Blackhawks can't find groove in season-ending loss to Othello

Cheney High's football team ended its 2018 season with its fourth-straight defeat, never really finding its rhythm in a 27-7 loss last Friday night to visiting Othello in crossover action between the Great Northern League and the Central Washington Athletic Conference.

The Huskies were the beneficiaries of three touchdowns by Isaac Barragan, the first coming on a 45-yard scoop and score of a Cheney fumble with 2 minutes, 26 seconds to play in the first quarter. Barragan added touchdown runs of five and two yards in the fourth quarter to seal Othello's win.

The Blackhawks, who opened the season with six consecutive wins before a 28-21 loss on a last-minute touchdown at Clarkston, were able to move the ball against the Huskies. Cheney's challenge came through mistakes that seemed to stymie their scoring opportunities. As an example, in the second quarter the Blackhawks drove from their 8-yardline to the Othello 25, where they looked to have caught a break on an apparent facemask call.

The officials assessed facemask calls on both teams, negating the play, and after a dubious intentional grounding call on quarterback Alex Long on third down, the Blackhawks were forced to turn the ball over on downs.

Cheney did manage to find the end zone late in the game, with senior running back Mekhai Goodloe scoring on a 6-yard run.

Cheney ends the season at 6-4 overall. The Blackhawks finished fourth in the GNL at 1-3, a record that belies the fact that they were 10-12 points from going 3-1, suffering close losses not only to Clarkston but also 17-14 to league champion and sixth-ranked West Valley.

Cheney loses 23 seniors to graduation, but should return a good nucleus of juniors and sophomores in 2019.

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.