Prosser beats Clemente to clinch a state playoff spot for the first time in 20 years
Prosser arrived at Lane Stadium on Saturday with a dream of qualifying for the state playoffs. The Falcons fell just a game short of that goal the past two seasons and senior Phinis Hiler was determined not to let that happen again.
His first carry came midway through the first quarter and he made the most of it, blasting through the defensive line and galloping past the secondary for a 32-yard TD run.
That was all Prosser would need to end its 20-year playoff drought as the Falcons beat Clemente 13-0.
“We had to finish it off this time,” Hiler said. “I can’t stop smiling. There is just so much happiness.”
The win clinches the White Northwest title and an automatic state playoff spot for Prosser. The game determined the conference championship. Clemente will have another chance to qualify for the state playoffs next week against Phoenix. Second-place teams in certain White conferences will qualify.
Philer had six carries for 64 yards. Treyshaun Strong sealed the win with a spinning 25-yard TD run with 6:06 to play. He had 12 carries for 57 yards.
“My line helped out and then it was just the safety on their team,” Strong said. ”I knew I could get him with a spin move and then I was in the end zone.”
Jason Hosey, a 2004 Prosser graduate, is in his third season as the school’s head coach. Prosser didn’t field a team during the COVID spring season in 2020 and has been rebuilding since.
I’m a very articulate guy but I can’t produce words to tell you how it feels to do this in the hallways where I walked as a kid, in the same neighborhood I grew up in,” Hosey said. “Football was dead at Prosser. I think we are alive now.”
KJ Craig, Nicholas Jones and Darrieon Beck had key sacks in the shutout for the Falcons (6-2, 5-0).
“We had to come out and dominate,” Beck said. “We’ve all been working so hard for this since the summer. This moment feels so good.”
Prosser senior quarterback Arik Weathers started playing high school football this season and has been learning on the job.
“I started off pretty slow,” Weathers said. “But I listened and trusted my teammates and my coach. And look at where we are now.”
Weathers was 4 for 12 for 37 yards. Darnell Owens caught three passes for 33 yards for the Falcons.
Prosser is 0-4 in the state playoffs overall. Clemente, which last qualified in 2018, is 0-3 overall in the state playoffs.
The Wildcats (5-3, 4-1) drove into the red zone multiple times but were undone by penalties and two fumbles in the fourth quarter.
Samuel Montes had 12 carries for 95 yards for the Wildcats.
“It’s been like that all season,” Clemente coach Patrick Murray said. “We shoot ourselves in the foot and then have to battle back. Today we just ran into a better team. They made some more plays than we did.”