The end of the road for Warden

Wahluke knocks Cougars from playoffs in shutout

MATTAWA - Everything that was expected came to fruition Tuesday night.

Wahluke's football team put up the points, the defense held its ground and Warden took itself out of the game. Things were a little rough along the way and the Warriors avenged a season starting loss to the Cougars with its 33-0 win.

Wahluke was meant to go on in the playoffs, while Warden was left, maybe with too much already on its plate.

"I wish we could have gone further this season, but we probably went as far as we should have," Warden head coach Jerry Powell said.

It was the third straight season the Cougars made a playoff appearance as Powell and Warden have tried to reestablish itself as a contender in the SCAC. But the establishment was sorely missed as Wahluke controlled and owned its home field.

"We came in the same way we did against River View, our expectations were high," Warden running back Arnold Rios said, who rushed for 57 yards on 13 carries. "I think our expectations were a little too high."

This was the second time the two teams met this season with the Cougars taking a 17-10 win over Wahluke in the second game of the season. Since then, Wahluke steadily improved, going 7-1 to finish the season while Warden struggled with a 4-3 record and sneak into the postseason.

Then Tuesday, Wahluke guaranteed from the beginning that Warden was going to have to work on each possession, starting with the opening kickoff.

Aaron Pruneda fumbled the kickoff, which Wahluke recovered at Warden's 5-yard line. Victor Rubalcava punched the opening play in for a touchdown and the tone for the game.

"We shot ourselves in the foot from the opening kickoff and it went that way the entire game," Powell said. "We thought we were ready to play, but not as ready as they were."

After a three-and-out possession, the Cougars' Edward Rodriguez picked off Wahluke's Kody Hirai (10-111, 3-9-1 44). Warden drove the ball 15 yards on seven plays before punting away.

Hirai avenged his interception on the ensuing playing with a 45-yard run, which broke two tackles, for a touchdown and a 13-0 lead for the Warriors.

The Warriors continued to pressure the Cougar offense who managed 51 yards of offense in the first half.

"Any number of drives going on had a bizarre penalty that stopped the drive," Powell said, after Warden racked up 90 yards on penalties in the first half. "We didn't tackle as good as we could, but we had a hard time establishing ourselves early on."

After a touchdown pass from Hirai to Marcos Jimenez, Jimenez sealed Warden's fate with a 57-yard punt return for a touchdown with two minutes left before halftime.

In the third quarter, Hirai scored his second rushing touchdown of the game, slipping into the endzone from a yard out to give the Warriors a 33-0 lead and eventual win.

"It was all unfocused," Rios said. "We were coming in thinking we were going to run all over them."

Wahluke put up 247 yards of total offense and 203 yards rushing against the Cougars and held Warden to 183 yards of offense and picked off quarterback Jorge Reyes twice in the game.

"They played good defense and are a very good team," Powell said. "We are lucky we beat them earlier this season."