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River View's Karson Rawlings (9) moves in to tackle Dayton-Waitsburg's senior quarterback Monte Pettichord (10) and didn't have much luck catching Pettichord, who made four runs for 43 yards in DW's losing 35-0 effort against the Panthers.
DW junior wide receiver Cyson Morris has his eyes on the pigskin pass from Monte Pettichord, but his efforts weren't rewarded with a catch. Morris made one catch for 17 yards in the game.
WAITSBURG–The undefeated River View Panthers visited Dayton-Waitsburg and limped away with a 35-0 win, but they had to fight for every point against the 2-2 Wolfpack. Win or lose going into this game, the season was over for DW.
"I thought: six-nothing at half," said Head Coach Troy Larsen, "we'll come out and get a stop. We got the fumble (recovered by Kaylub Prather). We'll go down and score. All of a sudden, they're puckered and it's a whole different game.
"Instead, we ended up giving up that score and you could see our energy dwindle," Larsen said.
Certainly, injuries played a role, Larsen conceded. "If we were full strength, I swear we could beat that team," he said.
In spite of that, Dayton-Waitsburg gave the Panthers a good fight all four quarters.
Both teams grinded it out between the 35 yard lines through the first quarter and most of the second quarter before River View converted on fourth and eight for first-and-goal on the Wolfpack nine yard line. From there, Miguel Farias punched it in for a 6-0 lead with 2:14 to play in the half.
Dayton-Waitsburg kicked to the Panthers to open the third stanza and quarterback Ajani Fornos fumbled on the first play, Kaylub Prather recovering at the Panther 44.
But on third and 11, Cody Brown intercepted a Monte Pettichord pass intended for Daylan Marlow, senior wide receiver, and returned it to their 46 yard line. Seven plays and 54 yards later, Farias dove in from the three, and with the two-point conversion, River View led 14-0.
DW's next drive stalled and Fornos wasted no time breaking free for a 47-yard touchdown scamper, giving the Panthers a 21-0 lead.
The Wolfpack's next drive was scuttled by an interception after DW had moved to midfield. Again, River View converted on a crucial fourth-down play, concluding the drive with a 25-yard Farias bolt into the end zone.
As Dayton-Waitsburg's next drive continued in the final quarter, Pettichord was again looking to pass, and was intercepted a fourth time.
The Panthers' first-down screen pass was almost intercepted by Blake French, and the Panthers continued their 77-yard, clock-eating march to their final touchdown and a 35-0 lead.
Dayton-Waitsburg started at their 25 and put together a fine 17-play drive down to the two yard line where Pettichord's pass to Cougar Anderson was incomplete with 1:20 to play, and the Panthers finished the game in the victory formation.
"Great first half–for the undefeated league champs to come in, and they had to beat us to get the league-champ title to themselves, so they wanted it and for us to stop them the way we did, time after time," Larsen commented. "We just made too many little mistakes.
"We had a lot of sixty-yard drives, taking up clock," he said. "They would have a sixty-yard drive and we'd get stops."
Larsen remembers last year's 1-8 record and is happy with this year's 6-3 mark. "I'm super proud of them," he said. "We had the energy back. We showed them we could beat the big schools of Highland, Granger, Cle Elum and Warden."
Larsen gave credit to the leadership and talents of senior quarterback Pettichord, who also was a force on defense. Pettichord counted 17 solo tackles and two assists, and on offense, completed nine of 24 passes and rushed four times for 43 yards.
Hudson Reser, senior running back, gained 119 yards on 22 carries. "Hudson Reser was the Player of the Game," Larsen said. "He just ran with every ounce of bone he has in him. That guy was so fabulous tonight. I was nothing but in awe of how hard he worked and ran. He was carrying a couple guys every time to the end, never stopped... How impressive is that."
The passing game wasn't in top form, but Spencer Hansen made seven receptions for 62 yards and Daylan Morrow pulled in six receptions for 51 yards.
The offense totaled 298 yards of offense.
Larsen says the future is bright for DW. It will be difficult to replace graduating seniors like Pettichord, Reser, Marlow, Preston Hansen, Levi Boudrieau, Garrett Palmer, Damien Reyes and Kason Fortune, but the entire line returns along with talent in the running backs, plus a healthy crop of eighth graders will be joining from the DW Middle School Football program.
"I've never been happier that the program is in the right place," Larsen said. "We have energy. They are good athletes that are getting better in the gym." Weight training is continuing in both Dayton and Waitsburg, the lifting starting at first light with excellent attendance, he said.
River View 35, Dayton-Waitsburg 0 (10-28)
DW 0 0 0 0-0
RV 0 6 21 8-35
RV-Farias 9 yd run. Pass failed.
RV-Farias 3 yd run. Guzman pass from Fornos.
RV-Fornos 47 yd run. Clark kick.
RV-Farias 25 yd run. Pass failed.
RV-Farias 8 yd run. Guzman pass from Fornos.
