ACH Warriors win a thriller, sew up playoff position

HUNTERS - The battle for second place in Northeast League 1B football standings lived up to the hype - and then some.

Jordan Hughes scored on a 6-yard run in overtime and Almira/Coulee-Hartline's defense came up with two huge sacks as the Warriors downed the Columbia-Hunters Lions 30-22 in overtime on Friday.

HUNTERS - The battle for second place in Northeast League 1B football standings lived up to the hype - and then some.

Jordan Hughes scored on a 6-yard run in overtime and Almira/Coulee-Hartline's defense came up with two huge sacks as the Warriors downed the Columbia-Hunters Lions 30-22 in overtime on Friday.

Hughes, who finished with 176 yards on 26 carries and scored two touchdowns, was perhaps the biggest key for ACH (8-1) as it clinched the league's No. 2 seed to the state playoffs. Hughes also caught four passes for 69 yards and a score, and tied for the team lead with 17 defensive tackles.

"This was a huge win for us," ACH head coach Brandon Walsh said via e-mail. "We needed to play well against a good football team and we did that."

Hughes' 8-yard run and a two-point conversion pass up the Warriors up 8-0 after the first period. The Lions responded to take a 14-8 lead as quarterback Ryan Kieffer scored on an 11-yard run, then hit Martin St. John on a 16-yard scoring pass. But ACH tied the score at halftime on 30-yard pass from Josh Goodwin to Hughes.

Goodwin completed 6 of 12 throws for 68 yards and also had a huge defensive contribution with 17 tackles.

Hunters went up 22-14 after Kieffer picked off Goodwin and scooted in from 7 yards out. Nate West's 3-yard TD run and subsequent two-point conversion tied the score again later in the third period.

ACH reached the Hunters 30 in the final minute of regulation but turned the ball over downs.

In overtime, the Warriors converted on fourth-and-4 with a 15-yard screen pass to Hughes. The senior pounded through the middle on the next play for the touchdown and added the conversion run for a 30-22 lead.

Hunters reached the ACH 15 on its OT possession but got no further. Shawn Dahlenburg and West sacked Kieffer on back-to-back plays, and Hughes made the game-clinching tackle on fourth down.

"This kind of win at this time of the season is a huge boost for us going into the playoffs," Walsh said. "Columbia-Hunters is a very physical team and we responded well to that pressure throughout the whole game."

ACH closes the regular season on Friday at Inchelium, a 1 p.m. kickoff.