Second half charge sinks TOR

After besting SE 2B contender DeSales through 16 minutes of play, Tekoa/Oakesdale and Rosalia’s football squad fell victim to a third quarter blitz which turned a 21-19 halftime lead into a 58-21 win for DeSales.

“You’re 21-19 on DeSales at the half, you’re feeling pretty good,” said TOR Coach Kaleb Madison.

That good feeling quickly subsided as the Irish came out of the halftime locker room powered to put down the Nighthawks.

Irish QB Jeremiah Cox came out guns ablazing, hitting Ryan Baumgart on touchdown passes of 30, 18 and 20 yards as DeSales put 26 third quarter points on the board to put the game away. Cox finished the game 21-26 for 348 yards and five touchdowns.

Luke Fazzari then cleaned up as DeSales ran out the clock, notching touchdown runs of two, three and eight yards as he racked up 197 yards on 28 carries.

Coach Madison said the Irish simply made plays when they were needed.

“We were there a lot to make the tackle and we just didn’t,” he said. “We hit them and they kept going. So, good for them - not so good for us.”

The good for the Nighthawks was the first half ground game, with Craig Nelson and Joe Gaines punishing DeSales defenders on hard power runs.

Nelson finished with 149 yards rushing on 16 carries. Gaines went 20 for 138.

“There were a lot of proud moments - a lot,” said Coach Madison. “You get down and you have to get away from your game plan.”

The third quarter Irish barrage made TOR move away from ground and pound to an ineffective passing game.

The Nighthawk air attack racked up only two completions on 13 attempts for 57 yards with three interceptions.

This Friday, the Nighthawks travel to Dayton for an SE2B showdow with the Bulldogs.

Dayton enters off a 7-6 home loss to the league’s top dog, undefeated Waitsburg-Prescott. The Bulldogs enter with one league win, a 30-0 pasting of cellar dweller Tri-Cities Prep, which lost to Asotin 32-27 in the other league game from last Friday.

WP and TCP match up in Pasco this Friday, with Asotin and DeSales facing off in Asotin.