Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
WP's Dalton Estes makes a run for it with the ball last Friday in Waitsburg in the game against Tri Cities Prep. Stirling Eastman gives him the handoff.
WAITSBURG - Waitsburg Prescott's seniors refused to end their high school football careers as anything less than league champions for an unprecedented fourth consecutive year.
Dalton Estes' 251 all- purpose yards, Sterling Eastman's 250 passing yards, and Roy Ebong's two stellar kick returns, five receptions and key first half interception stopping a sure Tri-Cities Prep score fueled the Cardinals' title-clinching, 34-14, victory over the visiting Jaguars.
"That second half was gutty," a smiling WP head coach Jeff Bartlow said afterward. "The seniors really wanted it. Stirling had a great game at quarterback, and Dalton- he's a warhorse back there. That kid is tough."
The Cards and Jaguars played a low-scoring first half that ended with the teams separated by one point, 7-6. But the Jaguars could very well have led by two touchdowns had the WP defense not stepped up to force two crucial Jaguar turnovers deep in their own territory.
The Jaguars' second possession began at their own 31-yard line. Over the course of 10 plays, the Jags drove the ball, mostly along the ground, to the WP 23. But pressure applied by the WP defense forced a fumble by TCP quarterback Evan Whitsett on a pitch that Cardinal Nate Bartlow recovered at the 26.
Two series later, down 7-6, TCP again threatened, this time on first down after a long drive at the WP 13. Ebong jumped the Jaguars quick slant route over the middle and intercepted Whitsett's pass at the five to end the scoring chance.
For yet another week, WP appeared incapable of stopping its opponents' running attack with its base defense. The Jaguars tallied 90 yards of rushing in the first half and 10 first downs.
"They ran the veer at us and threw off it, and we had some difficulty," coach Bartlow said. "We had to get the run stopped. It's been our Achilles heel all year. At halftime we made some adjustments. I moved Chance Leroue from defensive end to Sam linebacker and that's where he's going to stay. We played a little 50 up front and put Biggie (Keith Lake) in the middle."
WP limited the Jaguars' rushing attack to 42 yards over the next 22 minutes after halftime, and held the Jags to three first downs in that span.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals' offense fired up, scoring on its first three possessions of the second half.
Estes took a pitch from Eastman around right end, cut up-field for a first down then all the way across to the left side of the field on a highlight reel 47-yard touchdown run just two minutes and 17 seconds into the third quarter.
The Jaguars temporarily knocked Estes out of commission with a bloody nose on the next possession, but Eastman, Ebong and Leroue picked up the slack, going the final 32 yards of the 82-yard drive without their prolific running back. Ebong brought in an Eastman pass over the middle for 8 yards, Leroue took a bubble screen ahead for another 20, and Eastman finished the drive following Leroue's lead block for a 1-yard touchdown score.
Estes returned on the next drive to score his third touchdown of the game on an option pitch from 29 yards out. The drive included two more Ebong receptions and another by WP senior Riley Stevens.
WP iced the game late in the fourth quarter, up two scores and trying to drain clock. Instead of running the ball and forcing the Jaguars to use their last timeout, WP offensive coordinator Troy Larson called for a pass play on third down-and-nine. Estes caught Eastman's pass in the right flat, and did the rest-breaking an initial tackle and striding up the sideline to the end zone from 80 yards away.
The victory, combined with DeSales win over Asotin, locks WP, DeSales, and Tekoa-Oakesdale-Rosalia into a 3-way tie for first place. WP, however, won the preseason draw for three-way ties and claims the No. 1 seed from District 9 as the play- offs commence.
WP hosts District 7 No. 5 Mary Walker of Springdale this Friday at 6 p.m.
TCP0608-14
WP071413-34
Rushing: WP 149 (Estes 14-154 3 TDs, Eastman 9-(-15) 1 TD, Leroue 5-10); TCP 171 (Rudolph 21-72, Whitsett 6-(-1) 1 TD, Ledesma23-100 1 TD).
Passing: WP 250 (Eastman 15-18-250 1 TD); TCP 60 (Whitsett5-12-60 2 INTs).
Receiving: WP (Stevens 3-26, Ebong 5-48, Tompkins 2-36, Estes3-97 1 TD, Leroue 2-43); TCP (Ledesma 1-6, Cole 1-10, Guajardo2-32, Pedersen 1-12).
Total Offense: WP 399, TCP 231.
First Downs: WP 17, TCP 15.
Turnovers: WP 3, TCP 3.
Penalties: WP 8-70, TCP 1-10.
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