Score-at-will Warriors charge into title game

TACOMA - Fifty points is a lot to give up in a football game, but not necessarily in the world of eight-man football.

The Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors surrendered 50 points to the Lummi Blackhawks in their 1B state semifinal game Saturday afternoon at the Tacoma Dome. But thanks to a career day from senior Jordan Hughes, the Warriors (12-1) scored far more than that, winning 80-50 and advancing to this Saturday's state championship game, also at the Dome. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.

TACOMA - Fifty points is a lot to give up in a football game, but not necessarily in the world of eight-man football.

The Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors surrendered 50 points to the Lummi Blackhawks in their 1B state semifinal game Saturday afternoon at the Tacoma Dome. But thanks to a career day from senior Jordan Hughes, the Warriors (12-1) scored far more than that, winning 80-50 and advancing to this Saturday's state championship game, also at the Dome. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.

It'll be an all-Northeast League final after the Odessa Tigers knocked off Tri-Cities Prep in the other Saturday semifinal. The Tigers walloped ACH 56-6 in their regular-season meeting, but the Warriors haven't lost since and appear to be a much improved team.

Hughes was the catalyst behind ACH's devastating offensive attack, which rolled up 529 total yards. Hughes' eight touchdowns - four on runs, three on pass receptions and one on a kickoff return - were one short of the state playoff record. He also gained 473 all-purpose yards.

Lummi (10-2) was the state's second-ranked team for much of the season, but barely escaped with a quarterfinal victory against Lake Quinault last week. On Saturday, the Blackhawks weren't so fortunate as ACH scored 38 unanswered points in the second half to pull away.

The Warriors led 42-36 after a chaotic first half. Lummi took a two-point lead early in the third quarter after Gale Jefferson intercepted ACH quarterback Josh Goodwin, then hauled in a 30-yard TD pass and converted on the two-point conversion run.

It was the last time Lummi led.

Hughes wasted no time putting the Warriors back in front. He darted 44 yards for his seventh score of the day, then dove over a defender for the conversion to give ACH a 50-44 edge with just under 20 minutes to play.

Goodwin and Nate West then came up with ACH's most important defensive plays of the day. West recovered a fumble at the Blackhawk 20, and Hughes capped the four-play drive with a 5-yard run up the middle.

Moments later, Goodwin stepped in front of a pass by Lummi's Isaac Finkbonner and took it 16 yards to the end zone.

In the span of three minutes, the Warriors' lead had grown to 20 points and the Blackhawks were all but done, especially with Lummi's starting quarterback, Dustin Tom, out of the game due to a neck stinger.

The ACH special teams got things started early. Lummi muffed the opening kickoff and Shawn Dahlenburg pounced on the ball at the Blackhawk 2. On fourth-and-goal from the 1, Hughes took a toss sweep left and scored the game's first points.

The Blackhawks went 53 yards in three minutes for their first score, but Hughes responded with a lightning-quick kickoff return up the gut that covered 84 yards.

Lummi exploited the ACH secondary throughout the first half, as Tom continually hooked up with Gale Jefferson and Jesse Cooper. Jefferson finished with 11 receptions for 236 yards and two scores.

But they were no match for Hughes, who tied the game at 22 with a 47-yard catch-and-run down the right side. In the second quarter, he added three more scores, a 35-yard run, a leaping 9-yard reception in the back of the end zone, and a 15-yard reception on a well-placed fade route by Goodwin.

Hughes and the ACH offensive line dominated the second half after getting a substantial lead. Hughes carried 18 times for 147 yards in the final 24 minutes, finishing with 183 yards on 24 carries.

The Warriors are one win away from their first state title since 1990, when head coach Brandon Walsh was a senior lineman.