Panthers hold off Chiefs

MOSES LAKE - They were two teams going in different directions a

third through the season.

But after Wenatchee's 14-0 win over the Moses Lake Chiefs on

Friday night at Lions Field, it could easily be said both programs

have seen their 2010 campaigns take a turn for the better.

MOSES LAKE - They were two teams going in different directions a third through the season.

But after Wenatchee's 14-0 win over the Moses Lake Chiefs on Friday night at Lions Field, it could easily be said both programs have seen their 2010 campaigns take a turn for the better.

For Wenatchee, the visiting Panthers upped their record to 4-0 overall and a potential postseason berth remains a probability.

Yet, the Chiefs may now be 0-4 and 0-2 in Big 9 play, but according to head coach Todd Griffith, his team's tough, competitive loss to a league favorite gave his team the light it may need to progress in a positive direction for the rest of the season.

"We've been talking to the kids about climbing the hill and to keep getting better and I think we did that," Griffith said. "We played solid defense against a power running team and offensively we found a niche for ourselves,"

On offense, Griffith put sophomore Justin Simmons under center at quarterback and moved senior Kyler Moats, who had started at the position during the Chiefs' first three games.

The move was made after Moses Lake's third offensive series against the Panthers.

"We put Justin in and our offense sparked a little bit," Griffith said. "We increased our output from last week and that's against a tougher defense than Davis had. He came out and made a couple big plays right off the bat. He read the offense really well and made some big passes for us."

Moving Moats to the slot allowed Griffith to throw the Soap Lake transfer and receivers Matt Franz and Taylor LaGrave as a three-pronged option for Simmons to sling the ball to.

Kyler moved to slot back. Lagrande and Franz

"Those three guys matched up with the Wenatchee defensive backs and made us stronger as an offense," Griffith said. "They are bigger, wider wideouts and they blocked well. They were huge targets for us."

Moats also made the change with nothing more than a response of a perfect teammate.

"Kyler is a competitor and he wants to win," Griffith said. "Whatever we need to do to win he is willing to do. Not many kids are like him that is willing to move aside just to make the team better. Kyler ended up giving Justin the game ball for offense and that just says he has extremely good character. Not many people period could do that."

Moses Lake was led by Moats' 61 yards rushing on 13 carries, while Simmons ran 57 yards on the same amount of rushes.

Overall, the Chiefs gained 142 yards on the ground on 37 carries.

Simmons ended up going 6-for-15 for 101 yards while throwing four interceptions.

The Panthers, led 7-0 going into the fourth quarter and kept the Chiefs out of the endzone on three Moses Lake drives that ended inside the Wenatchee 20-yard line,

Now the Chiefs will keep preparing for each test that comes their way, with a new look in tow, and a never quit attitude.

"I'm playing for next friday and put the best offense and defense on the field," Griffith said. "I'm looking at anything past going out and beating Hermiston (this coming Friday)."