Valley Red Devils held on for the 31-25 Central Washington Athletic Conference football victory.

Quincy opened the homecoming contest with a 6-0 lead when quarterback Jackson Hodges scored on a three-yard touchdown run to give the Jackrabbits a 6-0 lead after Quincy failed to convert the point-after attempt.

While Quincy led early, East Valley would respond.

The Red Devils capitalized on a 57-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jonathan Janis to wide receiver Andy Clayton for a 7-6 East Valley advantage.

Although East Valley took their first lead of the contest midway through the second quarter, Hodges and the Jackrabbits responded.

Hodges scored on a 14-yard touchdown run on Quincy’s next possession and the Jackrabbits ignited the homecoming crowd with a 12-7 first-quarter lead.

East Valley responded with a one-yard touchdown run from running back Eli Curtsinger to hand the Red Devils a 14-12 advantage, but the biggest blow to the Jackrabbits came when senior running Breck Webley left the contest with a mild concussion.

Quincy was unable to respond in the second quarter and the Jackrabbits trailed 14-12 entering the half.

With Quincy’s leading rusher out with a concussion, the Jackrabbits continued to struggle in the third quarter and East Valley pushed their lead to 24-12 entering the fourth quarter.

Quincy answered early in the fourth quarter when Hodges found the end zone for the third time Friday night when he scored on a two-yard touchdown run.

Hodges set up his own score when he found a wide receiver Trevor Hyer down the sideline for a huge gain late in the third quarter.

East Valley answered when Janis threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jordan Cameron to give the Red Devils a 31-18 lead.

After Quincy’s next drive stalled, the Red Devils took over and marched into Quincy territory.

East Valley tried to run out the clock out with less than two minutes remaining, but the Jackrabbits forced an East Valley fumbled and junior defensive back Manny Ybarra picked up the loose ball and returned it 70 yards for a Quincy touchdown and the Jackrabbits trailed 31-25 late.

Quincy tried an onside kick on the ensuing kick off, but East Valley recovered and ran out the clock on the win and Quincy’s homecoming.

Hodges was 4-for-11 for 133 and ruched 13 times for 91 yards to lead the Jackrabbits. Hyer hauled in two passes for 65 yards and Cody Berens caught on ball for 54 yards.

Quincy returns to action Friday night when they travel to Ephrata for the annual Battle of the Basin rivalry game. The opening kick off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Prosser 53, Ephrata 7

PROSSER, Wash. — Prosser’s Isaac Anderson broke the 1,000 yard mark Friday night and the Mustangs knocked off Ephrata 53-7 to keep the Tigers winless in 2009.

Anderson scored the game’s first touchdown on a four-yard run to give the Mustangs a 7-0 lead.

Ephrata tried to respond on the ensuing possession.

The Tigers moved the ball to midfield, but Prosser’s Dominic Garza intercepted the Ephrata pass and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown and the Mustangs led 14-0 entering the second quarter.

The Mustangs scored four times in the second quarter and led 40-0 at the half.

Prosser added another score in the third quarter and another in the fourth and the Mustangs led 53-0 before Ephrata got on the scoreboard.

Ephrata running back Fidel Bazen broke up Prosser’s shutout bid when he scored on a 30-yard touchdown run late in the contest.

The Tigers return to action Friday night when they host the Quincy Jackrabbits in the annual Battle of the Basin rivalry game. The opening kick off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Othello 7, Selah 3

SELAH, Wash. — Othello senior Devon Lind made up for a costly muffed punt in the second quarter when he hauled in a 33-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jeremy Cerrillo in the fourth quarter to give the Huskies a 7-3 win over Selah Friday night.

Lind muffed a second-quarter punt and Selah’s Klayton Fleming recovered to set up the Vikings 28-yard field goal from Daniel Hernandez.

Although the fumble led to Selah’s only score of the contest, Lind and Othello persevered.

With four minutes remaining in the contest and Selah holding on to a 3-0 lead, the Vikings looked to run out the clock on the game and Othello’s chances for a conference title.

But a holding penalty transformed a third-and-short into a third-and-long situation.

The Vikings were looking to prolong the drive, but Othello’s Mando Deleon intercepted Selah quarterback Trent Douglass’ pass and Othello took over at the 38 yard line with less than four minutes remaining.

After Othello was unable to move the ball in a minute and a half, the Huskies faced a game-deciding fourth-and-12 with 2:30 left in the contest.

Cerrillo dropped back in the pocket and found Lind over the middle for a 13-yard gain. Lind crossed the first-down line and moved through the Selah defense for a touchdown and an Othello victory.

The win over Selah sets up a pivotal matchup with undefeated and top-ranked Ellensburg Friday for senior night.

With the win over the Vikings, the Huskies improved to 8-0 in conference play and 8-1 overall, setting up a showdown Friday night in Othello for the Central Washington Athletic Conference title.

Othello enters the contest as the state’s fourth-ranked 2A team, with their only loss coming at the hands of the 1A classification’s second-ranked Connell Eagles.

Both Ellensburg and Othello enter the contest with 8-0 conference records. The winner will not only earn a conference championship, the winner will earn the conference’s top-seed heading into the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association 2A playoffs.

The opening kick off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.