Moses Lake struggles against Pasco

MOSES LAKE - The Chiefs early play Friday night yielded a lead at the half but the momentum shifted in the third quarter and Pasco ended the game, defeating Moses Lake 28-21.

"We struggled on offense in the second half," said Moses Lake head coach Greg Kittrell. "That (Pasco) is a good football team."

Moses Lake's first drive of the game came after a defensive stop that forced Pasco to punt on the Moses Lake 41-yard line.

The Chiefs took over on their own 28 and began the drive with a 19-yard carry by Brandan Anderson.

Quarterback Ben Waites continued the drive with a 5-yard and 7-yard gain to give Moses Lake their third first down of the drive.

On second and three Waites pitched the ball to Matt Valdez for a gain of two yards. Aaron Wafer earned the first down on the next play.

The Chiefs lined up with a first and ten on the Pasco 23-yard line but were flagged for a false start. After the 5-yard penalty was walked off, Waites scampered for a 28-yard touchdown on the option for Moses Lake and the Chiefs went up 7-0 on the Bulldogs.

Moses Lake's kickoff backed Pasco up to their own 23-yard line to begin their possession.

During the drive Taylor Stout, Gergin Bergeson, Jordan Hill and Jordan Yettick all had tackles for the Chiefs. The defensive play, however, was not enough to stop Pasco who scored on a 6-yard scramble and earned the extra point to tie the game.

On the ensuing drive, Waites ran for a 25-yard gain to make it first and ten on the Moses Lake 43-yard line.

Ryan Carpenter then carried the ball for a 6-yard carry followed by an 11-yard gain by Wafer for the first down on the Pasco 40-yard line.

"Ryan played his butt off tonight," Kittrell said. "All the kids did."

After a time out by the Bulldogs, Moses Lake was flagged for holding and found themselves facing a first and 15 for the second time. Waites was not able to connect with a receiver on the pitch, giving the Chiefs a second and 15.

Waites connected with Carpenter on the next play for a 16-yard gain to put Moses Lake on the Pasco 30 with a first down before the end of the first quarter.

To begin the second quarter, Anderson carried the ball for a 2-yard gain and on second and eight, Waites carried the ball in for his second touchdown of the game.

Moses Lake's defensive unit stepped up to get a stop on Pasco's next possession with tackles from Jared Walker and Stout. Christian Trujillo earned a quarterback sack to force the Bulldogs to punt from their own 5-yard line.

Pasco then earned a defensive stop of their own, forcing the Chiefs to punt from a fourth and 20 position.

Both teams went through another scoreless possession and when Pasco took the field for the final time before the half they took advantage of the time they had left. The Bulldogs marched from their own 20-yard line to the Moses Lake 17-yard line and took it to the big house to make it 14-13 at the half.

"There was a defensive adjustment by Pasco that we couldn't find an answer to in the second half," said Kittrell.

The Chiefs' defense began the second half by recovering a muffed punt. After the offensive unit could not convert on fourth down, Wafer punted for Moses Lake. The punt took a bounce, hit a Pasco player and was then scooped up by Hill.

Hill took the ball over the goal line but had the touchdown called back and Moses Lake took over on the Pasco 28-yard line.

Moses Lake's offensive woes began when the Chiefs were flagged for a false start. Waites then fumbled the ball on the next play but Moses Lake's Tyson Hare was able to cover it up for the Chiefs.

The Chiefs were forced to punt on fourth and 16. Hill downed the ball at the Pasco 1-yard line, where the Bulldogs took over possession.

The defensive hayday continued for Moses Lake with another tackle for Stout that was followed by a fumble recovery by Carpenter.

After Carpenter returned possession to the Chiefs, Moses Lake had another fumble that was picked up by Pasco and returned for a touchdown. The Bulldogs followed it up with a 2-point conversion to go up 21-14.

Pasco scored again on their next possession to take a 28-14 lead.

Moses Lake's final score of the night came on the ensuing drive that began with a kickoff return by Carpenter.

In a first and 20 situation, after a holding call against Moses Lake, Pasco was called for an off-sides to make it first and 12. Waites scrambled for 10 yards on the following play to bring up a second and two as the third quarter expired.

Anderson carried the ball for Moses Lake to begin the fourth quarter and earned the first down. Waites then scambled for three yards.

On second and seven, Carpenter earned the final touchdown of the game on an 11-yard carry to make it 28-21.

Both teams continued to battle through the end of the fourth quarter but neither could score again.

Anderson had 16 carries for 70 yards. Carpenter had 12 carries for 53 yards and a touchdown. Wafer had five carries for 28 yards. Waites had 163 yards on offense and two touchdowns.