Eagles claim district title with win over Redsides

Published 8:21 am Sunday, October 29, 2023

ECHO — The Joseph football team is the 1A 6-Man Special District 1 season champion after the Eagles won a defensive shootout over South Wasco County, 26-8 on Friday, Oct. 27 on the neutral field of Echo High School.

“We knew this was going to be a battle and it was,” said Joseph coach Damian Huff.

Points in the first half came not from the two teams’ offenses, but from the defense. The Redsides picked up their first points off a Joseph fumble and subsequent recovery for a score while the Eagles picked off a South Wasco County pass, returning it all the way back to the end zone for points on the board.

“It was just defense that whole first half,” Huff said. “Mike (Waine, the Redsides’ coach) has been coaching six-man for a while and everything I threw at them, he had an answer for. This was the best game I saw our defense play.”

Huff said the return of Gavin Russell back from injury was a big part of the Eagle win.

“Gavin was just everywhere in this game,” said Huff. “Dylan Rogers played lights out in the secondary and Jaxon Grover seemed to be in on every tackle the whole night.”

Grover also picked up two scores on the offensive side of the ball.

Huff and the Joseph team (7-1 overall) earned a bye in the first round of the 1A 6-man state tournament and will host a quarterfinal matchup on Friday, Nov. 10 at a time to be determined.

The Eagles will play the winner of a first-round match between league foe Harper Charter (6-2 overall) and Eddyville Charter (7-1 overall).

Four other district teams earned spots in the 12-team bracket: South Wasco County, Prairie City/Burnt River, Harper Charter and Echo.