The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

MILTON-FREEWATER - Waitsburg-Prescott running back Chance Leroue rumbled for 150 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead the Cardinals to a road victory against the Mac-Hi Pioneers on Friday. Quarterback Owen Lanning also had an outstanding outing, completing nine of 11 passes for 137 yards and two more touchdowns.

"It was a good win against a big school and that is always nice," said WP Coach Jeff Bartlow. "On offense I felt both QB's (Lanning and Jacob Dunn) had some good plays and had good numbers. They combined for 199 yards and two TD's (13/17 for 199 yards)"

Leroue scored his three TDs in the first half, as the Cardinals jumped out to a 28 point lead at halftime. Just before the break, Lanning also completed a 34 yard touchdown pass to Travis Crockett.

The Pioneers clawed their way back in the third quarter, scoring two touchdowns and holding WP scoreless. Both of their extra point attempts were blocked, but the lead was down to 28-12 to start the fourth.

The final quarter was highlighted by a Jada Alfred interception, which he ran back 53 yards for the Cardinals' final score.

Bartlow gave a lot of credit to his defense for shutting down the Pioneers. "Our defense rallied to the ball and played well," he said. "Our four senior linebackers (Acevedo, Stansell, Grant and Leroue) played very well. Our defensive backs also played well. Luke Alexenko had his best game of his career at corner."

On a negative note, the Cardinals were hit with 19 penalties during the game, for 139 yards. "It was partly because of the new rules we have to get used to," Bartlow said. "But, we cannot do that and we as a team will correct that."

WP plays its home opener Friday against White Swan. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

"It was a good start," Bartlow said of the season opener. "The season will continue to improve and the schedule will only get harder. Our kids are up to the challenge."