Warden defeats Kiona-Benton, scores first win

WARDEN - The Warden Cougars have endured an up and down season, plagued by injury and misfortune, but have continued to battle and compete in games.

But their perseverance paid off last Friday in the form of a 32-24 win over the Kiona-Benton Bears, in front of their home fans. After getting bit by the injury bug again the previous week, when senior quarterback Osvaldo Alba re-injured his knee, the Cougs blew a late lead to fall 27-24 against Columbia-Burbank. This past Friday Alba was back on the field and determined to lead Warden to the win column for the first time in the 2013 campaign.

The Cougars came out with an intensity and fire that has been lacking to start games this season and that energy translated into a 10-0 lead at the end of one quarter. The defense stepped up to answer the challenge, holding the Bears scoreless in the first period, applying pressure and controlling the battle at the line of scrimmage.

A weak spot through much of the season for Warden has been their ability to tackle and giving up big plays, but the defensive unit was in rare form Friday, wrapping up and tackling well and not missing assignments which prevented big plays from developing.

"Ulises Avalos, our middle linebacker, was a huge part of our defenses success on Friday. He had 12 total tackles and did a heck of a job sniffing out the ball and making tackles. It seemed like he was all over the field and he was really key in stopping the inside run game of Kiona-Benton," head coach Erik Skone said.

Warden was riding the high of their best first quarter of the season. But as the second quarter began, things began to fall apart around them as has been the story all season. The up and down trend continued when the Bears scored the only touchdown of the second quarter and their defense stifled the run game of Warden that had looked so strong in the first twelve minutes of play. Warden went into the break clinging to a 10-7 lead, looking to rebound in the second half.

The second half began the same way that the first had ended, with the Bears stopping the Cougars run game and forcing an injured Osvaldo Alba to take to the air, but Warden struggled to get back in sync on offense. This left the door open and Kiona-Benton capitalized, putting up 10 points in the early going of the third quarter. With the Bears scoring 17 unanswered points, the score was now 17-10 and Warden was headed for another heartbreaking loss.

Warden responded by rallying behind Alba and running back Nate Cole who began to re-establish the run game and open up the passing lanes for Alba. The Cougars drove down the field and Cole found the end zone for his second rushing touchdown of the contest.

On their next offensive possession the Cougars drove down and got a field goal from Osvaldo's younger brother Orlando Alba who did a little bit of everything on Friday. The field goal made the score 20-17 going into the final quarter.

"Our offensive line played some of the best football they have played all season. The opened up some big holes, especially late in the game when we needed them most, and it was a huge help to our running backs." Skone said.

The Cougars rode that momentum into the fourth quarter, striking first in the final period to go up 26-0, when some unfortunate luck fell on Warden once again. Running back Nate Cole hurt his hamstring early in the quarter and would have to leave the game. In the first three quarters Cole was the go-to-guy for Warden, leading the offense as he carried the ball 24 times for 124 yards and scored two touchdowns.

"Nate had a great game; it was the toughest he has ran all year and it was really impressive to see. The offensive line was blocking well up front and he was finding holes and running great before leaving with an injury after three quarters." Skone said.

With Cole out the Cougars went to the bench and brought in the younger Alba and cousins Jerry Reyes and Luciano Reyes to play running back by committee for the final quarter. After the Bears couldn't get things going on offense, Warden got the ball back and started their next drive deep in their own territory. Without Cole in the game, the Cougars seemed a bit out of sync and fumbled the ball on a run play up the middle at their own 10 yard line, giving the ball back to Kiona-Benton with great field position. They would score easily and make the score 24-26, cutting Warden's lead to just two points with a little over five minutes left to play.

"When Cole went down and our back up running back lost the ball and they capitalized with a touchdown to make it a two point game it gave us a real scare, without a doubt. " Skone said.

The Alba brothers lead the team down the field, controlling the clock the whole way in route to another touchdown for Osvaldo's younger brother, Orlando Alba. This put the Cougars up 32-24 and more importantly, less than two minutes left in the game. The Bears attempted to hurry down the field and score, but the Warden defense stepped up once again and stopped Kiona-Benton in their tracks; making the score 32-24 when the final buzzer sounded and the clock read all zeros.

The weight of a winless season finally lifted off the shoulders of coach Skone, quarterback Osvaldo Alba, and the entire Cougars team.

"It took everyone what seemed like forever to even get back to the locker room after the game, because they were so excited to get the monkey off their back and wanted to stay on the field and celebrate the win." Skone said.

Warden got big games from their key players on Friday including Cole who had a great game before succumbing to injury early in the final quarter. Osvaldo Alba battled through injury and looked sharp throwing the ball with 14 completions on 26 attempts for 211 yards and a score. Orlando Alba really was the most important player for the Cougars on Friday, showcasing his versatility in a high pressure game as he carried the ball eight times for 97 yards, caught seven passes for 129 yards, had a punt return for a touchdown that was called back on a penalty, and kicked four field goals from 32, 35, 36, and 42 yards.

"These kids have a never give up attitude and they are excited for Naches Valley at home next Friday. THey play aggressive man to man defense and they are good at it. We will need to win the individual match-ups. They will put seven guys in the box and try to take away the run, we need to get the ball out quick and play fast and smart football." Skone said.