Warriors march on with another impressive win

SPOKANE - For the second straight week,  the Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors easily dispatched a rival despite having to play them for the third time this season.

ACH took a 36-0 lead by halftime of the Class 1B quarterfinal contest on Saturday at Gonzaga Prep High School before rolling over Wilbur-Creston 56-8 to pull within two wins of an 8-man state title.

ACH (11-0) won their last state title in 2007.

"The kids played very well." ACH head coach Brandon Walsh said. "Offensively our kids did a very nice job execution wise, we moved the ball on the ground and through the air which was good to see."

Now ACH will prepare to play another familiar foe in Cusick on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Gonzaga Prep.

The game will be a rematch of their Northwest League Championship game which ACH won in a rout 54-6 on Nov. 4.

"We are excited about the rematch with Cusick in the semifinals," Walsh said. "Obviously it went our way the first time, but this time it will be on a neutral field, and with them looking to return the favor.  We expect a closer game, it'll be a good one."

Against Wilbur-Creston, Warriors quarterback Derek Isaak set the tone in the first half, scoring on three touchdown runs of 20, five, and 90 yards while adding two touchdown passes to Brandon Boutain of 10 and eight yards.

Isaak would add a 25-yard touchdown run in the third quarter while fellow ACH teammates Brock Streeter and Colin Deyarmin would add scoring jaunts of 10 and nine yards respectively.

"Wilbur-Creston got after us physically which made the game a lot of fun," Walsh said. "It was good to see our kids rise to that challenge. Isaak was huge today.  He ran with a purpose, which sure made playing calling easy as the game went along."

Isaak finished his day with 202 yards rushing on fifteen carries, as ACH ended their day with 28 carries for 282 yards.

The Warriors quarterback also threw for 127 yards on 10-for-17 passing.

Wilbur-Creston was held to a total of 190 yards offense while ACH ended their performance racking up with 409 yards.

"Defensively it was another great team effort, with everyone contributing," Walsh said. "We got good pressure up front, and swarmed to the football defending the run."