Dayton Chronicle - Your Hometown News Source

WARDEN–While Dayton-Waitsburg Wolfpack Football was battling against Warden for a 12-7 victory here last Friday, their post-season chances were shot down when unbeaten River View defeated the also-undefeated Columbia-Burbank Coyotes 14-12 in the Battle of the Unbeatens.

The 2-2 Wolfpack faces 4-0 River View this Friday in Waitsburg for Senior Night, with only the opportunity to blemish the Panthers' perfect league record at stake. Should DW upset the Panthers, the local team's 3-2 record would be a match for the winner of the game between TriCities Prep and Columbia-Burbank, both now holding 3-1 records. Since the Wolfpack was defeated by both teams, whichever team wins would prevail in the head-to-head tiebreaker.

In case DW loses the contest, they will finish with a 2-3 league mark. Regardless of the outcome of Friday's game, the Wolfpack's 2022 season will be over.

Wolfpack senior running back Hudson Reser scored both touchdowns for Dayton-Waitsburg, following offensive lineman-turned-half back Blake French in for both scores, one in the second period and another in the fourth. Reser rushed for 117 yards on 18 carries in the game.

One of the keys to the win was Monte Pettichord's crucial tackle of a Warden ball carrier, stopping him short of the end zone on an 80-yard play just before halftime. "That momentum shift carried us out of halftime and to a hard-fought victory on a very cold and windy night," commented Head Coach Troy Larsen.

"Spencer Hanson, Levi Boudrieau, Monty Pettichord, and Hudson Reser all had huge performances on defense," Larsen commented.

Two Wolfpack starters weren't suiting up as injuries have cut their seasons short, Larsen said. "With two starts out from the Columbia-Burbank game, I wasn't sure how we would come out and play," the coach said. "With a road game at Warden, which is a tough place to play, we came out and really fought hard all night."

Thanks to the long bus ride, the offense wasn't as crisp as Larsen would have preferred.

Replacing the injured Preston Hansen (5-10, 170-lb. running back/linebacker) with French was a good move, he said.

"We had a lot of chances at the end zone but stubbed our toes with fumbles, and interceptions," Larsen noted. "The good from the turnovers was we pinned Warden deep in their territory each time, which allowed the Wolfpack defense to really impose their force on the Warden offense. Kaylub Prather stepped up with 18 solo tackles to lead the way and carry the energy for the D."

Senior quarterback Pettichord connected on 10 of 20 passes for 120 yards, and he packed the mail six times for 69 yards.

Spencer Hansen gained 58 yards on four catches and 12 yards on one carry.

Daylan Morrow made three catches for 28 yards.

Blake French caught three passes for 17 yards and rushed for four yards on two carries.

The defense was crucial, with Kaylub Prather, a 5-8, 160-lb. junior, making 18 solo tackles, with Pettichord not far behind with a dozen solo stops.

Reser counted nine solo tackles, Levi Boudrieau eight, Spencer Hansen seven, and both Rueben Yutzy and Jarod Hankins notching five solo tackles.

Dayton-Waitsburg 12, Warden 7 (10-21)

DW 0 6 0 6-12

War 0 0 0 7-7

Total Offense-319

Rushing-199

Passing-120

Turnovers-1 int, 1 fumble