Friday, March 29, 2024

Cascade football team falls to first place Okanogan, 48-14

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Even with the loss to Okanogan last Friday, the Cascade Kodiaks still have a shot at making the playoffs, but they must beat Chelan in their final game of the regular season. 

Cascade is 1-2 in league, Chelan is 0-3, Omak is 1-2. If Cascade wins, they claim the third seed in the Caribou Trail League behind Okanogan and Cashmere. If they lose, it would likely force a three-way tie between Cascade, Chelan and Omak for third place. 

Cascade Head Coach Dom Coffin said they pose a threat to Chelan with their speed. 

“We just need to cut down the mistakes we’re making to give ourselves a chance to win the game and make the playoffs,” Coffin said. “We’ve watched them a lot. They have a big team with a lot of juniors. We just have to control the game and be ready to play. They always get better and better as the season goes along. If they beat us, they can force a three way tie for third. They have a lot riding on the game. They’ll be ready to play.”

Last Friday, Cascade hung with Okanogan for three quarters. The unbeaten Bulldogs took the early lead with the touchdown in the first quarter, on a two yard, Julian Cates run. Cascade scored in the first quarter on a 32-yard pass play from Jose Mendoza to Quinn Ashcraft. The extra point was blocked. 

Okanogan extended the lead with a 91-yard Cates run, 14-6. Cascade came back with score, once against Mendoza to Ashcraft, this time from 9 yards. The two point conversion was good to tie the score at 14-14. 

Cates ran 85-yards for a score to cap the first half scoring. The Bulldogs led 21-14 at half. Early in the third, Okanogan blocked a punt and returned it for a TD, increasing the lead to 28-14. 

Okanogan would score three more times in the fourth quarter. 

“We came out and played hard. We had them going in the first three quarters. We had punt blocked and returned for a touchdown in the third quarter. That was the game changer that put us away,” Coffin said. “They were really big, physical and fast. They have a really good football team. Nobody has really played them close. They kind of wore us down at the end.”

Okanogan had 478 yards of total offense, while Cascade had 335. The Kodiaks ran 20 more plays, 64-44. The Bulldogs averaged 10.9 per play. 

Mendoza had a big day, going 21-for-35 for 347 yards for 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. Teague led with only 14 yards rushing. Coffin said there are some areas they need to improve for the next game. 

“The number one thing is the push up front. We had to pass because we could not run the ball. We need to be able to do both. Defensively, it is tackling. Their running backs ran hard and broke a lot of tackles which ended up being big plays,” Coffin said. 

Cates had 278 yards on 18 carries for Okanogan. 

Ian Dunn can be reached at 548-5286 or editor@leavenworthecho.com.

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