Moses Lake downed in overtime

SPOKANE — Miserable weather played a part in Moses Lake's nail-biting 32-26 overtime loss to Gonzaga Prep Friday.

"For us the weather was a huge factor," said Moses Lake head coach Greg Kittrell. "But we came from behind and then they came from behind; they just made fewer mistakes than we did."

The Chiefs' offense took the field first and on third-and-10 were picked off to end the possession.

"Overtime is an interesting situation because one turnover and you're done and then the defense is back on the field. By then the defense was just exhausted, they gave it everything they had, and it just didn't work out for us," Kittrell said.

Despite back-to-back penalties, Gonzaga Prep was able to move the ball downfield and on second-and-goal for the 7-yard line the Bullpups scored the game-winning touchdown.

"We played through adversity and the way the kids played was inspiring," said Kittrell.

That inspiration came late in the first quarter when quarterback Ben Waites led his team on an 80-yard scoring drive and capped it off with a touchdown run to give Moses Lake their first score of the night and cut the Gonzaga Prep lead to four points.

After a Bullpups punt and a Moses Lake fumble recovered by Gonzaga Prep, Moses Lake's Josh Loera stepped in front of a Bullpups' pass for an interception and a 32-yard return.

The Chiefs took advantage of the possession, sending Ryan Carpenter into the end zone to take a 12-10 lead in the second quarter.

Moses Lake continued to take advantage of turnovers when Carpenter earned an interception and a 47-yard return on the next Gonzaga Prep possession. The Chiefs turned the pick into another touchdown to extend their lead to eight points.

Luck continued to be on the side of Moses Lake as the second quarter continued. The Bullpups fumbled the ball and sent their defensive unit back onto the team when it was recovered by the Chiefs.

Carpenter ran in his second touchdown of the game and had the scoring drive topped off by a two point conversion by Waites to give Moses Lake a 26-10 lead going into halftime.

The momentum the Chiefs had built up going into the locker room was not enough to sustain them through the rest of the game. The Moses Lake defensive unit worked hard to keep the Bullpups out of the end zone but were not able to keep Gonzaga Prep from tying the game late.

"We had hoped to take more momentum into the second half but as a coach you have to make decisions about the weather and whether to take the wind in the third or fourth quarter. The water was a bigger factor for us than the wind."

With nine seconds left in the game, the Bullpups lined up to attempt a game-winning field goal but watched it sail several yards short of the goal posts. The Chiefs were penalized for roughing the kicker and Gonzaga Prep got another shot at winning the game. The second attempt for the Bullpups went wide left to send the game into overtime.

"The energy and preparation the kids put in before this game was great. They (Gonzaga Prep) were the fourth number one team we've played and we would've liked to have beaten those teams," said Kittrell. "The team leaders played great.

"This is the fifth time in nine years Moses Lake has gone to the playoffs and we feel good about the kids we have returning for next year's team."

The Chiefs ended the night with 156 yards of total offense. Waites was 2-for-5 passing for 15 yards and one interception and had 11 carries for 81 yards and two touchdowns. Carpenter had 18 carries for 52 yards and two touchdowns.