There’s a new top dog in the CWAC.

No. 5  East Valley finally got over the hump against defending league champion Othello on Friday night, steamrolling the sixth-ranked Huskies 36-13 in front of a raucous homecoming crowd at Earl Barden Field.

Senior quarterback Jaxon Berg threw for three touchdowns — two to tight end Cody Gasseling — and senior running back Braden Albrecht ran for a pair of scores as the Red Devils overcame a slow start to take down the Huskies for the first time in 17 tries.

“This win is a huge morale boost for our team because we haven’t beaten those guys in a long time,” said Berg, who overcame a slow start to lead five consecutive scoring drives in the second quarter. “It feels even better because it’s our homecoming. Our fans are our 12th man, and they came up big for us tonight.”

Othello (3-1 CWAC, 4-1 overall) got on the board first thanks to a one-yard touchdown run by Alex Garza. Despite giving up the early score, East Valley’s defense held strong, forcing the Huskies to punt with 1:11 left in the first quarter. It was at that moment when the momentum began to shift for the Red Devils.

Two minutes later, Berg hit Gasseling for a 22-yard strike to make it 7-7, and then Eli Ramos blocked a punt to give East Valley prime field position. On the very next play, Berg connected with Greyson Stephens on a 29-yard pass down the sideline, setting up a two-yard run by Albrecht, which gave East Valley a 13-7 advantage.

“We’re a great team and we all believe in each other,” Albrecht said. “Tonight we proved to ourselves what we can do. We just put our trust in each other and it all came together.”

As it turned out, the Red Devils offense was barely getting started. An interception by Zeke Nolan at the Othello 32 yard line led to a one-yard TD pass from Berg to Stephens, increasing East Valley’s advantage to 20-7 with six minutes left in the half.

Senior defensive back Jayden Buckalew, who made a number of key defensive plays in the game, snuffed out the Othello kickoff return at the 9 yard line. The Huskies offense couldn’t get out of trouble, and after failing to convert a fourth-down try, East Valley punched in another score when Berg found Gasseling for a 21-yard touchdown.

East Valley would have been content to go into the locker room with a 26-7 lead, but Othello fumbled the ensuing kickoff and set up Albrecht’s second TD run with 34 seconds left in the half — the proverbial dagger that ballooned the halftime score to 33-7.

“We knew this game would be a dog fight, but the ball just kept falling our way tonight,” Berg said. “We did our job in all three phases — offense, defense and special teams — and we were able to capitalize on a few big moments and carry the momentum to the end.”

East Valley kicker Angel Lopez delivered a 25-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter before Othello’s star running back Gavin Carl found the endzone with four minutes remaining. But it was too little too late for the Huskies.

“Our kids came ready to play tonight, and the coaching staff did a great job of preparing them,” East Valley head coach Eric Berg said. “They were locked in all week, and everyone came out and executed the game plan. We’re going to enjoy this win, but on Monday, we’re going to get back to work.”

The Red Devils (4-0 CWAC, 5-0 overall) walked off the field proud of what they had accomplished, but they know their work is far from over.

“This is definitely our biggest win so far, but it just makes us feel more hungry,” Albrecht said. “Our appetite just keeps getting bigger.”