Cards Head to Playoffs After Tough Loss to Asotin

ASOTIN - The Waitsburg-Prescott Cardinals ended their regular season Thursday with a disappointing loss to a young Asotin team, 24-21. With the loss, the Cardinals finished Southeast District 9 play tied with Tri Cities Prep, each having a 2-1 league record.

The Cardinals enter the post season as the number one seed, thanks to their win over TCP on October 17.

"We had the league title wrapped up and were playing a 2-6 Asotin squad and our guys were a bit flat," said WP coach Jeff Bartlow, "and all of the sudden we were down 13-0 in the first quarter."

Two scoring runs by Asotin running back Blake Magnuson in the first quarter put the Cardinals in a hole they're not used to. But with a strong second quarter, they were able to take a one-point lead into the half, 14-13.

After a long Cardinal drive, running back Travis Crockett punched the ball in from the three to cut the lead to six. On Asotin's next possession, defensive back Luke Alexenko picked off a Panther pass and returned it 35 yards for the second Cardinal score.

"The third quarter was ours, but we did not get much to show for it," Bartlow said. "We held them to no first downs and had some really unfortunate calls go against us. We had a 45 yard run by (quarterback) Jacob Dunn called back and then a (successful) fake punt called back that gave us trouble and frustration."

After the scoreless third, the fourth quarter saw some fireworks. First, the Panthers executed a play-action pitch pass that turned into a 71-yard scoring romp. They added a two-point conversion to take a 21-14 lead.

The Cardinals returned the favor on their next drive when Dunn hit Jason Carter on a 91-yard pass play. Carter was stopped at the one-yard-line, but running back Kobie Brown was able to run it in for the tying score.

On their final drive, Asotin moved the ball into WP territory, where they kicked a game-winning 39-yard field goal with 45 seconds remaining.

"It was a close contest and one that we wanted to win, but did not play nearly well enough to win," Bartlow said. "I think we will shake this off and move on and do well" in the playoffs.

For the game, Dunn completed 11 of 24 pass attempts for 201 yards. Brown had 65 yards on seven carries and Owen Lanning carried the ball five times for 43 yards. At wide receiver, Alexenko had five receptions for 66 yards, and Carter had the one reception for 91 yards. Kicker Antonio Benito continued his almost perfect season, going three for three on PAT attempts. He has missed only one PAT and field goal attempt all year.

On Friday, number one seed WP hosts District 7 number five seed Liberty-Spangle in the crossover game. The winner of that game will play the following weekend against the winner of the Warden/Tonasket game.