Bears maul Cougars for SCAC victory

ACH 40, Pateros 16; Toppenish 34, Ephrata 26; Lind-Ritzville 16, Davenport 8; Odessa 52, Wilbur-Creston 6; Kittitas 21, Soap Lake 13;

Prep football recaps

WARDEN - The Kiona-Benton Bears held on to a 16-0 halftime lead over the Warden Cougars to earn their first South Central Athletic Conference-East Division football victory of the season.

Kiona-Benton's Matt Mason accounted for three touchdowns as the visiting Bears defeated the Cougars 29-7 in Warden.

The Bears held a 3-0 first quarter lead after Francisco Rodriguez kicked a 30-yard field goal for Kiona-Benton.

The Bears added two second quarter touchdowns.

The first coming on Mason's 3-yard touchdown run. The second score, a 50-yard touchdown pass from Mason to Chris Howell gave the Bears a 16-0 halftime advantage.

Warden head coach Erik Skone said his team got off to a lethargic start Friday night.

"We started off a little slow and we didn't tackle well," he said. "But we came out in the second half ready to play."

Warden got on the scoreboard in the third quarter, scoring the first touchdown of the game's second half.

Warden's score came when wide receiver Chris Kalous caught a 36-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Arty Reyes.

The Warden touchdown cut the Cougars deficit to 16-7.

When it came down to defensive play, Warden couldn't stop Kiona-Benton.

"All we needed to do was get a stop in the third quarters and we couldn't buy one," Skone said.

The score would be the only one of the game for the Cougars as Kiona-Benton scored 13 second-half points to top league rival Warden for the Bears first victory of the season.

Skone said his team needs to run the football.

"One thing we need to do is run the ball," he said. "We haven't run the ball all year and that is something that we need to do."

Warden travels to River View Friday night to take on the Panthers and the Cougars need to play disciplined football, Skone said.

"We need to put ourselves in positive positions to get first downs and move the ball," he said.

Reyes finished the night 10 of 25 passing for 139 yards.

ACH 40,

Pateros 16

PATEROS - The Almira/Coulee-Hartline (ACH) Warriors knocked off the Pateros Billygoats in North Central Washington 1B football action Friday night.

The Warriors got off to a slow start against the Billygoats, ACH head coach Brandon Walsh said.

"We played pretty good," he said. "We were a little flat in the first half. We didn't execute super sharp on offense and we didn't tackle well."

With the Warriors and Billygoats tied at 14-14 late in the first half, quarterback Matt Gregson threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Gregson with six seconds left to give the Warriors a 22-14 lead at the break.

The Warriors scored 18 second-half points to distance themselves from Pateros.

Walsh said he team played well in the second half.

"I challenged them to play with more intensity," Walsh said. "Once we got going, especially in the second half, they responded really well."

The Warriors travel to Wilbur-Creston Friday night to take on the Wildcats.

Kick off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Toppenish 34,

Ephrata 26

EPHRATA - The Ephrata Tigers couldn't stop the Toppenish running game Friday night as the Wildcats came away with the 34-26 Central Washington Athletic Conference 2A football victory.

Despite the loss, Ephrata head coach Jay Mills said he was proud of his team's performance.

"I was pleased with our effort," he said. "The kids continue to give us effort in practice and in games."

The Tigers competed with Toppenish and Mills said his both teams played physical.

"They do nothing but run the ball," he said. "It was a very physical game. They were able to control the ball."

Toppenish ran the ball for 365 yards on the ground in the win over Ephrata.

Mills said he is going to focus on the positive aspects as his team prepares to travel to Ellensburg Friday night.

"We threw the ball the best we've thrown it all year (Friday night)," he said. "We go from a team (Toppenish) that threw the ball twice against us to a team (Ellensburg) that throws the ball 40 times. It will be a challenge."

Lind-Ritzville 16, Davenport 8

DAVENPORT - Despite scoring only three first-half points, the Lind-Ritzville Broncos football team responded in the second half to defeat the Davenport Gorillas Friday night.

The Broncos overcame a 8-3 halftime deficit behind the arm quarterback Geoffrey Eastman and the legs of running back Nolan Miller.

Although the Broncos struggled in the first half, head coach Greg Whitmore said his team played well.

"We blocked well," he said. "We moved the ball well. We just shot ourselves in the foot with dropped passes and penalties."

With Lind-Ritzville leading 3-0 in the second quarter, Davenport caught the Broncos in a blitz and sealed off the sideline as the Gorillas sprinted 46 yards for a touchdown and an 8-3 advantage.

While Davenport went into halftime with the lead, Whitmore said he defense held strong.

"The defense played well," he said. "(Davenport) didn't get as much of a sniff (of the endzone) after that (score)."

The Broncos took a 9-8 lead in the third quarter when Miller scored on a 9-yard touchdown run.

With the clock winding down in the fourth quarter, Eastman found senior tight end Cory Whitmore in the endzone for a 17-yard touchdown pass and a 16-8 Broncos win.

Following the victory, coach Whitmore said his team needs to focus on upcoming Colfax.

"We don't play well in Davenport," he said. "We have a bye this week and then Colfax is a must-win game if we want to make the playoffs."

The Broncos host the Colfax Bulldogs Oct. 31 for Lind-Ritzville senior night.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Odessa 52,

Wilbur-Creston 6

WILBUR - The Odessa Tigers football team jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead on their way to a 52-6 thumping of Bi-County 1B League rival Wilbur-Creston Friday night.

The Tigers capitalized on two touchdowns from Aaron Bruya in the first quarter to distance themselves from the Wildcats.

Bruya's first touchdown came on a 5-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan King.

Odessa was successful on the two-point conversion attempt and led the Wildcats 8-0 early.

After the Odessa defense forced a Wilbur-Creston punt, Bruya fielded the kick on his on 20-yard line.

Behind a wall of blockers, Bruya ran the punt back 80 yards for another Tigers touchdown.

The score gave Odessa a 14-0 lead when the Tigers could not convert the extra point attempt.

The Wildcats would respond with a score of their own in the second quarter to cut the Odessa lead to 14-6.

The second-quarter touchdown was the only time the Wildcats would get on the scoreboard as Odessa rattled off 22 unanswered points to roll to a 36-6 halftime lead.

Odessa would score 16 points in the third quarter to jump out to a 46-point advantage, stopping the game.

According to Washington Interscholastic Activities Association rules, if a team in 1B football is ahead by 45 points or more following halftime, the game is over.

Kittitas 21,

Soap Lake 13

SOAP LAKE - The Soap Lake Eagles could not overcome a 14-0 deficit in the fourth quarter to visiting Kittitas as the Eagles lost the North Central Washington 2B football league contest.

The highlight of the night for Soap Lake came when Tyler Wilson returned a Kittitas kickoff 90 yards for a Soap Lake touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The score cut the Kittitas lead to 21-13.

Wilson's return capped the scoring as Soap Lake fell to 3-4 on the season.

Eagles sophomore quarterback Kyler Moats finished the night 13 of 26 passing for 214 yards and a rushing touchdown.

Soap Lake travels to White Swan Friday night to take on the Cougars.

Kick off is scheduled for 7 p.m.