Othello falls in OT in 2A state

SPOKANE -- For a team making its first playoff appearance in 22 years, the West Valley Eagles seemed uncommonly comfortable and composed Saturday afternoon -- even during some extremely trying moments.

But no one held it together better than senior quarterback Drew Clausen, who threw for three touchdowns and then ran for another in overtime to lead the Eagles to a 28-22 win over Othello in the 2A state quarterfinals at Gonzaga Prep's Bulldog Field.

The win moved West Valley (12-0) into next Saturday's semifinals, where it will face Ellensburg at Joe Albi Stadium.

Look for the Eagles to be riding a high after knocking off a veteran Othello team (9-3) that was making its 13th straight playoff appearance and won 2A state titles in 1997 and 2004.

Othello battled back from a 22-7 fourth-quarter deficit and tied the game on Amando DeLeon's 35-yard fumble return with just over four minutes left in regulation.

WV stopped Othello on its first overtime possession -- with the help of a couple of penalties and Nick Brown's fourth-down sack of Huskies quarterback Jeremy Cerrillo.

The Eagles made that big defensive stop even more meaningful by using a 32-yard screen pass from Clausen to Krys Smith to help overcome a holding call on their first play from scrimmage in OT and set up Clausen's short touchdown run.

The Huskies gave up 416 yards of total offense and failed to take advantage of five West Valley turnovers, losing the ball three times themselves.

Othello 7 0 0 15 0 -- 22

West Valley 0 8 14 0 6 -- 28

SCORING PLAYS

Oth -- Matt Jensen 2 run (Brian Elgin kick)

WV -- Safety, holding penalty in end zone

WV -- Mitch Peterson 11 pass from Drew Clausen (run failed)

WV -- Clinton Gregg 7 pass from Clausen (Randell Harris kick)

WV -- Ryan Dahlstrom 25 pass from Clausen (Harris kick)

Oth -- Jensen 1 run (Marcus Garza pass from Jeremy Cerrillo)

Oth -- Amando DeLeon 35 fumble return (Elgin kick)

WV -- Clausen 6 run (no PAT attempted)

STATISTICS

RUSHING--Oth, Jensen 25-89, Parker Davis 8-45, David Charles 8-41, Devon Lind 1-13, Cerrillo 2-(minus 3). WV, Krys Smith 16-93, Clausen 17-63, Dylan Ellsworth 11-44.

PASSING--Oth, Cerrillo 5-7-1-50. WV, Clausen 14-21-2-216.

RECEIVING--Oth, Lind 2-21, Davis 1-14, Jensen 1-10, DJ Cantu 1-5. WV, Sam Schoesler 5-66, Gregg 3-36, Ryan Dahlstrom 2-31.

FIRST DOWNS--Oth 18, WV 23. FUMBLES-LOST--Oth 2-2, WV 3-3. PENALTIES-YARDS--Oth 7-43, WV 10-118.