Moses Lake drops game to Eastmont, 24-14

MOSES LAKE - Moses Lake was looking to extend its winning streak to four games and remain undefeated in league play in the Columbia Basin Big Nine Conference (CBBN) Friday.

But the Eastmont Wildcats had another thing in mind as they turned back the Chiefs 24-14 on homecoming night at Lions Field.

"We knew Eastmont was a good team and that we would have to play a great game to beat them," coach Todd Griffith said. "Unfortunately, our guys made some uncharacteristic mistakes ... we lost the battle of field position ... and had to start a lot of drives deep in our end of the field."

Eastmont won the coin toss to start the game, but elected to defer to the second half. The Chiefs began their opening drive on the Moses Lake 45 and promptly march 55 yards for a score capped off by a 50-yard TD bomb from Justyn Simmons to Brett Moser (PAT blocked) to take an early 6-0 lead.

A short kick by Elliott Sage gave the Wildcats possession on the Eastmont 40. Back to back penalties on Eastmont backed the ball up to the Chiefs 42. But a key third and 18 conversion by the Wildcats gave Eastmont a first down at the Moses Lake 36.

However, the Chiefs defense stiffened and forced the Wildcats to punt. Moses Lake took over on the 20-yard line after the touchback, but failed to make a first down and had to punt the ball back to Eastmont.

The kick by Easton Baker was partially blocked and the Wildcats took over on the Chiefs 26 after declining a holding penalty on Moses Lake.

The Wildcats picked up eight yards on the next snap. Moses Lake was whistled for holding on second down and the ball was placed at the Chief 3-yard line putting Eastmont in a first and goal situation.

The Wildcats punched it in on the next play (PAT good) to take a 7-6 lead with 1:27 left in the quarter. A short kickoff was recovered by the Chiefs Colton Thompson at the Moses Lake 32.

The Chiefs picked up one first down, but the drive stalled at the 46 and Moses Lake had to punt the ball back to Eastmont. The Chiefs got a big break after a short kick took a big bounce and roll and came to a stop on the Wildcat 12 to end the first quarter of play.

Eastmont moved the ball to mid-field, but turned the it over on a fumble that was recovered by the Chiefs Jacob Stout. Moses Lake looked to capitalize on the mistake, but Trino Rubio fumbled the ball on the next play and it was recovered by Eastmont at the Chiefs 46.

The Wildcats advanced the pigskin to the 19, but the Moses Lake defense held once again and limited Eastmont to a 35-yard field goal attempt. The kick was short, but a 5-yard running into the kicker penalty gave the Wildcats another shot at it. This time the kick was good and Eastmont increased their lead to 10-6 with four minutes left in the first half.

The Chiefs went three and out on their possession as the offense struggled to get things going. But a 36-yard punt by Easton put the ball on the Eastmont 22. The Wildcats managed one first down and had to punt the ball back to the Chiefs with 51 tics left on the clock.

Moses Lake was unable to move the ball into scoring position and trailed by four at intermission.

Eastmont shocked the Moses Lake faithful as the Wildcats received the second half kick at their 18 yard line, then and drove the length of the field for a touchdown to start the third quarter of action.

The dive was aided by a late hit out of bounds penalty on the Chiefs. The PAT was successful and Eastmont led 17-6 with 6:47 left in the third quarter.

Rubio returned the ensuing kick to the Moses Lake 33, but a holding call backed the ball to the Chiefs 23. Moses Lake failed to gain yardage on the first two plays. A Simmons sack on third and 13 forced the Chiefs to punt.

A high snap from center sent Easton leaping for the ball, which he was able to control. But the kick went off the side of his foot for a 3-yard punt and gave the Wildcats possession at the Moses Lake 26. The Chiefs defense came up big again as Rubio intercepted an Eastmont pass on fourth down at the Moses Lake 2-yard line to stop the scoring threat.

The Chiefs were able to get out of a deep whole in their own territory and moved the ball to the Moses Lake 42. But a Simmons interception gave the Wildcats possession at the Eastmont 24.

A face mask penalty on Moses Lake on the play placed the rock at the Wildcat 44 as the third quarter came to an end with Moses Lake trailing 17-6.

Eastmont advanced the ball to the Chiefs 32, but an incomplete pass on fourth and four gave the ball back to the Chiefs.

Moses Lake drove to mid-field but an errant pass by Simmons resulted in another turnover as the Wildcats intercepted the ball. However, the Chiefs got a break on a pass interference call to maintain possession at the Eastmont 35.

A 6-yard run by Cameron Law and an unsportsmanlike penalty on the Wildcats gave Moses Lake a first and goal from the Eastmont 9-yard line. Simmons capped off the drive with a TD run and 2-point conversion to close the gap to 17-14 with 7:40 left in the game.

The Chiefs looked as though they had regained the momentum of the after the score as the Moses Lake defense forced Eastmont to punt from the Wildcats 44.

The Chiefs got another bad break as the ball touched down at the 15 and rolled dead at the Moses Lake 1-yard line.

With three minutes to go in the game and two time outs left, the Chiefs still had time to pull out a come from behind win even though they had to drive 99 yards for the score.

But Simmons turned the ball over one last time on a fumble that was recovered by the Wildcats at the Moses Lake 25 with two minutes left on the clock.

Eastmont looked content to run out the clock, but a breakdown on the defensive, which had spent way too much time on the field the entire game, allowed the Wildcat QB to run the ball up the middle for a score (PAT) to push their lead to 24-14 with 21 seconds to play.

A short kickoff by Eastmont was recovered by the Wildcats as the game came to an end.

"I thought our kids played hard all night long. We had some ups and downs, but we responded well," Griffith said. "If you would have told me we'd commit five turnovers and still have a chance to win the game, I wouldn't have believed it."

Griffith said the team will work on correcting their miscues during practice this week as they get ready to face Sunnyside on the road Friday.

"We'll be working hard to eliminate our errors," he said. "And if we take care of business, I'm sure the kids will bounce back with a win."

The loss to the Eastmont ends the Chiefs three game winning streak and drops Moses Lake to 3-1 in the CBBN and into a three-way tie for first place with the Wildcats and the Eisenhower Cadets.