Tigercats outlast O-H Saturday, 30-14

“Well earned.” That was how head coach Jeff Nelson described his team’s win Saturday night against Odessa-Harrington in eight-man football.

To begin with, the game was originally scheduled for Friday night, but a blown transformer just before the opening kickoff resulted in a change of plans. Both teams had to return to the field on Saturday once the field lights were restored.

The result was a 30-14 win for the LaCrosse-Washtucna Tigercats in what could be described as battle royale during the first three quarters.

“The kids worked hard,” Nelson said. “That’s just what they have done this year. We tried our whole scheme to wear the team down.”

The Tigercats were the first to score in the contest when Sam Harder took a four-yard toss from Jake Aune in the first quarter. The Tigercats tacked on two more when Johnathan Holdren took an Aune pass for the conversion.

Odessa-Harrington answered with an 11-yard scoring play on a quarterback keeper in the second quarter. The Tigercats answered before the end of the first half with a one-yard touchdown run by Sawyer Hostetler. After scoring five touchdowns during the prior week, Hostetler was named one of the Seattle Times’ Players of the Week for B-1 schools.

Matt Stubbs made the two-point conversion on a pass from Aune.

After heading into the intermission with a 16-8 lead, the Tigercats found themselves in a tight battle in the third quarter when Odessa-Harrington scored in the on a five-yard jaunt. The extra point attempt failed, leaving the Tigercats with a narrow lead 16-14.

In true Tigercats’ fashion, Hostetler turned up the intensity in the fourth quarter with a 56-yard explosion down the sidelines for a score.

The win was sealed when Holdren scored on a four-yard effort.

“We told them that every game is going to be a four quarter game,” Nelson said of his team. “We just kept pounding with Hostetler. He’s learned and he’s getting tackled – he’s delivering the blow instead of taking it.”

The Tigercats gained a bit of help in the second half when the defense rattled the O-H offense. Several times the center snapped the ball over the head of the team’s quarterback.

“We put in our starting nose guard in the second half and he’s a bull rusher and puts a lot of pressure on their center,” Nelson said. “That caused a lot of havoc.”

Offensively the Tigercats had to rely on the ground game because Aune was struggling to find open receivers against the O-H defense.

“We could not throw the ball. We have to be a little quicker with our routes and a little more precise,” Nelson said. “We had kids running to where their defensive guys were.”

Hostetler racked up 273 yards rushing and a touchdown on 37 carries.

Holdren carried the ball six times for 15 years and two touchdowns. Aune pulled the ball in close and ran four times for 20 yards. Stubbs had one carry for seven yards.

The passing game saw Aune complete just three of 11 attempts for 37 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Harder caught two passes for 33 yards and a touchdown.

Hostetler led the team with 11 tackles. Austin Summers, Holdren and Harder each had six.

This week the Tigercats host Garfield-Palouse, which will feature a battle between running teams.

“They have almost everybody back,” Nelson said. “Last year they embarrassed us. We were awful on defense.

“They will be running between the tightends. They are very fast, ” Nelson added. “They easily have the best speed in the league."