West’s Jethro DeCastro is all smiles after his game-winning TD pass. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
In need of a perfect throw on fourth down, West High quarterback Jethro DeCastro was the bomb.
The senior signal caller’s 33-yard touchdown pass to Ariel Sanchez with 64 seconds left secured Saturday’s 20-13 victory in the ASAA Division I football state playoffs over visiting Juneau at ‘The Nest’ on Hillcrest.
On fourth-and-long, DeCastro displayed unshakable confidence by throwing a bomb to the end zone that was right on the money to Sanchez for the QB’s third TD of the night.
DeCastro finished with 232 yards through the air and bellwether running back Zephaniah Sailele ran for 244 yards on 40 carries as they carried the load on offense.
DeCastro completed 16-of-28 passes, including two scoring strikes to Sanchez and one to Maverick Kirsch.
West’s Zephaniah Sailele furnished 40 of his team’s 42 rushing attempts. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
Sailele carried the ball on 40 of 42 West running plays. No biggie. He’s used to heavy workloads. Three weeks ago, he carried the ball 50 times for 261 yards against South.
The 5-foot-11, 229-pound runner chews up yardage with long strides as he holds the ball nice and high. He glides more than runs, side-stepping would-be tacklers like he’s on skates.
He can also lower his shoulder and run over defenders or carry them as he falls forward. He doesn’t go down on first contact.
Division I State Playoffs
Quarterfinals
Dimond 40, Colony 23
Bartlett 42, South 27
East 30, Service 0
West 20, Juneau 13
Semifinals
West (7-2) at East (6-3)
Bartlett (6-3) at Dimond (9-0)
Title Game
Friday, Oct. 25 6:30pm @ Colony
But there’s a reason he’s a runner, and not a passer as his impromptu halfback option was picked off by Juneau’s Hayden Aube with 4:06 left in the fourth quarter.
What had happened was, West had the ball at Juneau’s 6-yard line when a low snapped got away from DeCastro and Sailele scooped it up and threw it up for grabs.
Juneau’s Hayden Aube with the big pick. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
On Juneau’s ensuing play from scrimmage, however, the Huskies fumbled, and West got the ball right back and the Eagles went right back to Sailele, who produced all 21 yards on the drive before DeCastro hit Sanchez for the game winner.
Sanchez’s first score came on a screen pass down the sideline that he cut back inside, but his second one came on a deep ball.
Sanchez finished with six receptions for 112 yards while Talon Copeland had four catches for 58 yards and David Sanders had 47 yards on four catches, helping DeCastro surpass the 1,600-yard benchmark on the year.
Sailele’s big day helped the senior surpass the 1,000-yard benchmark on the season, pushing his total to 1,192, trailing only Bartlett’s Makisi Poleo (1,522) among the state’s Division I rushers.
Juneau’s Jayden Johnson threw two TD passes. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
Juneau must be kicking itself after letting West off the hook – again. In Week 5, the Huskies squandered a 16-0 lead in a 28-27 loss in the capital city.
On Saturday, they were ahead 13-6 after playing a near-perfect first half behind do-it-all playmaker Jayden Johnson, one of the most versatile players in the history of the Cook Inlet Conference.
Johnson amassed 212 total yards on Saturday (146 rushing and 66 passing), pushing his season total to 1,240 – 724 rushing, 269 receiving, 247 passing – with 16 combined TDs.
The senior had the Huskies humming in the second quarter with back-to-back scoring drives that ended with TD passes to Caleb Ziegenguss and Johnathyn Kestel.
Juneau lulls you with methodical running game and then pops one over the top to catch opponents off guard. Kestel was wide open on his catch and Ziegenguss caught his on 4th-and-1.
In the first quarter, West stopped Juneau on three straight runs from the 1 for a goal line stand that would up being the difference.
Juneau 0 13 0 0 – 13
West 6 0 7 7 – 20
FIRST QUARTER
West – Sanchez 37 pass from DeCastro (kick missed) 8:20
SECOND QUARTER
Juneau – Ziegenguss 10 pass from Johnson (Mazon kick)
Juneau – Kestel 32 pass from Johnson (kick blocked)
THIRD QUARTER
West – Kirsch 9 pass from DeCastro (Sandberg kick)
FOURTH QUARTER
West – Sanchez 33 pass from DeCastro (Sandberg kick)
Hair don’t care. The cheerleaders are in playoff mode, too. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report