Odessa to face Naselle for 1B championship

The Odessa Tigers will defend their football championship title against Naselle next Saturday, December 7, in a game to start at noon in Tacoma at Mt. Tahoma Stadium after Odessa overwhelmed the Entiat Tigers in Moses Lake last Saturday.

True to form, Odessa built up a commanding lead in the first half (66-0 at half time), then turned the game over to several younger players in the second half.

Od 46 22 16 0 84

Ent 0 0 0 20 20

Josh Clark and Marcus King once again led the first-half offense, scoring touchdowns on their first seven possessions. Clark scored five of those touchdowns and King scored two. Both appeared unstoppable.

Clark was given the nod as Player of the Game by the announcers of the live-streamed broadcast by NFHS Network. He scored 30 points, rushing for 194 yards, completing three 2-point conversions and including a touchdown following one of the two interceptions he had in the game.

King rushed for 187 yards and caught a pass for another 11 yards, scoring five TDs and adding two 2-point conversions. He also led the defense in tackles with 12.

Quarterback Jett Nelson directed the offense in what was primarily a running game, although he also completed both of his two passing attempts. On one play, he kept the ball and ran across the goal line for a TD. Brady Walter picked up a TD as Nelson connected with him on a pass play. Anthony Elder and Jakob Starkel each contributed a two-point conversion to the final score.

Defensively, a total of 14 Odessa players were credited with tackles. Keith Strebeck and Jakob Starkel each executed a quarterback sack.

ACH falls to Naselle

In the other semi-final game played last Saturday, the Warriors of Almira-Coulee-Hartline were defeated by the Naselle Comets by a score of 70-44.

The first half was a pretty even match-up between the two teams, with Naselle leading by only two points, 32-30, at the midpoint. The second half was a much different story. Some of the decline in the fortunes of ACH surely can be attributed to the injured left ankle of the Warrior's senior running back Brayton Schafer. His mobility was definitely hampered in the second half.

Schafer and sophomore quarterback Dane Isaak each scored three TDs. Isaak completed eight of 16 attempted passes for a total of 159 through the air. He carried the ball 30 times for 194 yards rushing. Schafer rushed for 66 yards and added 117 yards receiving for a total of 183 yards.

QB Weber is back

Odessa's starting QB Camden Weber will be back in action for the championship game this Saturday after missing several games due to injury. He has been cleared to play and has been at practice preparing to return to the field.