Loera, Chiefs wallop Eastmont in opener

MOSES LAKE - Throw in a bushel of new starters and an opponent who appears to be much improved, and you've got what appears to be a recipe for disaster in a season-opening football game.

Not for the Moses Lake Chiefs, who sliced and diced the Eastmont Wildcats last Friday night at Lions Field. Moses Lake had 455 yards of total offense and was never seriously threatened, winning 40-14 in the 2007 debut for both schools.

Actually, Chiefs head coach Greg Kittrell seemed more pleased with his defense and special teams. Moses Lake limited Eastmont to 259 yards of offense and recovered a pair of fumbles. The kicking and punting units did well to keep the Wildcats backed up in their own territory for most of the night.

"I felt we played well in those phases probably 85 percent of the game," Kittrell said. "We played very good defense tonight and, for the most part, good offense."

The thing that worried Kittrell was a lack of ball security. The Chiefs fumbled four times, and though they recovered all four, weren't as sure-handed as a playoff-caliber team needs to be.

"In order for us to get to the next level, we've got to eliminate that piece," he said. "Whether we like it or not, our offense is tough to run. It's a very intricate offense and there's pieces of it that make it very tough to do."

Still, there were very few complaints with what turned out to be a rout. Kittrell said during the preseason he believed Eastmont to be much improved, but the visitors mustered little in the way of consistent offense or stalwart defense.

Junior quarterback Josh Loera, making his varsity debut for the Chiefs, was a big reason why. He ran Moses Lake's shotgun spread at a high level, churning out 138 rushing yards on 11 carries and completing 10 of 16 throws for 159 yards. Loera ran for two scores and threw for two more.

Kittrell said Loera had some jitters that wore off as the game moved forward.

"He was trying to operate out there and he was trying to stay calm and do some things," the coach said. "It started coming to him and you kind of see in the second half where he got settled down."

Senior running back Taylor Stout helped Loera gain confidence early. Stout had a couple big runs on the Chiefs' opening march, which ended with Chris Richardson taking an option pitch from Loera and scoring from 5 yards out.

Moses Lake fumbled three times on its next possession, but was fortunate enough to fall on all three loose balls. The Chiefs converted a fourth-and-1 play with a screen pass to Stout, and junior Tyler Harman capped the 76-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown run.

Early in the second quarter, Eastmont's punt returner coughed up the ball and Stout recovered at the Wildcat 31. Loera immediately found Jarred Walker down the right sideline for the score, putting Moses Lake's halftime edge at 20-0.

Eastmont grabbed some momentum midway through the third period. Josh Manring's 42-yard run set up a 17-yard TD pass from Jordan Osborn to Dan Simmons. Suddenly, the Wildcats had life.

But Loera quickly dashed their hopes on the ensuing drive. He ran for 13 yards to convert one third down. On third-and-1 from the Chiefs' 46, he faked a dive to Stout and raced untouched down the left side, putting Moses Lake's lead at a less-tenuous 27-7.

A 28-yard pass-and-run play from Loera to Tyler Coulston made it 34-7 after three quarters. Loera capped a short drive with a 2-yard run early in the fourth quarter. Eastmont's Matt Huyler scored the final points on a 4-yard run with 5:06 to play.

Moses Lake's defense held Osborn to 8 of 21 passing for 96 yards. The Wildcats averaged more than five yards per run, but Kittrell felt the unit did well in limiting big plays.

"We knew they were going to try to slug us around, and it's probably a good game plan against us right now," he said. "Really, we just sat in our base cover defense most of the time and did a good job."

The Chiefs play another non-league game this Friday when they travel to Hanford. Kickoff at Fran Rish Stadium is at 7:30 p.m.