The Waitsburg Cardinals are taking a road trip to square off against the Pomeroy Pirates at 3:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Waitsburg's favor is that they have posted at least 31 points in their last five games.
Waitsburg is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Washington's top teams: Garfield-Palouse, who was ranked tenth at the time (Waitsburg was ranked 12th). The Cardinals lost to the Vikings at home by a 58-42 margin on Saturday. The contest was a 42-42 toss-up at halftime, but the Cardinals couldn't quite close it out.
Despite the loss, Waitsburg got top-tier performance from Isaias Reyes, who rushed for 86 yards and one TD, and also picked up 42 receiving yards and one touchdown. Reyes was no stranger to the big play, taking off on a dash that went for 61 yards. Speaking of playmakers, who could forget Martin Vasquez, who went all the way with a kickoff return for a touchdown.
Jarod Hankins
| 10/11/25 vs Garfield-Palouse | 23 |
| 10/03/25 vs Tekoa-Rosalia | 13 |
| 09/26/25 @ Dayton | 14 |
| 09/19/25 vs Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian | 11 |
| 09/12/25 @ Mabton | 15 |
| + 9 more games |
Even if they lost, Waitsburg's defensive line still kept up the pressure with nine sacks. Jarod Hankins led the group effort, picking up five of those sacks all by himself. He has been hot for a while, having also posted six or more total tackles the last 14 times he's played.
Special teams played a big role in the game for Waitsburg, adding 12 points to the final score. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Vasquez, who ran a kickoff back for a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Pomeroy strolled into their game on Friday with a perfect record and they left with the same. They blew past Tekoa-Rosalia 60-12. The matchup was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 38-12.
Pomeroy's win came from a few key players Waitsburg will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Kyzer Herres, who rushed for 152 yards and a pair of scores while picking up 8.9 yards per carry. Another player making a difference was Wyatt Huwe, who gained 45 total yards and four touchdowns.
Waitsburg moved to 4-2 with that defeat, which also ended their four-game winning streak. As for Pomeroy, their win bumped their record up to 6-0.
Waitsburg took a serious blow against Pomeroy in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, falling 56-0. Thankfully for the Cardinals, Jett Slusser (who rushed for 199 yards and four TDs on only 15 carries, and also threw for 126 yards and a pair of touchdowns while completing 85.7% of his passes) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
