By RayJaun Stelly, The Seattle Medium
The Jr Huskies 8U team has been making headway as the regular season has come to an end, as they have won back-to-back games against teams who were higher than them in standings. Coming into the game, the Jr Huskies had beat Heir 27-7 and then followed up with an impressive 45-0 win over Benson to put themselves in second place in Northwest Premier Junior Football League’s 8U division.
Sitting a game behind them were the CD Panthers, with a record of 5-2 coming into the game, who now faced an opportunity to place themselves ahead of their opponents if they were able to secure a victory Saturday morning.
With on and off again rain showering the football field at Kentridge High School, both teams had one thing in mind and that was earning a win heading into the playoffs. The first quarter was a defensive battle between CD and Jr Huskies.
Weather was not an issue as players provided huge hits that could be heard as far away as the parking lot that had coaches jumping on the sideline with excitement, and fans cheering loudly for their respective teams. Aside from the big hits, the teams didn’t allow each other to gain much traction with moving chains downfield because of their ability to not let one another’s plays develop.
Getting in the backfield to either hit the quarterback or the running back with fundamental tackling, and impressive defensive stances, neither the Panthers or the Jr Huskies were unable to make it past the 50-yard line as they played to a scoreless first quarter. Heading into the second quarter, the quick three-and-outs and punts by both teams continued.
CD’s special teams’ unit looked to have put themselves in position to strike first as the Jr Huskies fumbled a punt that was recovered by the Panthers. Luckily for Jr Huskies their defense held up which led to another punting situation that would shift moment in favor of the Jr Huskies and ultimately become a game changer.
The Panthers would punt with under three minutes left before halftime, which gave the Jr Huskies a short field to put them in scoring position. The Jr Huskies’ Marvelous Green exploded for 25 yards to put his them inside the redzone, and on their second play from scrimmage Kingston Bates scored the games’ first touchdown.
The two-play drive gave the Huskies a 6-0 lead going into halftime, and just like in their previous games the Jr Huskies would take over the second half of the game with their defense. Defensively, the Jr Huskies were led by Johnny Johnson, III who recorded a number of big hits and two fumble recoveries, as collectively the Jr Huskies continued to get tackles for losses and allow minimal yards to gain as they kept the Panthers at bay.
With their defense putting the offense in great field position, the Jr Huskies’ Savion Brown would score two touchdowns to extend the lead to 18-0, and secured their sixth win of the season. With the win, The Jr Huskies extended their win streak to three games heading into the playoffs which will take place this weekend.
