Prosser arrived Saturday at Lane Stadium with a dream of qualifying for the state playoffs. The Falcons fell a game short of that goal the last two seasons, and senior Phinis Hiler was determined not to let that happen again.
Hiler’s first carry came midway through the first quarter, and he made the most of it. He blasted through the defensive line and outran the secondary for a 32-yard touchdown run.
That was all Prosser would need to end its 20-year playoff drought in a 13-0 victory against Clemente.
‘‘We had to finish it off this time,’’ Hiler said. ‘‘I can’t stop smiling. There is just so much happiness.’’
The victory enabled the Falcons to clinch the White Northwest title and an automatic spot in the state playoffs. 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.
Hiler had six carries for 64 yards, and Treyshaun Strong sealed the victory with a spinning 25-yard touchdown run with 6:06 left. 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 Falcons’ head coach. Prosser (6-2, 5-0) 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 Falcons’ shutout.
‘‘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. Clemente, which last qualified in 2018, is 0-3.
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 Clemente.
‘‘It’s been like that all season,’’ Wildcats 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.’’