Youth Football starts season with fan support and room to grow

Waitsburg’s Youth football team played Milton-Freewater in its first game of the season on Saturday, September 12. The young Cardinal team was down 25-20 with three seconds left when Milton-Freewater scored a touchdown ending the game with the final score 31-20.

Waitsburg plays 8-man football in a league with Dayton, Milton-Freewater, Athena-Weston, Pilot Rock, and Irrigon.

Sixth-grader Charlie Reger threw a 20-yard pass to classmate Isaac Knudson for the team’s first touchdown of the season. Sixth-grader Julian Gillentine had a ground game of 115 yards with two rushing touchdowns.

“The coaches are extremely proud of how the team played. We’ve seen great improvements from each player since the first practice, and at the game, it was impressive how the boys kept supporting each other and how they stayed unified as a team,” said coach Daniel Watkins.

A big shout-out to the parents and fans who showed up to support and cheer the team on.

The youth team’s next game will be at a jamboree in Athena-Weston on Saturday, September 19.