Quick start doesn't keep in ACH quarterfinal loss

PASCO — Snap. It was one play, one lead, and one statement.

Almira/Coulee-Hartline football was up 6-0 in the first quarter of their 1B state quarterfinal before the cold bleachers could get warm below the seated spectators at Edgar Brown Stadium at Pasco.

PASCO — Snap. It was one play, one lead, and one statement.

Almira/Coulee-Hartline football was up 6-0 in the first quarter of their 1B state quarterfinal before the cold bleachers could get warm below the seated spectators at Edgar Brown Stadium at Pasco.

But Dylan Tipps’ 56-yard run was the beginning of a long night for the Warriors.

From there on Tri Cities Prep (10-2) took the game by the scruff of the pigksin and went on to a 52-22 win and a date with Cusick in next week’s state football semifinals.

“I thought things would go well after we scored but we petered out after that,” ACH coach Brandon Walsh said. “We threw an interception into the end zone and petered out on drives around midfield and just didn’t get it done offensively.”

For ACH (10-2), the usually reliable defense struggled against the wprowess of Tri Cities Prep’s offense and quarterback Will Hoppes.

Hoppes scored on runs of 60, 18, and two yards and threw four touchdown passes of 36, 17, nine and eight yards to account for most of his team’s attack.

“We knew we wouldn’t shut them down but we didn’t think they do as well as they did,” Walsh said. “We had our opportunities. I would like to think if we make less mistakes we could have scored 45 points and it would have been a different ball game.”

Prep’s running game managed to be an eye-opener for the Warriors.

“They ran the ball better than I thought they would,” Walsh said. “Their quarterback is a stud. He rushed for over 200 yards and played really well. There’s no question he’s a player. We just didn’t expect him to run like that. That was the difference.”

Hoppes threw for 252 yards and rushed for 249 more, accounting for 501 all-purpose yards and seven touchdowns.

Tipps did what he could to keep his squad in the game, rushing for 169 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns, including a three-yard scoring plunge in the third quarter.

The Warriors were held to 230 yards total offense, which eventually undid any chance for ACH advancing to the semifinals for the second time in three years.

“That was the ?problem …we just didn’t have enough players producing,” Walsh said.

With only five senior graduating and a large core of athletes returning in 2010, Walsh said this season’s successes could be a solid building block for the future.

“Obviously at 10-2 we had a successful season and won all the games we were supposed to win,” Walsh said. “We finished the season with a number three ranking. Bottom line we didn’t accomplish what we had hoped to by making it into the finals. But the kids definitely got better as a team and I’m proud of everything they accomplished.”