Warden loses close one to Columbia Burbank

It has been a tough road through the 2013 season for the Cougars since losing starting quarterback Osvaldo Alba in week one, as Warden has come close, but fallen short in every contest thus far. With Alba finally returning to the line-up they looked to buck the trend last Friday against Columbia Burbank and came out playing better football than they have in weeks.

After a strong first half the Cougars led 17-6 in the third quarter; with victory in their grasps, Warden fell on hard times once again as Alba re-injured his knee and things began to crumble around them, in route to a 27-14 heartbreaking loss.

"Osvaldo was playing great and was throwing a great ball with accuracy and velocity that led us to a 17-6 lead in the third quarter. We were driving again to put the game out of reach when Columbia made a great play to get an interception and turn the tide." head coach Erik Skone said.

Following the interception, the Cougars put together a drive early in the fourth quarter when the unthinkable happened, again; and Alba was hit after a throw by a defender and overextended his injured knee. He was forced to leave the game and the Cougars had to shuffle the line-up around, moving Osvaldo's younger brother Orlando Alba from wide receiver to running back and Nathan Cole from running back to quarterback.

After the untimely injury Warden lost the lead and was left to play catch-up in the final quarter.

"I think Osvaldo will be back on Friday when we take on Kiona-Benton at home. He is playing without an ACL right now, with the knee just braced up, but he could walk after the game on Friday and seemed confident he could return this season. He is a really tough kid and it shows in how he approaches the game." Skone said.

Trailing by 10 points with just four minutes left to play, the make-shift offensive unit put together an 80 yard scoring drive capped off by a quarterback keeper by Cole for a touchdown. This gave the ball back to Columbia with under three minutes to play and by utilizing all three of their timeouts and getting a pivotal stop on third and one, the Cougars forced a punt.

After a great kick that pinned them back on their own eight yard line, Warden went to work, again with the odds stacked against them. Cole and the younger Alba drove the team down the field, getting as far as the Columbia 30 yard line with just seconds remaining. As they tried to position themselves for a field goal that would tie the game, Cole threw an interception that would seal the Cougars fate and keep them winless on the season.

"There were a lot of mistakes made during the game, and it didn't come down to one play. Our guys fought and battled and displayed great effort on Friday to make it a close game right up until the final whistle. Nathan Cole played great running the ball and passing when we needed him to and Todd Kisler had a strong game at wide receiver, but we just ran short on time at the end." Skone said.

With three weeks left in the season, the Cougars will get their leader back when Osvaldo Alba takes the field and plays through injury, in an attempt to get Warden in the win column. The next two games against Kiona-Benton and Naches Valley will be at home before they hit the road for a crossover game against an opponent to be determined. With no shortage of heart, the Cougars will battle through the final stretch of the season in hopes of getting a win and restoring a sense of pride for all their hard work during the 2013 campaign.

"We've got to continue to work together and fight to get a win. We have a good group of guys, who are really great teammates; we just haven't quite been able to get over the hump yet. It won't be easy, if anything it will probably only get harder from here, but we need to move forward and not worry about past mistakes and get in the win column." Skone said.