ACH loses heartbreaker to open season

COULEE CITY - Almira/Coulee-Hartline showcased their offensive prowess in the season opener last Friday against Columbia-Inchelium. but despite putting up 32 points and over 350 yards of total offense, the Warriors fell short in a closely contested game.

Head coach Brandon Walsh knew this would be a transitional year for his squad after losing 10 seniors to graduation, resulting in him having to start underclassman at many of the key skill positions.

"We have such a young squad this year, we know we're going to make some mistakes." Walsh said. The Warriors struck first with a 30 yard touchdown pass from Dallas Isaak to Austin Gerard. ACH kept the momentum going and jumped out to a 16-14 lead at halftime behind the play of quarterback Dallas Isaak who accounted for both of the teams first half touchdowns and filled up the stat sheet on offense and defense.

After their strong showing in front of the hometown crowd during the first two quarters, the boys in red and black came out flat after the break and were unable to score in the third quarter. Columbia capitalized by putting up two touchdowns while the Warriors remained stagnant. ACH wouldn't go down without a fight though, as they scored twice in the fourth quarter. The first score was a 39 yard run by Isaak, followed up by a 9 yard touchdown pass, again from Isaak to Gerard. The surge of offense from the Warriors made the score 32-28 late in the game and it was up to the ACH defense to hold off Columbia and start the season off in the win column. It was Columbia's running back, Holford, who ran in his fourth touchdown of the contest with only 41 seconds left in the game to put his team up 36-32. The Warriors quickly drove all the way down to the 10 yard line and set themselves up for a final shot at the win with 3 seconds left. On the final play of the game, Isaak's pass was deflected, leaving no time on the game clock and Columbia up by 4.

ACH was prolific on offense with more total yards, first downs, passes completed and passing touchdowns than their opponent. But it was three turnovers that impacted the Warriors performance most. While Columbia was careful with the ball and did not commit a single turnover, ACH threw two interceptions and lost a fumble.

"The three turnovers hurt us. The kids needed to be more careful with the football in order for us to be able to win that game." Walsh said. It was a breakout game for quarterback Dallas Isaak in the Warriors losing effort as he accounted for 88% of the team's total offense. He was effective throwing and running the ball, with 94 passing yards, two touchdowns through the air and 29 carries for 221 yards on the ground. Dallas also added 10 tackles on defense, playing both sides of the ball and demonstrated great stamina. Other key performances were turned in by Cory Boutain who had 12 tackles and a sack, and Austin Gerard who added two receiving touchdowns. It was a close game all the way up to the end, and the young Warriors team showed resilience throughout the contest.

"We were very pleased with how our kids competed. However, when we compete as hard as we did we feel like we can improve over the course of the season as these kids learn." Walsh said.