Chiefs, Grizzlies tangle Friday for CBBN lead
MOSES LAKE — It’s pedigree versus potential Friday night at Lions Field.
Upstart Sunnyside — boasting a 6-0 record — travels to Moses Lake for a game that will entrench the winner atop the Columbia Basin Big Nine (CBBN) standings. The Grizzlies, although competitive within the league a year ago, finished 1-5 in the CBBN after a 4-0 start in non-league play.
In 2014 the Grizzlies won no games.
But Moses Lake head coach Todd Griffith knows that the name on the front of the jersey doesn’t matter. It’s the names on the back that make an impact, and Sunnyside has plenty of play-makers.
“We think they’re a good football team,” Griffith said. “We watched them on film and they run around hard, they play hard, they’re in the right spots. I don’t think they’ve played as tough a game as they’ll get Friday night yet, but we’ve got to be our best.”
Moses Lake has turned the corner after a three-week gauntlet to start the season. The optics of a lopsided loss to Chiawana in Week 1 look a little better as the Riverhawks have climbed to as high as No. 4 in the Associated Press Washington High School Football Poll. Hanford is no slouch and Coeur d’Alene is a strong 5A school.
The Chiefs survived without quarterback Brandon Griffith in their Big Nine opener against Eastmont, grinding out a 12-6 victory, before returning to form in blowout road wins at Eisenhower and Davis.
“We’ve been used to playing in tough games, heated games where we’re playing good teams and we think we know how to win against a team that’s fairly decent,” defensive lineman Chandler Fluaitt said. “We have them (Sunnyside) at home so that will be another good thing on our side, too.”
Sunnyside’s success is due in large part to continuity. Where most CBBN teams lost key players, the Grizzlies returned the majority of their 2015 roster.
Quarterback Nico Valle is second in the Big Nine in passing, while three Sunnyside backs are in the top 10 in rushing: Myles Alvarez, Carlos Ramirez and Jaime Alvarez.
However, the biggest threat to Moses Lake, according to Griffith, is found on the outside.
“Hugo Reyes,” Griffith said, without hesitation. “He’s a big kid, 6’3” or so. Has great control of his body, catches a lot of balls over the top of guys.”
At the end of Wednesday’s practice, Griffith told the players huddled around him that Sunnyside was hungry. Years in the cellar do that.
Friday will decide if Moses Lake’s reign will continue for the time being or if a new team will snatch the mantle.
“If we run to the ball, the ball’s going to start getting on the ground and turnovers are going to happen and that’s going to help us win the game,” Fluaitt said.