Riverhawks come close to victory at home

by Bill Stevenson<br>Herald Editor
| May 12, 2008 9:00 PM

Commandos 15, Riverhawks 7

WARDEN - The Columbia Basin Riverhawks fought hard and played better but came up short against the Okanogan Commandos Saturday 15-7.

Three quarters of the game was a well-met battle with both teams moving the ball, but being stopped in the red zone.

"All the scoring by every body was in the second quarter," Riverhawk coach Ryan Whitaker said.

The Okanogan Commandos scored a touchdown on an early drive and another on an interception of a Riverhawks pass. A field goal moved their score to 15.

Columbia Basin responded when Tommy Stokes caught a 25-yard pass from Czac Conely for the Riverhawk's sole touchdown of the night. Zack Lewis kicked the point-after to leave the score 15-7.

Late in the fourth quarter, Okanogan received three penalties in a row putting them more than 35 yards back from a first down. They ended the drive by turning the ball over to the Riverhawks with less than two minutes left in the game.

Then Columbia Basin attempted a series of passes that went out of reach of the receivers.

"We had some passes that were just not quite there," said Whitaker. "Once we got out of the rhythm, it was tough to get back on track."

Whitaker said a gust of wind lifted the ball over Brandon Gomez's head in one toss. A second pass fell short of Emerson Ferguson and into the hands of Commandos for an interception with less than a minute left.

The Commandos ran out the clock for the win.

"They are better than last year and I believe it was all due to their defense," Whitaker said. "Our defense played well enough to win. It was our offense that didn't."

The teams appeared nearly equal on the field for the bulk of the game, with both sides taking turns moving the ball down field but missing chances to score.

"We had our opportunities and didn't get it down," Whitaker said. "I thought we were better, because number one, we moved some guys around on the offensive line."

Moving some players back to their former college and high school positions helped shore up the middle of the field, Whitaker said. It helped to improve the pass-rush coverage and gave time for Conley to throw more. It forced Okanogan's defense to rush from the outside and lessened the pressure on the quarterback.

"We tried to run some quick, short routes and we had some success with that," he said.

Timing was an issue for a few players, Whitaker said. Some players are finishing up baseball seasons and they could use a bit more experience and time together to improve the throwing game.

Hector Ledezma, from Royal High School, finished his spring sports and came onto the team, where he was able to break free for a few successful runs to add yards for the Riverhawks.

Whitaker said the receivers and quarterback need to get to know each other better and more time is needed for the running backs to learn the system. All will lead to more scoring for the Columbia Basin.

The next game is at Lapwai High School in Lapwai, Idaho, to play the Palouse Thunder on Saturday at 3 p.m.