Wahluke puts up good half but falls to Zillah
Coach Mike Foristiere encourages his players to stay in the game after Zillah's second touchdown.
MATTAWA — The Wahluke Warriors had a lot of fight but not enough talent or mental toughness last Friday to beat an elite-class football program and fell to Zillah, 56-14, in the SCAC cross-over playoffs.
So ended the second season under coach Mike Foristiere. He saw his program improve over last year, finishing third in the South Central A Conference East instead of fourth. It won two crucial league games on the road.
And although the score may indicate otherwise, the Warriors battled hard against Zillah’s fifth-ranked Leopards. They trailed only 21-6 at the half and just missed their second touchdown approaching halftime.
For a while Zillah wondered what it had run into. After scoring in three plays to start the game, the Leopards were went sent reeling by Wahluke’s ground attack on the Warriors’ first drive.
The Warriors drove 70 yards and took six minutes off the clock to make the score 7-6. They even ran through the Leopards for three fourth down conversions. The score came on a 3-yard run by Jason Cruz.
Cruz had a big night individually. He pounded for 160 yards on 16 carries.
The Warriors got out of character, with a pass play, on their next possession and turned the ball over on downs. Their last drive of the half was like the first. It was long and time consuming, but it died on fourth down at the Zillah 6-yard line after the Warriors tried to pass again.
That was when Zillah’s mental toughness took over. Wahluke’s was spent. Zillah built its lead to 34-6 before Wahluke scored again in the fourth period.
This time Warrior Daniel Corrales accounted for the game’s longest scoring play, sprinting 57 yards to the end zone.
“Our kids played hard, but when you are missing six starters, it is hard to overcome a very good team,” Foristiere said. “They played as hard as they could, but we could not finish drives on offense and our defense just gave up too many big plays.”
Over the course of the year, Foristiere lost six regulars, including his own son, to injuries. Still he thought the team and its leadership grew.
“I want to thank our seniors and let them know how special they are to me and the other coaches on the staff and how they left a path for the younger players get better,” Foristiere said.
As was the case all year, the Warriors were strong on offense and not so strong on defense. They couldn’t stop Leopard quarterback Trey Delp, who passed for 279 yards and four touchdowns.
The Warriors produced 440 total yards against the Leopards. Corrales was the second-leading rusher with 109 yards on 11 carries. Brandon Anaya ran 11 times for 56 yards, David Pineda had 37 yards on nine carries, Daniel Miron had 14 on two carries, and Jose Alejo carried five times for 22 yards. Quarterback Jose Madrigal completed two of six passes for 42 yards.
Foristiere announced Sunday that five Warriors made the All-SCAC East selections, led by first team offensive guard Felix Jimenez.
Four made the second team. They included offensive guard Luis Contreras, and running back Jason Cruz, who rushed for 1,287 yards.
Defensive lineman David Pineda made the second team, as did linebacker Daniel Corrales. Pineda was in on more than 70 tackles. Corrales participated in 102 and recovered two fumbles and made one interception.