Tigers season ends with playoff loss to North

The Wasco High Tigers saw their season end after an opening round playoff loss to North High on Friday night.

After beating rivals Shafter last Friday, the Tigers got the #5 seed going into the Division IV playoffs. Wasco hosted the #12 Stars of North, but couldn’t complete the comeback, after falling behind the Stars by two scores in the second half. The Tigers scored a touchdown with under two minutes left in the game, but failed on the two-point conversion, losing the game 28-26.

Wasco scored the first points of the game on a touchdown run by Iziaiah Juarez. The two-point conversion made the score 8-0. North answered with a 50-yard touchdown run, cutting the lead to 8-7. They then took the lead when they completed a 40-yard touchdown pass, making the score 14-8. North had a 14-8 lead at the half.

The Stars went up 21-8 late in the third quarter when the North quarterback connected again for a touchdown pass, this one for 35 yards. Two minutes later, the Tigers cut the lead to 21-14 with another rushing touchdown. The point-after failed, keeping the score at 21-14. The Stars widened the lead just a few minutes later with an 8-yard rushing touchdown, making the score 28-14.

Wasco mounted a comeback late in the game, scoring on a 24-yard rushing touchdown, closing the gap to 28-20. Just four minutes later, Wasco got within two points on a touchdown run with under two minutes to go in the game. But the two-point conversion came up short, ending the Tigers season. Wasco finished the year with a 5-5 overall record and 2-3 in the South Sequoia League.