Wenatchee High School’s varsity football team fell 17-21 to Eastmont High School in a down-to-the-wire game last Friday night.
Wenatchee opened up scoring in the first quarter with a run from senior running back Michael Mahuika and PAT from senior kicker Anthony Garcia. Eastmont quickly answered to tie the game 7-7. Shortly after, Wenatchee took back the lead with an over the shoulder touchdown catch from junior receiver Griffin Butler on a well placed ball from senior quarterback Ryan Branam. Eastmont followed with a long touchdown rush of their own, tying the game 14-14 at half.
Eastmont were the first on the board in the second half, taking the lead 21-14. Following Eastmont’s touchdown however, Garcia kicked a field goal from nearly 50 yards out, making the game 17-21. Neither team ended up scoring in the fourth quarter, ending the game with a 17-21 score.
Wenatchee held Eastmont’s offense to the lowest amount of points they have scored all year, being led by defensive coordinator Darius Carlson.
“We held these guys to 21 points. I think we had a little bit of slip-ups, but overall, I’m proud of these guys. I wish that these seniors could have gotten the W over Eastmont at least one time,” Carlson said.
On top of holding Eastmont’s offense to the lowest amount of points they have scored in a game this year, Wenatchee’s defense stepped up limiting their passing game.
“They passed for 19 yards, so their passes weren’t really a threat,” Mahuika said.
Eastmont’s main threat was their power on the ground, ultimately scoring enough points to win them the game.
Eastmont’s defense stopped Wenatchee’s offense from scoring on three consecutive drives at the end of the game.
“I feel like we had a lot of opportunities, you know, we just didn’t capitalize when we needed to,” Carlson said. “I feel like the defense stepped up. The offense played pretty well. We just got to clean some stuff up and we’ll be all right.”
“It’s the closest we’ve been to beating Eastmont in the past six years, it just shows that we can win tough games against good teams,” Mahuika said.
Despite the loss, Wenatchee put up a fight against the ninth ranked team in the state, proving that they can compete at a high level of football.
