Chiefs stay unbeaten with focused effort

MOSES LAKE - With an offense that scores more than 32 points per game, it's no surprise which Moses Lake unit gets the most credit for the Chiefs' 5-0 start.

Chiefs 41, Cadets 14

MOSES LAKE - With an offense that scores more than 32 points per game, it's no surprise which Moses Lake unit gets the most credit for the Chiefs' 5-0 start.

But head coach Greg Kittrell knows where the priorities lay for his football team.

"Defense wins championships. Offense sells tickets," Kittrell said, laughing, after the Chiefs improved to 5-0 overall, 3-0 Columbia Basin League, with a 41-14 stomping of the Eisenhower Cadets Friday night at Lions Field.

Sure, Moses Lake's offense had plenty of things to celebrate. Quarterback Josh Loera had another monster game, passing for 288 yards and rushing for 134 more. Junior Michael Thomas scored on three short touchdown runs. The CBL's leading receiver, Ryan Coulston, caught five balls for 96 yards, but was actually upstagged by junior Billy Brice, who hauled in eight catches for 103 yards.

But the Chiefs' defense played well again, as it has all season. They limited Eisenhower to 225 yards of total offense, only 87 on the ground, and harassed quarterbacks Taylor Elmo and Stephen Palachuk all night.

"What we wanted to do, mainly, was stop their counter trey and their zone (blocking)," senior linebacker Taylor Stout said. "But they didn't do much of it, so they had to resort to throwing the ball.

That was our game plan for the night - play physical and resort them to throwing the ball," he added, "because if they can't run, they can't score."

Moses Lake turned the ball over on downs and missed a field goal on its first two possessions, but scored late in the first quarter after a 71-yard drive. Loera hit Mitch Hill for 52 yards to the Cadet 20, and Thomas scored from 1 yard out to put the Chiefs up 7-0.

But the Cadets (3-2, 1-2) quickly quieted the packed house on the first play of the second quarter, scoring from 68 yards out when Elmo found Donovan Beath deep down the left sideline. Ike missed the point-after kick, however, and trailing 7-6, only awoke the sleeping giant.

Moses Lake responded with a 77-yard drive in just over four minutes. Loera ran 14 yards to the Ike 20, hit Coulston on the next play for 19 yards, and Thomas scored his second 1-yard TD.

The Chiefs' defense promptly forced a third-and-out, then got the ball back inside Cadet territory following an 11-yard punt. Loera found Brice on a 20-yard catch-and-run to Ike's 12, and Thomas hit paydirt from 3 yards out for a 21-6 lead.

Moses Lake's next possession covered 78 yards in four plays and lasted just 29 seconds. Loera kept the ball on an option run, racing 43 yards to the Ike 25. He found Brice on back-to-back throws for 24 yards, then scrambled around the right side for an 11-yard TD.

"We thought our speed would hurt them," Kittrell said. "We were worried about a knock-down, drag-out from their offense, but credit our defensive front seven. Their offensive front has been mowing people down and, boy, they could hardly get a first down."

After cornerback Randy Koon broke up a sure-fire touchdown on the Cadets' opening series of the third quarter, Moses Lake went 65 yards to go up 34-6. On fourth-and-1, Loera made a nifty fake on a dive play, then raced untouched down the left side for a 31-yard score.

Junior Solis barreled through the middle from 8 yards out for Moses Lake's final points of the night. The Cadets scored with just over two minutes left on a 4-yard pass from Palachuk to Beath. The game was called on the ensuing kickoff when an Eisenhower player was severely injured and required an ambulance to leave the field.

Loera's 14-carry, 134-yard performance led Moses Lake's rushing attack, which had a fairly shaky start. Kittrell credited the Cadets' game plan for that, but noted his team was able to make the necessary adjustments.

"They were in a one-linebacker set, so we thought we'd run against them a little bit more," Kittrell said. "But they're pretty strong up front. We ended up throwing more against them initially than we thought we would. Once we'd thrown and loosened them up, then our running game took over a bit."

Thanks to Wenatchee's 35-28 win at Richland, the Chiefs are in sole possession of first place in the CBL 4A standings. But Moses Lake will have to travel to Wenatchee (4-1, 1-1) this Friday for a game with huge playoff implications.

Stout said he and his teammates plan to keep it simple against the Panthers and execute the same things they've done all season.

"We're just going to go in there and practice hard all week," Stout said. "We'll watch film on them, adjust to them and take care of business."

Kittrell believes limiting turnovers and being mentally prepared will be his team's key tasks for Wenatchee.

"They have a confidence about them, but more than anything it's an ability to focus," he said. "Things can go a little haywire and they really are good at concentrating on what they need to do at that moment."