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Your Hometown News Source
HANFORD–For the second week, Dayton-Waitsburg Valley Football took a first-quarter lead but couldn’t hold on as the Liberty Christian Patriots chalked up 20 second-quarter points and went on to win 38-16 in a non-conference matchup.
Dayton-Waitsburg is 0-4 overall, 0-1 in Eastern Washington Athletic Conference play and will face Liberty again the week after next on October 11 in Dayton for a league counter.
Valley Football travels to Mabton this Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff of the team’s second conference game. Mabton’s field is without lights so games are played during the day.
“Everything we’ve done is fixable,” commented Head Coach Troy Larsen. “We’ve just got to get the right kid in the right position.
“The good news is that we played a basic game of football,” he said.
The team encountered its share of adversity in the game. On the second drive, senior center and linebacker Seamus House limped off with a hyperextended knee.
“He’s our center and middle line backer and calls the defense,” Larsen said. “It’s huge loss to lose a field general like Seamus.” The injury sidelined House for the game but there is hope he’ll be back in pads for the Mabton game.
Liberty scored first but Dayton-Waitsburg blocked the extra point.
DW scored on its drive, quarterback Shawn Evans rambling into the end zone from the four. The PAT was no good and the teams were tied, 6-6.
Valley’s defense held the Patriots and they punted on fourth down. The punt was blocked and DW defenders scrambled to get ahold of the rain-slickened pigskin in the end zone. Unfortunately, it squealed its way out the back of the end zone for a safety and DW’s 8-6 lead.
Liberty scored the go-ahead touchdown when quarterback Shawn Evans mishandled a snap from substitute center Dan “Junior” Katsel-Magill, pressed into service after House was injured, and it was picked up by the Patriots and run back over 40 yards to pay dirt.
Pointwise, Dayton-Waitsburg was still in range at halftime, Coach Larsen said.
He juggled his backfield at the break, sending 5-6, 115-lb. freshman running back Hudson Reser into the contest. Reser had caught the coaching staff’s attention as a ball carrier for the scout team. The quick, hard-charging frosh carried the mail 17 times and gained 78 yards.
“It brought life to the team,” Larsen noted. “We had a freshman center and a freshman running back.”
Liberty had a pick six and a long touchdown run in the second half. In the fourth quarter, Adam Puckett recovered a fumble for a touchdown and Reser punched in the two-point conversion.
Larsen hopes to have Damian Johnson, 6-0, 165-lb. sophomore runningback back for the Mabton game.
Dayton-Waitsburg rushed for 154 yards and passed for 27 yards, for a total offense of 181 yards.
In addition to Reser’s 78 yards on 17 carries, Christian Watson-Solis had 12 carries and 33 yards, Evans had 15 carries for 29 yards, Colton VanBlaricom two for 10 yards and Bradley Sandau three carries for four yards.
Evans completed three passes of 15 tries for 27 yards, with two interceptions.
VanBlaricom caught on pass for 23 yards.
DW 8 0 0 8-16
LC 6 20 8 6-38
