Chiefs blast Pirates, prepare for Ferris

Odessa 60, Inchelium 12; Ephrata 47, Grandview 13; Othello 72, Quincy 6

Prep football recaps

YAKIMA - The Moses Lake Chiefs clinched a regional playoff berth thanks to a 43-16 victory over the Davis Pirates on Friday.

Moses Lake earned the Columbia Basin League's No. 3 seed and will play the Greater Spokane League champion Ferris Saxons on Saturday. The loser-out contest takes place at Spokane's Joe Albi Stadium at 1 p.m.

The Chiefs (6-3 overall, 4-2 CBL) jumped out to a 15-0 lead in the first quarter against Davis behind two solid offensive drives. Quarterback Josh Loera and receiver Ryan Coulston combined for touchdowns on both possessions, the first from 45 yards out and the second from 38 yards.

"It's a game we had to win to get into this playoff with Ferris," Chiefs head coach Greg Kittrell said, "so it was important for us to come out and play well."

Loera completed 10 of 16 throws for 270 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Coulston caught four balls for 136 yards.

Moses Lake also had a solid ground attack, chewing up 225 yards. Michael Thomas carried eight times for 47 yards and had a pair of TD runs, a 7-yarder that put the Chiefs ahead 21-0 in the second quarter and a 1-yarder to make it 36-0 in the third.

Loera also connected on scoring passes of 43 yards to Billy Brice and 63 yards to Chris Richardson.

Moses Lake's defense recovered four Davis fumbles and limited the Pirates to 229 total yards.

The Chiefs will have to be just as good, if not better, to knock off Ferris (9-0), the No. 2 team in last week's 4A state rankings.

"They have some very special kids," Kittrell said of the Saxons. "We just need to play our game and the biggest thing is to minimize turnovers.

"The more first downs we can make and the more we can keep those Ferris playmakers off the field, the better we'll be," he added.

Ephrata 47, Grandview 13

GRANDVIEW - The Tigers will play for the Central Washington Athletic Conference title this week after roughing up the Greyhounds on Friday.

Kory Frank returned as Ephrata's starting quarterback, finishing 10 of 15 for 143 yards and four touchdowns. Three of those scores went to Derrick Webb, who hauled in five passes for 93 yards.

Grandview (3-6 overall, 3-5 CWAC) took an early 6-0 lead off a 74-yard TD pass from Matt Concienne to Marty Guillen. But the Tigers (8-1, 7-1) answered on the ensuing kickoff as Tryston Mann went 82 yards for the score, and Eric Hensley's extra point put Ephrata ahead for good.

Frank-to-Webb hookups of 30, 20 and 29 yards accounted for Ephrata's next three scores and Mann, who led Ephrata's ground attack with 112 yards on 12 carries, put the Tigers ahead 34-6 with a 22-yard gallop in the third period.

No. 10 Ephrata hosts top-ranked Prosser (9-0, 8-0) on Thursday, a 7 p.m. kickoff at Kiwanis Field. The winner earns the CWAC's No. 1 seed and will host a Great Northern League team to open the 2A playoffs.

Othello 72, Quincy 6

QUINCY - The Huskies buried the Jackrabbits in a Friday CWAC matchup, getting three interception returns for touchdowns.

Othello's James Valdez ran 10 times for 125 yards and three scores while David Walker added 88 yards on 12 carries and a score. The Huskies' defense intercepted Quincy quarterback Jackson Hodges five times.

Hodges' 33-yard pass to Trevor Hyer in the third quarter accounted for the Jacks' only score. Hodges was 8 of 22 for 114 yards, while Othello quarterback Marc Garza was 3 of 4 for 57 yards, including a 27-yard TD pass to Michael Harvey.

Othello (6-3 overall, 6-2 CWAC) can earn the conference's No. 2 seed to state with an Ephrata loss and a win over Grandview this Thursday, a 7 p.m. kickoff. Quincy (1-8, 1-7) finishes the season on Thursday at Toppenish, also at 7 p.m.

Odessa 60, Inchelium 12

INCHELIUM - The top-ranked Tigers earned a mercy rule victory in the third quarter, pounding the Hornets in a Northeast 1B contest on Friday.

Aaron Bruya scored four of Odessa's touchdowns, hauling in passes of 20, 87 and 67 yards from Ryan King. Bruya also scored on an 88-yard kickoff return.

King threw for five scores, including plays of 16 and 40 yards to tight end Travis Todd. Justin Karnitz accounted for Odessa's other two TDs, a 6-yard interception return and a 31-yard run.

Odessa returns to Finney Field on Friday for Senior Night, hosting the Entiat Tigers at 7 p.m.