Prosser Mustang recap |
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. Prosser survives Othello threatNovember 23, 2008 by Scott Sandsberry KENNEWICK — The ball, like the game, seemed to hang up there forever. Not just once, but twice. And each time, all eyes — and the Prosser Mustang’s hopes of continuing their hunt for a second straight Class 2A football title — lay on a 150-pound sophomore named Dominic Garza. Less than 31/2 minutes remained in a Saturday quarterfinal in which Prosser had led for less than 10 minutes, would ultimately win 33-28 but now trailed CWAC archrival Othello by a point. Mustang quarterback Jordan Durbin had sent the ball sailing half the length of the Lampson Stadium field in the direction of Garza, who was … alarmingly alone. “That’s the hardest throw to make — when a guy’s that wide open,” Durbin said. “If you throw a bad ball and it’s incomplete, it’s your fault.” And the guy having to wait for the ball to arrive, hoping not to blow the solo catch for the go-ahead touchdown? “Kind of scary,” Garza said. “The corner(back) ducked in on our second receiver, and so I had a wide-open lane. I just had to make a good catch.” And to wait for the ball to arrive. “That ball was up in the air forever,” Prosser coach Tom Moore said. “That ball would not come out of the sky.” It did, of course. Garza hauled it in and trotted the few remaining steps in on what would be a 50-yard touchdown play, Durbin’s fifth scoring pass of the game (and the second to Garza), with 3:22 remaining. When the two-point conversion pass attempt was intercepted, the top-ranked Mustangs (12-0) had only their second lead of the game, 33-28. But Othello (10-2) wasn’t done. The Huskies marched to Prosser’s 20-yard line with 30 seconds remaining, when quarterback Marc Garza launched a pass in the direction of Ryley Petersen. A 39-yard Garza-to-Petersen touchdown pass in the first period had given Othello the first of its four leads in a seesaw affair in which the Huskies usually had the upper hand. This time, though, Garza was in perfect position — a step in front of Petersen on the receiver’s fade route, so when Garza’s pass sailed a little long, he simply timed his run to arrive at the same time as the ball. “It was one-on-one coverage. I just knew I gotta play deep,” said Garza, who hauled in the victory-clinching interception — in the end zone, no less — with 20 seconds remaining. “I was just in shock,” he said. Understandably. With Othello’s offensive line clearing avenues for talented tailback Lee Gomez, who racked up 234 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries, Prosser always seemed a step behind. Even when the Mustangs found its bearings in the second half and took a 27-21 lead into the final six minutes, Othello was there with the big play: a 51-yard punt return for a touchdown by Devon Lind and a 28-27 Husky lead with 5:05 left. “I looked up on the clock and thought, OK, five minutes, that’s enough time for our offense to score,” said Durbin, who turned out to be right. It took the Mustangs barely 11/2 minutes, and Durbin found yet another receiver who was not Kirby Moore. Although Moore hauled in seven passes for 108 yards and his state-record 30th of the season, he was so frequently double- and even triple-covered that Durbin had been able to find Dustin Crawford, Matt Young and Garza with scoring passes. And he found Garza again. “This is the biggest test we’ve had,” Durbin said. “Our team needed this.” And because Garza did his job when the ball came out of the sky — twice — the Mustangs got it.
Oth — Ryley Petersen 39 pass from Marc Garza (Estie Miron
kick)
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Mustangs come back to defeat OthelloBy Jack Millikin, Herald staff writer"Setback, comeback" has been a slightly incongruous team motto for the Prosser football team this season, given its penchant for lopsided victories. Heading into Saturday's 2A state quarterfinal at Lampson Stadium, the Mustangs had trailed against just two teams in its 11 wins this season while outscoring opponents 570-160. One of those wins was a 54-21 win over the CWAC rival Huskies on Sept. 19. But that motto fit the Mustangs to a 'T' during a 33-28 win over Othello, earning them a fourth-straight berth in the 2A semifinals. Prosser (12-0) will meet Burlington-Edison (11-1) -- a 14-7 winner over Pullman -- Saturday at Lampson Stadium. Top-ranked Prosser trailed the third-ranked Huskies four times, including a 28-27 deficit before Jordan Durbin hit Dominic Garza with a game-winning 50-yard touchdown pass with 3:22 remaining in the game. "The cornerback who was covering me bit on the second receiver and Jordan saw me open," said Garza, who didn't have a defender within 10 yards of him when he made the catch. Garza, a 5-foot-7 sophomore, then pulled off another big play, intercepting Marc Garza's pass into the end zone intended for Ryley Petersen with just under 20 seconds left to halt Othello's final drive and secure the game for the Mustangs. "(Dominic) is a talented kid. They put 2 1/2 guys on Kirby (Moore) the whole day, so another receiver was going to have to step up," said Prosser coach Tom Moore, who was impressed with Garza's game-saving pick. "That was great technique. He had perfect form, using his body against a much bigger receiver." Durbin completed 16 of 31 passes for 232 yards, and threw five touchdowns to four different receivers, including two to Garza. Kirby Moore led all receivers with eight catches for 108 yards and a touchdown. "It was kind of a goofy day for me," said Durbin, who was intercepted at the Othello 1-yard line to end Prosser's first drive and needed a half to find his rhythm. "I just tried to hang in there. We've been in close games like this before." Othello countered with a strong running game led by Lee Gomez, who finished with 235 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries. His 3-yard plunge gave the Huskies a 14-7 second-quarter lead. Gomez also had runs of 18 and 19 yards to set up Aaron Simmons' 3-yard TD run before halftime to make it 21-14 Othello. But Durbin put Prosser back in front 27-21 with a pair of third-quarter TD passes to Moore and Matt Young. Huskies junior Devin Lind blocked Miguel Munoz's extra point attempt, which perked up the Othello sideline and gave the Huskies a 1-point differential should they get another score. "It's hard for me as a senior. I thought we had it at one point," Gomez said. "I was praying to God we would get something back." With 5:05 left in the game, it was Lind who answered Othello's prayers. After the Huskies forced the Mustangs three-and-out on their own 6-yard line, Lind fielded Kyle Schuetze's punt at Othello's 49, found a seam and took it virtually untouched down the right sideline to give the Huskies a 28-27 lead. "We called a (punt) block, and coach was telling me to fair catch so we could get the ball back," Lind said. "As soon as I passed that first wave of blockers, I knew I was gone." The Huskies made some gutsy calls in the first half to set the tone for the day. They extended their first drive with a fake punt, as punter Jeremy Cirrillo took off running and connected on a 32-yard pass to Ric Garza for a first down. That play ended three plays later on a Lee Gomez fumble, which was recovered by Mustangs' linebacker Sef Boyle. Boyle later recovered another fumble in the second half. Othello also faced a fourth-and-10 from the Prosser 39 with 1:39 left in the first quarter. The Huskies went for it, and Marc Garza found Petersen streaking down the left hash for a touchdown to make it 7-0. "We were pretty chaotic in the first half with lots of defensive mistakes," coach Moore said. "But Othello is a great team. Number 8 (defensive end Jakob Scott) is a great player. We were having a hard time blocking him. You had to know where he was at all times."
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