By Ken Graham
The Times
Cardinals Rock DeSales
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October 10, 2013
WP Defender Jada Alfred attempts to tackle a Desales runner as Luke Alexenko pursues from behind.
WALLA WALLA - The Waitsburg-Prescott Cardinals invaded Irish country Friday night and racked up six touchdowns on the way to a 42-20 victory over DeSales.
Three rushing TDs by Chance Leroue, two keepers by quarterback Owen Lanning and a James Thompkins reception late in the game paced the cards to their dominating win.
"The big play was the TD right before the half to go up 29-6," said Bartlow. "That made a huge difference, and scoring before half has proven to be a huge factor in winning the second half and the ball game."
With 13 seconds left in the first half, Lanning ran the ball in from 26 yards out for the Cardinals' fourth touchdown. WP was successful on a two-point conversion.
In the first quarter, Leroue scored on one and two-yard runs to give the cardinals an early 14-0 lead. Lanning got his first touchdown on a 5-yard scramble earlier in the second.
Leroue scored his third TD of the game on a 14-yard run with just over five minutes in the quarter to make it 35-6.
DeSales finally got on the scoreboard in the second half with an eight-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Conner Richard to Jerod Coopman at the end of the third.
WP wide receiver James Thompkins gave WP its final score with a 22-yard pass reception for a score.
DeSales was hampered by injuries, with four of their two-way starters out of the game with injuries. But Bartlow still gave credit to his team for a strong performance.
"I really felt our guys played hard and for the most part, pretty smart," he said. "We were the more physical team and it helped us win the game."
Lanning threw for 183 yards and hit six different receivers. Leroue had 23 carries for 149 yards and the three scores.
"He (Leroue) and Mike Grant also had monster games at Linebacker," the coach said. "They played extremely hard and smart."
Bartlow said he felt very good about his team starting out 1-0 in league play. "It was a big one and our sixth win in a row over DeSales," he said. "It is a rival game and we played like it. We wanted that game and the kids were excited with the win."
The Cardinals' next game is Friday night at home against Dayton.
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