Southeast 2B story lines

The perfect finish

On the final day of last season, the Waitsburg- Prescott Cardinals won the school’s first state football title by beating Morton/White Pass 33-7 in the Tacoma Dome. Star quarterback Zach Bartlow threw two touchdown passes to Dalton Estes and ran in another. Running back Billy Brown accounted for the other two touchdowns as Waitsburg-Prescott finished the season 14-0.

Outlook

The defending state champion Cardinals, a perennial power in the league, may have lost Bartlow to graduation, but they are still the favorites to win the league, and they’re still loaded with skilled talent in senior running back Brown and senior wide receiver Estes. DeSales, a state qualifier last season, also has back a pair of key offensive weapons in senior running back Luke Fazzari and senior receiver Joe Duehn, as well as all-league defensive back Ryan Baumgart. Asotin will be competitive, while Dayton lost several key players to graduation. Other returning all-league players include: receiver Wyatt Frame (Dayton), offensive linemen Tyler Hanson (Tekoa-Oakesdale/Rosalia) and Alex Naylor (Dayton), linebacker Briar Westerfield (Tri-Cities Prep) and defensive lineman Cody Koch (Asotin).

Sweet November

Northeast 2B coach Mike Morgan (Colfax) is looking forward to the first week of November, when the Northeast and Southeast teams play the District 7/9 crossover games. “It’s like a week of playoff football during the regular season,” he said. “It’s nice to have some games in there with those teams.”

Predicted finish

1. Waitsburg-Prescott, 2. DeSales, 3. Asotin, 4. Tekoa-Oakesdale/Rosalia, 5. Dayton, 6. Tri-Cities Prep