Riverhawks lose football opener against Rams

Rams 45 Riverhawks 14

MOSES LAKE — Columbia Basin Riverhawks quarterback Zac Conley passed for 220 yards and a touchdown, ran for a score, but his team lost at home Saturday 45-14 to the visiting Wenatchee Valley Rams.

It was the season opener for the Riverhawks, a Moses Lake-based minor league football team. They drop to 0-1 in the Evergreen Football League. The Rams move to 1-1.

Wenatchee Valley jumped to a first-quarter lead of 14-0, at Moses Lake High School.

Early in the second quarter, an extended drive by the Riverhawks culminated in their first touchdown of the season.

The Riverhawks were inside the Rams' 10-yard line, looking to pass, when Conley scrambled right. The Ephrata High School football star didn't find an open receiver as he rolled out, tucked the ball to his side, then raced for the corner of the end zone. Conley dove, touching the pylon with the ball, bringing the Riverhawks within a touchdown of the Rams.

During the scoring drive, Conley connected with Riverhawks receiver Kyle Swanson on three passes. Swanson's third reception put the Riverhawks first-and-goal at the Rams' seven-yard line. Swanson ended the day with six catches for 98 yards.

Riverhawks coach Jim Whitaker said Conley put the team in a position to win against a tough, well-coached Wenatchee Valley team.

"(Conley) got hit, got hit in the head, got chased, got flushed and wasn't able to throw from the launch point," Whitaker said. "But (Conley) kept his head. The big thing was with all the pressure, there were no interceptions, that really gave us a chance."

The Riverhawks nearly scored at the end of the second quarter after starting a drive at their own one-yard line.

Conley completed passes to receivers Emerson Ferguson and Derek Martinez to march his team down the field. The Riverhawks were threatening, with the ball on the Rams' three-yard line, after Martinez caught a pass to the right side.

Conley immediately shot for the corner of the end zone, on the next play, with a lob pass to Ferguson. The ball sailed out of bounds.

Conley rolled right, a down later, but was thrown to the turf. Whitaker said the intended receiver was tackled on the play and the referee missed the call. Conley fumbled the ball as he was tackled and the Rams recovered, ending the first half.

The Rams, who had 10 penalties for 80 yards in the first half, led 14-7.

The Rams started the third quarter with a field goal, finishing a long drive.

The Riverhawks were able to engineer a scoring drive of their own after defensive end Nick Moore blocked a Rams' punt, later in the quarter. The ball was recovered by the Riverhawks.

Conley, capitalizing on the blocked punt, threw his first touchdown pass of the season, connecting with a well-covered Martinez in the end zone on a four-yard strike.

Martinez's touchdown brought the Riverhawks within three points of the Rams, 17-14. It would be the closest the Riverhawks would get to evening the score.

The Rams took over the game from that point, scoring four unanswered touchdowns, three in the fourth quarter.

"When we tried to surge back, (the Rams) were able to rotate fresh people," Whitaker said. "That's where having twice as many people as we do, twice as many as any other team in the league I believe, really pays off for (the Rams). They really wore us down obviously by the fourth quarter."

The coach said they're going to focus on improving the defense before the next game.

"We could not get (the Rams) three-and-out," he said. "We try to have a rotation (of players). But that causes a lack of continuity, as the talent level sometimes falls off."

Running back Jeff Nelson led all Riverhawks' rushers with 87 yards on 22 carries.

Conley ended up with 13 pass completions on 30 attempts.

The Riverhawks' next game is Saturday against the Blue Mountain Stars, in Burbank, Wash.