Nighthawks blank Soap Lake, take break before Irish visit

Tekoa/Oakesdale/Rosalia football team returned from a Homeric road trip to Soap Lake with a 40-0 non-league shutout win Saturday night.

“It definitely was a long trip, but it was worth it,” said Coach Kaleb Madison. “Our boys did well. We just keep playing tough football.”

The Nighthawk offense put up three quick scores to grab control of the game in the first quarter, but Coach Madison credited his defense for the shutout.

“Our defense is really playing pretty darn tough so far this year,” he said. “And they kept it up last week.”

The defense forced several turnovers against the cleansters, with cornerback Damian Loucks grabbing two interceptions. End Max Mueller had the big play on defense, picking off a pass in the flat and returning it for a pick-6.

The stout Nighthawk defenders have only given up 21 points in its four games so far on the season in running the team’s record to 3-1, with a tight league loss to Asotin as the blemish.

TOR’s explosive first quarter featured a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback Ryan Maley and a scoring plunge by halfback Joe Gaines.

Gaines rolled over the Soap Lake field throughout the game, racking up 125 yards on the ground.

TOR has this week off to prepare for an Oct. 7 clash with SE 2B giant DeSales at Rosalia.

“They’re a great team,” said Coach Madison. “They always are. They’re really well-coached. But if we can keep up our defensive pressure, we should have a pretty good shot at them.”

The Irish are 2-1 on the year and host undefeated league leader Waitsburg/Prescott this Friday.

Other games: Asotin 20-White Swan 6, Waitsburg/Prescott 49-Riverside, Ore 14, Tonasket 10-Tri-Cities Prep 8