Wahluke struggles in Chelan loss

MATTAWA — Wahluke football coach Mike Foristiere believes his boys can play winning football, and he hopes they get around to it for the last three league games.

“For two weeks now I have heard from the opposing coach how hard my kids play, but how we make mistakes at the wrong time. So with that being said, our goal is to get to the playoffs, and that is what we will work on,” Foristiere said after another disappointment last Friday.

Chelan defeated the Warriors, 28-14, in front of a Wahluke homecoming crowd. It was the Goats’ first win after five straight losses. They posted 14 unanswered points in the third period to add to a 7-6 halftime lead.

The Warriors now look to their final three games to salvage their season. They can land a cross-over playoff game by taking two wins in those three games.

This Friday’s game with River View should be an opportunity for one of those wins. The Panthers are having a down year and will be smarting from a 76-0 steamrolling at Royal.

The challenge for the Warriors is that this game will be at River View. They have won only one road game last year and this.

After River View, Wahluke will host Kiona-Benton and then travel to Burbank.

Foristiere was happy with his team’s defensive effort against Chelan. He noted Daniel Corrales and David Pineda led the tackling with 15 and 11 stops respectively.

The Warriors tried only a few passes and missed on all of them. On the ground they amassed 335 yards. Jason Cruz led the rushers with 114 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries.

Brandon Anaya 13 carried times for 57 yards, David Pineda had eight carries for 76 yards, Jose Alejo ran seven times for 36 yards, Corrales carried six times for 42 yards and one touchdown and Daniel Miron had three carries for 10 yards.