Warriors ready themselves for quarterfinal
Courtesy photo
COULEE CITY — A year later and a lot younger the Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors consider themselves a lot better in 2009.
If that is the case Tri Cities Prep may want to ready themselves for a stringer Class 1B state quarterfinal show down at Edgar Brown Stadium in Pasco on Friday at 7 p.m.
COULEE CITY — A year later and a lot younger the Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors consider themselves a lot better in 2009.
If that is the case Tri Cities Prep may want to ready themselves for a stringer Class 1B state quarterfinal show down at Edgar Brown Stadium in Pasco on Friday at 7 p.m.
Last season the two teams squared off in a District crossover game and the Warriors fell by 66-20 and the then-defending champions had to find a way to find its way back amongst the elite.
That’s where ACH coach Brandon Walsh believes that this season could be different despite losing a large number of players from that squad.
He emphasized that his younger fleet of athletes may have what it takes to turn the trick against the Jaguars who have outscored opponents this season 576-282.
“What they do, they do very well as far as spreading the field and throwing the football a bunch,” Walsh said. “They try to create mismatches in the open field and we didn’t respond well to that kind of thing.
“The number one difference (from last year to this year) is just having better team speed and playmaking ability, We are actually younger this year but we’re more athletic. I think we have youth but wouldn’t say we are young, since we have a lot of juniors that played a little bit last year as the season went on.”
That was most evident on the defensive side of the ball that recorded two shutouts to end the regular season and then turned up the heat in the second half of last week’s 36-20 crossover win over Touchet.
ACH clamped down to come from a 20-16 halftime deficit.
“The key component was our pass defense over time has gotten better with the linebackers getting their guys,” ACH lineman Reid Ashley said. “They are matching up better which opened up our line a bit and that helped our bull rush open up and put more pressure on the quarterback.
“Hitting will be a big key this week since they are a pretty hard hitting team and we have to wrap up and not make any mistakes.”
Walsh emphasized the quarterbacking ability of Will Hoppes for TCP.
“It’s definitely the same principle as last year and have a stud at quarterback,” Walsh said. “If he’s not the career leader for passing at the 1B level he is right there. He can really throw the football and that is their MO.
Hoppes has thrown for 3,649 yards with 50 touchdowns and only eight interceptions.
The Jaguars (9-2) also rush for almost 150 yards a game while scoring about 2.5 touchdowns per contest.
“Their weakness last year was that they couldn’t run the football well but they’ve added it to their scheme this year,” Walsh said. “But if that’s worse or better for us I don’t know. I’d personally rather see them run the football.”
ACH likes to run the ball a lot too, using senior back Dylan Tipps who has gained over 1,200 yards on the season.
“I’m real pumped for this game and real excited, a bunch of us are,” Tipps said. “I feel we are a much better team. We’re harder hitting and run the ball better. They may pass the ball better than us but our defense can shut them down.”
“I feel like we are peaking at the right time,” Walsh said. “Even though last week we won pretty close we had to come from behind and rally which showed maturity that I am excited about.”
The reality of this contest is ACH must dictate the tempo in order to be able to turn the tables from last year’s result.
“We need to definitely get pressure on the quarterback we want to get him out of the pocket and run it,” Walsh said. “He’s a good runner but he’s not as dangerous doing it that way. A lot of their routes are timing routes and we want to disrupt those so he can’t throw it on time to the receiver.
“We need to control the tempo and we do that by keeping the ball out of their hands,” Walsh added. “I think we run the football pretty well and we have to be able to do that to succeed in our game plan.”
In the end it will come down to two familiar foes having it out with a shot at the final four on the line.
“We know about them and they know enough about us,” Walsh said. “In all reality its time (to play). There’s only so much you can do to prepare for a team.”
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