Waitsburg Rambles, Gets Desales Again
Waitsburg High School’s finest football season in 30 years now turns to the inevitable:
Another game against DeSales.
Ryan Leid, one of 15 seniors on the roster, rushed for 170 yards Saturday to lead Waitsburg’s fifth-ranked Cardinals (10-1) to a 34-8 win over Davenport (8-3) in a State B-11 quarterfinal at Riverside High.
Waitsburg and top-ranked DeSales, also 10-1, meet next weekend at Kennewick’s Lampson Field. The winner advances to Gridiron Classic III Dec. 6 in the Tacoma Dome.
Waitsburg lost to DeSales 30-14 in their Southeast League matchup Oct. 3 at Waitsburg.
“I probably overloaded the kids last time with different schemes,” Waitsburg coach Jim Sharkey said of the first DeSales game. “We’ll play more basic this time.”
DeSales, of Walla Walla, has a rich football history, including last year’s runner-up finish and the title in 1991.
Waitsburg, a former B-8 school playing its third season of B-11, had never won a playoff game since the state system was adopted in 1973. The 1968 Cardinals (9-0) played when state champs were determined by the Associated Press poll.
Yet Waitsburg didn’t look anything like a playoff neophyte Saturday against Davenport, the state champion of two years ago. Using their superior speed, the Cardinals outgained the Gorillas 331-62 on the ground and held 1,200-yard rusher Jeremiah Johnson to 43 yards on eight carries.
Leid had more yardage than Johnson after the game’s first possession, when the Cardinals plowed 79 yards in 11 plays. Leid carried seven times for 44 yards during the drive, setting up a 22-yard touchdown run by quarterback T.J. Scott.
Scott added TD runs of 3 and 1 yards in the first half, both times aided by Leid’s hard work.
“We had a very tough league this year, and it strengthened us for the playoffs,” Leid said.
Davenport hurt its cause with three turnovers in the first half.
Waitsburg started eight seniors on defense. Its main offensive threats - Leid, Scott, fullback Shane Mings and backup running back Kevin Jones - also are seniors. They accounted for 305 yards on 41 carries.
Davenport didn’t record a first down until halfway through the second quarter. The Gorillas avoided the shutout on junior Mark Hall’s 32-yard pass to senior Dale Buchanan with 4:14 left.
Hall finished 8 of 21, for 128 yards and two interceptions. Buchanan had four receptions for 66 yards, junior Jesse Morrison three for 51.
“We keyed a lot on (Johnson), but it was the overall wing-T scheme that we wanted to stop,” Sharkey said.
Waitsburg 34, Davenport 8
Waitsburg 13 7 7 7 -34
Davenport 0 0 0 8 -8
W-Scott 22 run (Scott kick) W-Scott 3 run (kick failed) W-Scott 1 run (Scott kick) W-Leid 16 run (Scott kick) W-Jones 10 run (Scott kick) D-Buchanan 32 pass from Hall (Johnson run)
, DataTimes