Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Tekoa-Rosalia quarterback ejected from game
Tekoa-Rosalia's Gavin Baumann runs while being pursued by Dayton's Garrott Yost on Friday, Oct.18.
TEKOA - The Timberwolves boys football team took an early lead Friday afternoon, Oct. 18, over visiting Dayton, but frustration and a late penalty opened the door for the Bulldogs to take a Southeast 1B victory home.
The Bulldogs then held on to win, 34-26, over host Tekoa-Rosalia.
The Timberwolves opened scoring when senior quarterback Westley Bryan ran off-guard and up the sideline 47 yards for a touchdown with 9:21 left in the first quarter.
Bryan then completed a pass to junior Brian Place for a successful 2-point conversion to take an 8-0 lead.
The Timbwolves would score again before Dayton could get on the board.
The second score was a 10-yard toss sweep left to junior Soren Braun. The 2-point conversion attempt failed and Tekoa-Rosalia held a 14-0 lead.
But before the quarter would end, Bulldogs sophomore Jordan McCowan would go to the air and hit Denver Hutchens for a 34-yard touchdown pass with 2:29 left in the quarter.
Hutchens, a junior, added the 2-point conversion to close the gap to 14-8.
The Bulldogs' momentum carried into the second quarter, with McCowen lofting a 61-yard TD pass to Hutches.
McCowen then connected with sophomore Byron Collier for a 2-pointer to take the lead 16-14 with 11:48 left in the first half.
Tekoa-Rosalia would answer with a 6-yard quarterback keeper with 3:49 left in the half to take a 20-16 lead after the conversion attempt failed.
After the break, the Bulldogs got the ball first, but a fumble recovered by Charlie Chase turned the ball over to the Timberwolves.
Tekoa-Rosalia senior Jordan Gump would break off-guard for a 6-yard TD score with 9:53 to go in the third. The conversion failed and the Timberwolves had a 26-16 lead.
That would be the last score for Tekoa-Rosalia, even though the Timberwolves looked in control.
But late in the third quarter with the Bulldogs' Collier and Hutchens on crossing post routes, a defensive pass interference resulted in a Dayton touchdown.
McCowen intended to hit Collier, but a Tekoa-Rosalia defensive back hit Collier early and the ball was tipped into the hands of Hutchens, who raced 53-yards unabated for the score.
Dayton declined the penalty and took the touchdown to narrow the gap to 26-22. The conversion failed.
In the fourth quarter, Hutchens scored again, this time on a 9-yard pass from McCowen. Although the conversion failed, Dayton found itself with a 28-26 lead.
The Bulldogs win was sealed when, after a quick dead-ball scuffle, Timberwolves quarterback Bryan was ejected with 8:21 left in the game. Referees said Bryan was the third-player to enter the fray, which resulted in the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and ejection.
After the Bulldogs got the ball back, a 27-yard TD pass from McCowen to Hutchens expanded the Bulldogs lead to 34-26 with 5:17 left in the game. The conversion failed.
Junior Joseph Menga took over the offense for the Timberwovles for two plays before junior tight end Seth Rerecich moved to quarterback.
The Timberwolves went to a straight forward ground game and had some success moving the ball, but not enough. And on a fourth down play with less than a minute left in the game, Rerecich went to the air in an attempt to hit Gump. The pass fell incomplete and the Bulldogs took over on downs.
Without any timeouts left, the Timberwolves were helpless as the Bulldogs ran out the clock.
Roger Harnack is the owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. Having grown up Benton City, Roger is an award-winning journalist, photographer, editor and publisher. He's one of only two editorial/commentary writers from Washington state to ever receive the international Golden Quill. Roger is dedicated to the preservation of local media, and the voice it retains for Eastern Washington.
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