Warriors rally to defeat White Swan, 28-14, in opener

MATTAWA - White Swan proved to be a pesky opponent once again for Wahluke in high school football last Friday night, but the Warriors rallied in the second half to win the season opener, 28-14.

Running back Steven Machuca led the Warrior comeback with touchdowns of six yards and nine yards. He set up one of the scores with a fourth-and-31 pass reception.

"Steven made some huge plays in the second half," coach Brycen Bye said.

Quarterback Arturo Salazar finished off the scoring in the fourth quarter with a one-yard plunge.

It was a typical White Swan-Wahluke game. It was more like three games in one. Wahluke won the first game 7-0, White Swan took the second, 14-0, and Wahluke won the third 21-0.

"Overall, it was great to come away with a win. White Swan is a quality opponent," Bye said. "Playing at home was a huge boost for our team, they really felt the crowd support during the game.

The start was all Warriors. They came out of the locker-room on fire and flattened White Swan defensively and offensively.

The Cougars took the opening kickoff to the 30-yard line but were pushed backwards by the Warrior defense. The Cougars punted to their own 40, and the Warriors exploded. Martin Tello sprinted to the end zone from 27 yards.

Just as suddenly as the Warriors ignited, they cooled. White Swan grabbed the momentum and scored 14 points in the second quarter to lead 14-7 at the half.

"We started the second half poorly, but the team stepped up and scored 21 unanswered points," Bye said.

Machuca led all rushers with 18 carries for 119 yards and two touchdowns. Tello carried five times for 31 yards, and Anaya carried two times for 26 yards and one touchdown.

Arturo Salazar was 3-for-8 for 76 yards passing. Collin Ahmann went 1-3 for 23 yards.

Jonah Gallacci made eight tackles, including two for loss, and he recovered a fumble. Juan Mendoza had six tackles, and Michael Coulson had four tackles and two sacks.

"I'm really proud of the way our team played in the second half," Bye said. "The thing I am most pleased with was our entire team effort. Every player contributed, and each player played extremely hard."

"Jonah played a great game defensively, fighting double teams but still recorded 10 tackles," Bye added. "Eduardo Ortiz played only his second varsity game and made some monster blocks on our long runs. Arturo played a good game, and made really good decisions. He made a clutch throw to Steven Machuca on fourth-and-31 in the middle of the third quarter. That was the turning point of the game."

The Warriors will return to action next Friday night on their home field against Mabton.