Odessa sets up All-Northeast B title game
Odessa had no answer for the arm – and escaping ability – of Tri-Cities Prep sophomore quarterback Will Hoppes.
So the Tigers turned the game over to their offensive line, fullbacks and the feet of Jacob Schmidt to erase a two-touchdown halftime deficit and win Saturday’s State 1B semifinal football game 58-44 at Albi Stadium.
Hoppes completed 28 of 46 passes for 414 yards and five touchdowns, four to receiver Rafael Magana. Magana added a 42 yard TD strike as the Jaguars led 44-42 after three quarters.
Schmidt countered by carrying the football 26 times for 192 yards, helping to ultimately wear Tri-Cities Prep down. He scored three touchdowns, passed for another and also added 10 points on extra-point runs.
With Odessa’s victory, Friday’s Dairy Farmers of Washington/Les Schwab Tires 8-man football championship is an All-Northeast B affair. The Tigers join Almira/Coulee-Hartline, which beat Lummi 80-50 earlier in the day in Tacoma.
“It’s going to be a whole different ballgame,” said Odessa coach Bruce Todd, after surviving the Tri-Cities Prep scare. “We beat them pretty good (56-6) early in the year, but they’re playing well and I don’t think we’re playing as good as we should.”
Todd was not pleased with the Tigers’ first-half pass defense, which was outscored two touchdowns to one in the final 1 minute, 55 seconds of the first half. Odessa trailed at that point 30-18.
By then the Jaguars had piled up 281 passing yards, mostly by Hoppes and his receivers, primarily Magana. Odessa’s secondary was left grasping for answers.
Magana had nine catches for 140 yards and two TDS (he threw for another). He would finish with 17 catches for 274 yards.
“Their quarterback throws a nice ball and 10’s (Magana) a heck of a receiver,” Todd said. “They kept going to him and we had to get a few stops, which we weren’t doing earlier.”
Schmidt kept the Tigers close with a 58-yard pass reception-and-run and a 54-yard scamper on the third-down to make it 22-18 with 1:29 until intermission.
“They were beating us on our defensive backs all night,” Schmidt said. “We came in at halftime and just decided to pound the ball. We wanted the offensive line to get a push in front and we’d take it home the rest of the way.”
The pounding of the front four and lead blocking of 235-pound Travis Todd and 155-pound Alex Null in front of the speedy 155-pound Schmidt helped restore order.
Odessa ran a variety of dives, counters and sweeps. The Tigers also got a fumble recovery by Aaron Bruya and held the football for nearly seven straight minutes in the third quarter.
The Tigers led 34-30 with 4:10 remaining – plenty of time for the teams to put more scores on the board. Hoppes and Magana hooked up twice, one for 45 yards. Schmidt hit Bruya for a 24-yard TD on second-and-goal following Justin Karnitz’s long kickoff return to the 4-yard-line.
In the fourth quarter, Odessa’s defense got into the act. It made three successive stops, forcing two turnovers. Andy McClure recovered a fumble following a completion and Bruya had an interception. Travis Todd scored twice on the ground (he also had two receptions for 48 yards) to put the game away. The Tigers finished with 351 yards rushing on 50 attempts.