Warriors' Goodwin, Hughes run wild on Odessa defense

TACOMA - If Odessa's 56-6 shellacking of Almira/Coulee-Hartline back on Sept. 21 meant anything at all, no one in attendance at last Friday's 1B state championship game would've known.

Warriors 38, Tigers 14

TACOMA - If Odessa's 56-6 shellacking of Almira/Coulee-Hartline back on Sept. 21 meant anything at all, no one in attendance at last Friday's 1B state championship game would've known.

Odessa had enacted the 45-point mercy rule in their Northeast League win, and while the loss was demoralizing for ACH at the time, it served only as a motivator for head coach Brandon Walsh's team, winners of nine straight coming in.

"They wanted a little revenge," said Walsh, grinning from ear to ear on the Tacoma Dome turf after his Warriors walloped the Tigers 38-14. "We've been playing really well here at the end of the season and we've beat some good teams.

"Being second in the league we kind of had a rough road through the bracket," he added. "When we win those games, kids gain so much confidence. Just the whole belief that you can win is a huge thing."

The Warriors (13-1) made it clear from the opening kick they believed. On the third play from scrimmage, senior quarterback Josh Goodwin raced 51 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown. Goodwin hit Nate West for the ensuing two-point conversion, giving ACH an 8-0 lead just moments into the game.

The remainder of the first half, however, was a defensive showcase. The Warriors stopped the Tigers (12-1) three times inside the 5-yard line. The final stand came after Odessa used five quick passes to move 82 yards in the waning seconds of the half. Ryan King hit Bryce Todd on the final play, but the Warriors dropped him a yard short of the goal line as time expired.

"I think we really stepped up this game," Goodwin said of ACH's defense. "We hit them hard, rattled them a little bit."

The Warriors also limited Odessa's option attack. Star senior Jacob Schmidt had just 56 yards on 17 carries, while King carried 11 times for 21 yards.

"One of the main things we changed was on the option, which killed us in the regular-season game," Goodwin said. "This game we decided to take the D-end and go for Schmidt, make the quarterback turn up and maybe stop him there because he's just a great open-field runner."

Three minutes into the third quarter, the Warriors struck again after Jordan Hughes picked off King's pass and returned it to the Odessa 11. On fourth-and-4, Goodwin found a wide-open West over the middle for a 5-yard score and a 16-0 lead.

Odessa wasn't about to call it quits. Bryce Todd returned the ensuing kickoff for an 86-yard touchdown, and Schmidt's two-point run cut ACH's lead to 16-8.

The Tigers had another chance to tie the game later in the period, using King's arm to drive to ACH's 5. But Goodwin smacked Alex Null on a third-down run, and King's fourth-down pass fell incomplete.

ACH used the stop to its benefit, going 95 yards in eight plays and scoring when Goodwin broke a 32-yard run off the left side. A pass to Hughes made it 24-8 with just over 10 minutes left.

Again, the Tigers had an answer. On the first play of its ensuing possession, Odessa brought out an old schoolyard favorite - the hook-and-ladder. King hit Travis Todd over the middle, Todd pitched the ball to a streaking Schmidt, and Schmidt outran two defenders for a 64-yard TD.

"We've been working on it all year long and we tried it a couple games ago," Tigers head coach Bruce Todd said. "It looked like a good opportunity to use it."

But the Warriors weren't to be denied. Hughes - who totaled 142 yards on 17 carries - ran four straight times for 44 yards on ACH's next drive, then capped the seven-play series with a 1-yard plunge.

Any thoughts of another Odessa rally were squelched moments later as West stepped in front of King's throw and took it 28 yards to paydirt.

West, who broke his back two years ago and wondered if he'd set foot on the field again, was ACH's handyman - he caught two passes, scored a defensive touchdown, opened holes for Goodwin and Hughes, and was in on tackle after tackle.

"He's kind of our hard-nosed, pound-it-in-the-middle, great linebacker type of kid," Walsh said of West. "He didn't know if he was ever going to play football again. He had the courage to do it and it kind of gave him new life."

Goodwin, who completed 5 of 11 throws for 56 yards and ran 16 times for 131 yards, explained how ACH's earlier loss to Odessa affected their mindset for the championship game.

"They beat us by 50 points and we knew we were a better team than that," Goodwin said. "Our coach was telling us to remember the 56-6 (game) and how bad it felt."

Goodwin and Walsh felt their two previous playoff wins over Touchet and Lummi also prepared them for postseason success. Even Bruce Todd was quick to mention how much the Warriors deserved their championship trophy.

"They had all eight guys on the field show up to play," Todd said. "Their crowd was louder, their players were more focused and flying around the field faster.

"I'd like to congratulate Brandon," he added. "I'm happy for him. I'm not happy with the loss, but I'm happy he's had the success he's had."

Walsh, a senior lineman on the Warriors' last title winner in 1990, answered the question of which title means more.

"I would say it's probably sweeter this time as a coach," he said. "As a player, you don't appreciate it as much as an adult."