The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WALLA WALLA - Waitsburg Cardinals visited The Fighting Irish at DeSales High School on Friday, September 29. DeSales, led by first-year head coach Travis McCauley and assistant Josh Richard, had six returning starters with eight seniors on the roster of almost 30.

Four Cardinal interceptions plus one fumble inevitably resulted in the Irish coming out on top with a final score of 0-48.

Waitsburg won the coin toss and deferred to receive the start of the second half. Both teams' defense fought to keep the score 0-0 at the end of the first quarter. With five turnovers, three on the Cardinals, DeSales Junior Sal Sisk proved to be a key defensive player for the Irish.

One of DeSales' fumbles was forced and recovered by Senior Jayce Gleason.

Early in the second quarter, DeSales scored their first eight. A 42-yard Cardinals completion from Reyes to Morris would be the longest of the night. Cardinal turnovers with quick three and outs proved devastating and gave DeSales a 0-32 lead going into halftime.

The third quarter showed a strong rebound for the Cardinals' defense against DeSales wide receiver and running back Sean Sollars and Diego Caso, who allowed only one score. Key plays by Yutzy, Vanhoose, Gleason, and Morris kept them from scoring more. Cardinals QB Reyes left the game with a head injury and did not return.

DeSales only scored once in the fourth quarter due to a strong Cardinals defense. Unfortunately, the offense did not gain enough momentum to score before the game ended.

Waitsburg Coach Gabe Kiefel said, "This was a tough loss for our team. We started out pretty confident and held them to a 0-0 score for the first quarter. Then, things started to fall apart. Despite our efforts, DeSales put together a pretty successful offensive scheme that we had no answer to."

"The wet conditions didn't help either team, but when we would recover a fumble, we couldn't convert that into points or a successful series," continued Kiefel. "I admire the character that came out of our team during such adversity. It is difficult to keep fighting when you're down so far, but our boys never gave up."

The coach said that finding the right rotation for players was a challenge.

"We just weren't able to put any momentum together. DeSales is a tough team, and they should go far this year. We will regroup, come together again as a unit, and prepare for our next game against Sunnyside Christian," said Kiefel.

Waitsburg will travel to play 2-3 SunnySide Christian Knights on Friday, October 6.