OTHELLO — The Othello defense pitched a shutout in Friday night’s league win over Grandview, defeating the Greyhounds 41-0 in their home stadium. 

“We had a good week of practice, we needed to come out and play a little cleaner,” Othello defensive coordinator Kevin Hale said. “When we play clean, we’re a pretty good football team.” 

Othello’s defense held Grandview to just two first downs on Friday night, while the Greyhound offense had just 22 yards passing on five completions. The Greyhounds also finished with —17 rushing yards against a strong Othello defensive front. 

“We had a specific game plan, there’s a few different things we wanted to do, but not too much,” Hale said. “Just keep it simple so the guys can go out there, line up and just play. And they did; our defensive line (Friday) night, they were unblockable. They were getting so much penetration, so much disruption. It was a dominating performance.” 

On Othello’s first defensive play of the game, senior defensive lineman Mason Perez — the reigning Central Washington Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year — picked up a fumble and returned it for a score to put the Huskies up 14-0 early. 

“It just landed right in front of him — he saw it, picked it up and took it to the house,” Hale said. “That was our first fumble recovery of the year on defense, so that was a good way to set the tone for the rest of the game.” 

Offensively, the Huskies amassed 214 rushing yards on 30 carries in the win. Senior Jordan DeLeon rushed for two touchdowns in the win, while junior quarterback Quade Gonzalez IV completed six-of-10 passes for 97 yards and three touchdowns; junior RJay Garza caught two touchdowns, while junior Stadyc Stromberg hauled in the other. 

“Our offensive line is improving with their execution, and we’ve got several guys that can run the football, so that helps,” Hale said. “We’re not going to wear out any specific guy. It sets up some good play-action passing so we can take some good shots down the field.” 

The Huskies improved to 3-0 with Friday’s win, having previously defeated Ellensburg 28-9 to begin the season and Connell 42-17 two weeks ago. 

“Right now, we’re trying to do the best we can to clean up the small mistakes that might cost us a little bit later,” Hale said. “... Confidence, it builds on itself.” 

Last year’s Othello team fielded a roster largely comprised of sophomore players, and still qualified for the 2A State Football Tournament; with last year's experience, the Huskies are looking to improve this season. 

“Now it’s time to use that experience and to build upon it,” Hale said. “It goes without saying that experience helps, and they look different when they play. They’re in better positions, they understand our concepts a little bit better. We have high expectations for them, but they have improved in a lot of ways.” 

Next up for Othello is a road trip against Selah on Friday. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. 

“Of course we want to win every week, but we want to get a little bit better every week,” Hale said. “We got a little better this week, and we’re going to be looking to do the same playing a really good Selah team this next Friday.”

    Jordan DeLeon (32) follows offensive lineman Mason Perez (50) downfield. DeLeon scored two touchdowns in the win, while Perez returned a fumble for a touchdown in the first quarter on defense.
  

    Gavin Carl (38) heads around the end. The Huskies rushed for 214 yards in Friday’s win.
  

    Othello held the Greyhounds to –17 rushing yards in Friday’s home win.