Prosser slips past Pullman in OT

PULLMAN — Prosser rebounded from a fourth-quarter deficit to tie the game and go to overtime, from which the Mustangs eked out a 26-23 non-league football win over Pullman on Friday night.

The Greyhounds (1-1) appeared to have a stranglehold on the game when senior Kyle Hinrichs, who also had the game’s first score, stepped in front of a Kellen Moore throw and dashed 15 yards into the end zone to put Pullman up 20-13 with just less than 5 minutes left.

But Prosser (3-0) came right back, driving 67 yards to tie the game. The Mustangs went down the field one more time in regulation, nearly winning the game, but a last-second, field-goal attempt was blocked by Pullman’s J.C. Sherritt.

But Sherritt, who also ran for 149 yards on 17 carries, was outshone in the end by Prosser junior Ivan Merino, whose 34th and final carry was good for his 189th yard, his fourth touchdown and the overtime win.

“I figured they didn’t let me play on defense because they wanted to give me the ball. They wanted me to be the warrior,” Merino said. “I didn’t (get tired). They kept taking me on and off the field; they wanted to keep me fresh.

“They (Greyhounds) kept trying to go for the ball, so I just kept pumping the legs.”

Merino admitted many of his teammates didn’t think Pullman, a 2A team, could give 3A Prosser much of a fight. But the Greyhounds led for the majority of the game, including most of the first half, when they guarded a 7-0 lead.

In the third quarter, Pullman again took a one-TD lead on a double pass that went from quarterback Jeff Jones, to wideout Ashton Gant, to fellow wideout Aaron Pflugrad for a 32-yard score.

“In the first half we were getting to their quarterback. In the second half they made some adjustments,” Pullman coach Bob Wollan said. “I think deep down we knew we were going to play with them.”

The Greyhounds managed a brief overtime lead when Scott Hagihara nailed a 30-yard field goal, but it was short-lived when Merino and the Mustangs got the ball for their shot at the end zone. Merino ran right for 21 yards on their first offensive play in the extra session, and from there it was just a matter of pounding it past a smaller Pullman defensive line.

“(Merino) kept saying, ‘Just keep giving me the ball.’ We had to hose him down there every once in a while,” said Prosser coach Tom Moore. “Things don’t always go well. You just have to keep your head up and keep plugging away.”