Chiefs turn it on late, pull away for win

Moses Lake remains atop CBL standings at 4-0

MOSES LAKE - For a young team such as the Moses Lake Chiefs, one of the key steps in the maturation process is being able to rise to the occasion when adversity rears its head during the course of the game.

Last Friday, when the Walla Walla Blue Devils recovered a Moses Lake fumble in Chiefs' territory and marched down the field for a late third-quarter touchdown to narrow their deficit to 14-6, a game Moses Lake had dominated up to that point suddenly seemed in doubt.

The Chiefs quickly erased those doubts, scoring touchdowns on their next three possessions to take a commanding 35-6 lead as they went on to defeat Walla Walla 35-14.

"They went down and made a game of it," Moses Lake head coach Greg Kittrell said of the Blue Devils' scoring drive, on which they completed seven straight passes and looked very sharp.

"The offense answered," Kittrell added. "That was huge."

Moses Lake took over on its own 20-yard line following the Blue Devils' touchdown, and got the drive going with a pair of solid runs from Junior Solis for a first down at their own 30.

After a sack on first down, Chief quarterback Josh Loera scrambled to his right, then threw the ball across his body back to the left side of the field to a wide open Ryan Coulston. Coulston, as he did throughout the night, made several defenders miss and displayed great ability to gain yards after the catch, picking up 15 hashes on the play and getting Moses Lake a fresh set of downs.

Coulston led all receivers on the night with nine catches for 127 yards, and was a key part of the Moses Lake offensive attack.

"The kid is just doing a great job," Kittrell said of Coulston, who leads the Columbia Basin League in both receptions and receiving yards. "He reads coverages so well and he and Loera are on the same page so well."

Two more completions to Coulston got Moses Lake down to the Walla Walla 24-yard line, and a big run up the middle by Michael Thomas gave the Chiefs a first-and-goal on the 8.

On the next play, Loera took the snap from center, rolled to his right, and after finding his receivers covered broke for the corner of the end zone. Loera beat two Blue Devils defenders to the pylon to put Moses Lake up 21-6 with 10:45 to play in the fourth quarter.

Loera's touchdown scramble was symbolic of how the Chiefs have played throughout the season, making the plays when they need to make them.

"They're resilient and they show great character at the most crucial times," Kittrell said of his players. "All four of our games, our kids have been able to execute when they had to."

With a little breathing room after the Loera touchdown run, Moses Lake's defense took to the field and quickly made amends for the touchdown it allowed on the Blue Devils' previous drive.

The Chiefs forced a Walla Walla three-and-out, pressuring Walla Walla quarterback David Weisner into a pair of incompletions that led to a fourth-and-10 and a punt.

Not only was it an important stop at that point in the game, it was a quick return to the fine form Moses Lake's defense had displayed through the first half and much of the third quarter.

"As a unit, they're so fast and aggressive to the ball," Kittrell said of his defense, which held the Blue Devils to just 26 yards rushing, forced three turnovers, and generally kept the Walla Walla offense from putting together substantial drives.

Kittrell singled out the play of lineman Cameron Dewitt, along with his linebacking corps, as the leaders of the Chiefs' defense.

"He was everywhere, playing at a phenomenal level," Kittrell said of Dewitt. "Those three linebackers are fabulous."

The quick stop by the Moses Lake defense kept the Blue Devils from getting right back in the game, and put the potent Moses Lake offense back on the field.

Moses Lake took over near midfield after the Blue Devils' punt, and used a big catch-and-run from Coulston to get down to the Walla Walla 35-yard line.

A Loera 11-yard run, followed by a Blue Devil penalty, gave Moses Lake a first down on the 12-yard line, where Loera hit Jarred Walker for his second touchdown reception of the game.

With 8:42 to play, Moses Lake now had a commanding 28-6 lead. Once again, the Chiefs' defense would step up, as Kyle Porter recovered a fumble on the Blue Devils' second play of the next drive to give Moses Lake the ball on the Walla Walla 33.

Chris Richardson caught a short swing pass on the left side and ran 20 yards down to the 6-yard line to get the Chiefs in scoring position, and on the next play Loera ran in untouched for his third rushing score of the game.

Walla Walla added a late touchdown to make it 35-14, but it was too little, too late for the Blue Devils.

Early in the game, defense set the tone for Moses Lake, as Spencer Fackrell recovered a fumble in Blue Devil territory that led to an 18-yard touchdown pass to Walker with 9:13 on the clock in the first quarter.

Moses Lake added to its lead with a 2-yard touchdown run from Loera with 23 seconds left in the first quarter, and the Chiefs' 14-0 lead held until Walla Walla answered in the third quarter.

With the victory, Moses Lake improved to 4-0 on the season, 2-0 in CBL play. This Friday, Moses Lake hosts the Eisenhower Cadets (3-1, 1-1) in its homecoming matchup at Lions Field.