Moses Lake hopes winning ways continue

Chiefs post third winning season last year, fall short of playoffs

The loss last season to Southridge left Moses Lake without a spot in the postseason.

To rub it in even more, the Chiefs carried a 14-0 lead into halftime, but a surge from the Suns in the second half pushed the home team past Moses Lake with a 16-14 win. The loss was Moses Lake's second of the season, eventually the critical one that cost the Chiefs a playoff spot.

"We knew it was on the road map, we were well prepared and played a great first half and a tough second half," Moses Lake head coach Greg Kittrell said.

The Chiefs finished that season with a 7-3 record, Kittrell reached a milestone with his 100th career win as head coach and Moses Lake finished three straight years with winning seasons.

But, Southridge was a game worth remembering coming into the Fall 2004 season.

"We saw problems in the first half and we couldn't get them corrected in the second half," Kittrell said. "We have taken those problems from last year and have worked on them for this year."

With the season starting today, the past is the past and Moses Lake is moving forward. With holes to fill, the nature of high school football's changing faces will be more prevalent with Moses Lake than it has during the previous three seasons.

There is no Mitch Reffett, a two-time Big Nine Defensive Player of the Year, to hold the defensive line. There is no veteran secondary that accumulated 16 interceptions.

There is no offensive line that opened up holes, or fullback Nathan Ruiz, or tailback Kyle Hoiness that helped Moses Lake become the top rushing offense in the Big Nine with 2,324 yards last season.

What they do have is returning quarterback Robbie Waites, who finished the season with 671 rushing yards on 86 attempts and 224 yards on 12-for-29 passing. Waites scored seven total touchdowns to lead the Chiefs' offensive production.

Waites brought a consistent running game at the quarterback position for Moses Lake as a junior and, with a full season of varsity experience behind the center under his belt, his production is expected to increase.

"He has to be a part of the overall scheme, especially at quarterback," Kittrell said. "Whatever comes to him, he needs to deal with it. The key to a great quarterback is to be a key piece and execute."

The key piece, Kittrell feels, will lift his team past a missed playoff spot to vying for a top four placing in the Big Nine rests on the passing game.

Moses Lake had a total of 463 passing yards last season on 24-71 passing from Waites and Nick Garcia, who graduated. Kittrell hopes to move the offense from a one dimensional running game to a more balanced attack.

That change may not include more passes per game, but more passes caught per opportunity.

"For us to be the top team, we have to be able to throw the ball," Kittrell said. "That doesn't mean we become a pass-happy team, but we need to be able to throw the ball and complete 65 to 70 percent of our passes."

Passing, Kittrell said, has been an Achilles heel for the Chief offense. While the running game has been tops in the league, it hasn't been enough to push the Chiefs past contenders like Pasco and Southridge, who had a 1,000-yard rusher and 1,000-yard passer.

It is almost a guarantee that Moses Lake will push for the top rushing team in the Big Nine. While pushing for 1,000 yards passing is unheard of in the Kittrell system, the coach believes everything is in place for a playoff spot.

The new challenges facing Moses Lake this season make high school football worth coaching, Kittrell said. The biggest challenge will be fighting for a top-four spot in the Big Nine and a guaranteed a playoff position.

But Kittrell believes it is all in place for Moses Lake to take a postseason run.

"Everything they have shown in practice, they should be able to accomplish that," Kittrell said.