CBBN title hopes washed away

WENATCHEE - On a rain-soaked night in Wenatchee the Moses Lake offense took a step back after four straight games of scoring over 30 points.

Columbia Basin Big Nine leading rusher Nathan Ball was held to just 64 yards and the Chiefs fell in their showdown with the first place Panthers, 20-3.

Both teams had trouble hanging on to the football in the constant downpour, but it was Wenatchee who made enough plays to remain unbeaten in league play.

"The kids I thought came out ready to play," head coach Todd Griffith said. "I don't know if we were trying to hard or if ... I know Wenatchee's a good football and I know that they played extremely physical.

"I think that they were a better team than what we've played against in Coeur d'Alene so I knew going in it was going to be a hard game and the kids came out and played hard. I don't think anyone quit I just think it wasn't our night."

Wenatchee (5-0, 7-1) opened the scoring with 5:10 left in the first quarter when quarterback Brandon Graves hit Killion McGinnis for a 37-yard touchdown. It was Wenatchee's first real shot downfield after several runs and short passes to the flats.

Moses Lake (3-1, 6-2) got its first break late in the first quarter when Wenatchee punt returner Chase Resch had the ball slip through his hands. Moses Lake's Ryan Pena recovered the fumble, setting the Chiefs up at the Panther 14 yard line.

However, Moses Lake couldn't get into the end zone and had to settle for a 19-yard Rehn Reiley field goal.

Both teams struggled to move the ball throughout the second quarter. Wes Harrington threw the first of his three interceptions and Wenatchee failed to convert on fourth down.

After two exemplary starts, Harrington struggled against the Panthers, going 7 of 20 for 67 yards.

"He's only a sophomore and we put a lot on his plate that night," Griffith said. "It was a very physical game and we expect a lot out of him and he responded in a lot of ways and I know that with a wet ball and a wet field and I know everything was not the greatest circumstances for any quarterback."

After a Moses Lake three-and-out to start the third quarter, the Chiefs received their second gift of the night when Resch fumbled for the second time on Wenatchee's first play.

A Ridge Montgomery reception set up the Chiefs with first and goal at the 7 yard line. But the Wenatchee defense stiffened again and forced another Reiley field goal attempt that was blocked.

"Both times that we were there I think a field goal was OK," Griffith said. "I wish we would've had a touchdown both times. We had our opportunities. The defense played extremely well. They kept us in it all the way."

Resch redeemed his two fumbles with an 80-yard touchdown run with 4:29 left in the third quarter to put the Panthers up 14-3. It looked as if Resch was bottled up in the middle of the defense before he was able to reverse field and find a lane up the sideline.

Resch finished with 197 yards on the ground and two interceptions on defense.

A Joe Sells 3-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter put the game out of Moses Lake's reach.

"I think Wenatchee smelled blood a little bit and kind of got after us there at the end, but they played just as hard as they did in the beginning as they did at the end I felt," Griffith said.

Moses Lake will host Davis on Oct. 31 with a chance to clinch a state playoff berth. The Pirates are 7-1 and have scored over 70 points in their last two games.

"I don't think anything about them putting up a bunch of points, not at all," Griffith said.

Warden 46, Soap Lake 6

SOAP LAKE - Warden converted turnovers into points in its game against Soap Lake and the Cougars routed the Eagles 46-6 for their second win in a row.

"We had a lot of kids that played good," head coach Erik Skone. "Probably the thing that we won was the battle of the turnovers. They turned the ball over and we didn't and then we capitalized on a couple turnovers and that was the difference."

Currently, Warden is trying to fight off Kittitas and Mabton for the No. 2 seed out of the Central Washington 2B South. The No. 2 seed is coveted as Skone and the Cougars would like a first round home game and the opportunity to avoid playing either Brewster or Okanogan on the road.

"Either we get a home game or we get an away game and no matter what we want the home game," Skone said.

Warden will close the season Oct. 31 on the road against Mabton.

"We've got to play good," Skone said. "We can't just go down there and lay an egg. We've got to go down there and play some football."

Quincy 34, Othello 6

OTHELLO - Quincy scored its fourth win in a row on the road against Othello, 34-6.

An impressive upset as the Huskies were ranked in the Associated Press top 10 entering the season.

"All phases of our game went well," head coach Stephen Wallace said. "We had a blocked punt for a touchdown, we had an interception ran back for a touchdown and we scored three on offense so it's hard to lose games like that."

Andy Vargas led the Quincy rushing attack with 109 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback John Lindquist didn't complete a pass, but did run for 101 yards and a touchdown. Lindquist also led the Jacks with 12 total tackles on defense.

Steven Gomez added 63 yards and a touchdown.

Despite the four wins in a row, Quincy will need to keep winning and hope some top teams are upset for a chance at the playoffs.

"We definitely hurt ourselves early when we were missing some players and we lost a couple close games," Wallace said.

Quincy is on the road this week against Wapato.

No. 6 Prosser 19, Ephrata 14

EPHRATA - Ephrata was unable to complete a late comeback bid against No. 6 Prosser and lost to the Mustangs at home, 19-14.

After trailing 19-0 in the third quarter, Loyd Burleson broke a 55-yard touchdown run to get the Tigers on the board. Drew Clark's 82-yard touchdown run with 10:11 to go in the fourth quarter gave Ephrata a chance at the upset.

However, a late interception ended the Tigers' comeback.

"It was kind of a tale of two halves for us," head coach Jay Mills said. "I think we had one first down in the first half and that was on a penalty. We must've had 10 bad snaps and another 10 dropped snaps by the quarterback so we couldn't do anything on offense in the first half."

In a torrential downpour both teams had a difficult time holding on to the ball. Prosser fumbled three times - losing all three - and Ephrata lost three of their seven fumbles.

While the Ephrata offense worked out its kinks, the defense held the high-scoring Mustangs to 12 points in the first half.

"The defense played awesome," Mills said. "It was the best they played all year and they had some short fields against that offense and were able to hold them."

Burleson was 6 of 11 for 43 yards and had one interception.

Ephrata will travel to face No. 2 Ellensburg Oct. 31.

"Our team is excited and we'll play anybody," Mills said.