Cardinal HS, MS, and Youth Football

WHS Football at SJE

The October 16 high school football game at St. John-Endicott was a fun game to coach, Waitsburg Coach Gabe Kiefel said.

Waitsburg led 20-0 after one quarter, 32-6 at halftime, and won 52-6.

“The energy for this game was high the entire game, and our players played up-tempo all four quarters. One of the volunteers running the chain gang on our sidelines said we were the loudest team he’s heard all year. This was a reference to the players and coaches getting ball, pass, and run calls from the sideline. This may not seem like a significant achievement, but with a team that’s been struggling with discipline, it was a great thing to hear,” said Kiefel. 

Sophomore Liam Kiefel excelled in his first game as starting quarterback. Kiefel completed 26 of 37 passes for a 60% completion rate, 550 yards, and seven touchdown passes. He ran the ball 6 times for 28 yards and one touchdown on the ground.

Senior JJ Gleason caught the ball 11 times for 296 receiving yards and four touchdowns. He returned one kickoff for 20 yards and a fumble for 28 yards. Gleason finished with 344 all-purpose yards.

Sophomore Uriah York had seven receptions for 152 yards, two touchdowns, and two conversions. Junior Bryer Paul ran the ball eight times for 101 yards, and senior Landen Henry caught the ball five times for 81 yards and one touchdown.

Defensively, the Cardinals forced four fumbles, recovered fumbles six times, returned two of those fumbles for 28 and 20 yards respectively, and intercepted the ball twice. 

Gleason led the team with 15 tackles, including one sack for a six-yard loss and one recovered fumble. Uriah York had fourteen tackles; one caused fumble and one recovered fumble. Jake Lynch made 12 tackles, a forced fumble, and recovered two fumbles. Henry had six tackles and two interceptions.

“It was the game our team needed. I think we had lost sight of how fun the game of football can be. Every player got to experience that joy and the potential,” said Kiefel.

Waitsburg has one more regular season game on Saturday, October 24, in Tekoa at 6 p.m. If the Cardinals win, they will take 3rd place in the SE1B Wheat league. As the 3rd-place team, they will then face the 3rd-place team from SE1B Grape in the Wheat/Grape crossover game: either Sunnyside Christian or Touchet.

The crossover game winner will earn the 5th-place seed from our district and take on the 3rd-place seed from the NE1B district. 

“We have not yet made it past the second crossover game since we started playing 8-man football. I hope these last two league games will give us the confidence and vigor needed to make it to the state playoffs,” said Kiefel.

MS football ends Season with Win

Playing an entire football game with only six players is not an easy task, yet that’s what the Waitsburg Middle School football team did against Tekoa for a 14-6 win. They played the game at home on Thursday, October 15.

It was the last game of the season for the young Cardinals, and finishing the season was a testament to the toughness and commitment of the entire group.

“I was proud of the resilience and determination the boys showed. They continued to battle through adversity and found a way to get the job done,” said coach Chris Andrews.

Youth Football

Waitsburg’s youth football team traveled to Athena-Weston on Saturday, October 17, and lost 24-8.

“We had a couple of key players absent, which really hurt us,” said coach Daniel Watkins.

The coaches are proud of how the team played and were impressed with the its ability to rotate positions in almost every play. The team committed no penalties in the game.

Offensively, Julian Gillentine finished with 80 rushing yards. Charlie Reger had 55 yards, Gavin Watkins 29 yards, and Rodney Gonzalez rushed for five yards.

Reger led the team with eight tackles. Gillentine and Sawyer Harvey each had 1.5 tackles, and Clive Bye contributed with a tackle assist.

The youth football team and coaches are looking forward to playing Pomeroy on the Waitsburg field on Wednesday, Oct. 21; kickoff at 6 p.m.