ACH gets by Wellpinit

COULEE CITY - It was a classic 8-man football track meet as 128 points were hung on the scoreboard Friday night in Coulee City when the Warriors hosted the Redskins in Northeast 1B South action.

And when the dust finally settled, ACH had pulled out a come from behind 66-62 win over Wellpinit.

"It was a beauty of a game," Warrior coach Brandon Walsh said. "We were down 12 points late in the third quarter, which was a bit worrisome. But our guys responded when their backs were against the wall and I couldn't be more proud of them for pulling out the win."

The game got off to a slow start scoring wise as the only points of the first quarter came off a 44-yard run by AJ Kieffer (run failed) to give the Redskins a 6-0 lead.

But the action heated up in the second 12 minutes of play as 30 points were hung on the scoreboard; 18 by ACH, and 12 by Wellpinit. Mitchell Hunt got the Warriors on the board first on a 2-yard TD run (run failed) to even the game 6-6. A 69-yard pass from Drew Isaak to Mike Evans (pass failed) gave ACH its first lead of the contest, 12-6.

The score didn't hold up long as Wellpinit answered back with two Kieffer TD runs of 52 and 34 yards (runs failed) to retake the lead 18-12.

Down by six points late in the second quarter, Isaak connected up with Jon Heathman for a 19-yard pitch and catch (pass failed) to tie the game 18-18 and end the first half scoring.

Although the teams were knotted up at intermission, Walsh thought the Warriors could be playing better ball.

"To tell you the truth ... I was a little disappointed with our defensive play. The guys were making a good effort ... but weren't tackling well," he said. "So I reminded the kids at halftime to play with more intensity and to wrap up the ball carrier."

As cold as it was scoring wise to begin the game, as hot as it was to start the second half of action as 58 points were scored in the third quarter.

The Redskins struck first on a 53-yard run by Kieffer (Kieffer run) to break the tie and go back on top of the Warriors 26-18.

ACH answered back with Hunt's second touchdown of the game, a 30-yard run, (pass failed) to close the gap to 26-24.

Wellpinit increased its lead to double-digits on Kyle McCrae's 22-yard run (Kieffer run) to go up 34-24.

Looking to score on the teams next possession and regain some momentum, Hunt hit pay dirt from 7-yards out (run failed) to get the Warriors back in it, 34-30.

The Redskins pushed the score to 42-30 on a 52-yard McCrae run (Kieffer run). An 18-yard TD pass from Isaak to Hunt (Hunt from Isaak) got ACH within four points, 42-38.

The Warriors appeared to have swung momentum to their side as ACH was right back in the thick of it. But an 84-yard Kieffer kick return (Kieffer run) gave it right back to Wellpinit, 50-38.

ACH determined to stay in the game, answered back with a 51-yard pass from Isaak to Hunt (pass failed), and an 11-yard pass from Isaak to Evans (Heathman from Isaak) to take the lead, 52-50 and close out the third quarter scoring.

The Warriors lead was short-lived however, as the Redskins scored on the ensuing possession on a 49-yard pass from Kieffer to Brodie Ford (run failed) to go back on top of the see-saw battle, 56-52.

Not to be out done, ACH responded with six points (pass failed) on a 16-yard Heathman run to retake the lead, 58-56.

Kieffer scored his sixth touchdown of the game (run failed) with two minutes left to put Wellpinit up 62-58.

The Warriors received the ensuing kick and drove the length of the field for the go ahead score on a 30-yard TD pass from Isaak to Heathman (Hunt from Isaak) to take a 66-62 lead with a little more than a minute left in the game.

"I was worried we scored too quick as there was plenty of time left for them to score," Walsh said. But our defense came up big and forced them to go four and out and we got the ball back and took a knee for the win."

The win over the Redskins improves the Warriors to 5-0 in league play and 7-1 overall. ACH is back in action Friday when team hosts the Pateros Billy Goats in the last regular season game of the year.

"We expect a tough game from Pateros," Walsh said. "They've beaten everyone we have except for Odessa, and have gotten better as the season has progressed."