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MOSES LAKE — Tony Esquivel, Wenatchee’s top pass catcher, walked into Lions Field with 473 receiving yards.

He left with 472.

Esquivel caught three balls, but all came near the line of scrimmage, and the sound tackling of Moses Lake’s defense resulted in minus-1 yards. Darius Carlson, Wenatchee’s other receiver, netted 7 yards on three receptions.

The Panthers’ pair was the latest batch of receivers to be limited by the Columbia Basin Big Nine’s No. 1 defense. An impressive feat since the Chiefs graduated three starting defensive backs last season.

“We knew that we had kids that could play the position,” head coach Todd Griffith said. “Whether or not they would put the time in to be good at it, that’s the whole story. Did I expect them to play this well? Absolutely.”

BJ Mullin, Jon Ochoa, Mario Yepiz, Joey Robertson, Blake Pugh and Hunter Cruz have comprised a unit that has held most of the CBBN’s top receivers in check. Outside of the four West Valley players on the receiving leader-board, who Moses Lake has not played yet, the Chiefs have held every top receiver they have faced to less than 50 yards besides Sunnyside’s Nate Maltos.

“I think the preseason made us a lot better so we started gelling,” said Hunter Cruz, who converted from linebacker to cornerback. “The first game we were a little bit shaky, but after that we played good.”

That preseason included games with Chiawana, which climbed to as high as No. 4 in the Associated Press Class 4A poll; Hanford and Garrett Horner, the No. 1 passer in the Mid-Columbia Confrence; and Coeur d’Alene, whose starting quarterback Cole Yankoff is a verbal commit to the University of Oregon.

Moses Lake lost all three games, but the adversity provided good preparation for league play.

“It gave us a little attitude adjustment,” Griffith said. “The main thing was I was worried coming into the season that we were going to be too big of heads and thinking that it’s going to be easy again and league champs again. So I think that kind of knocked some sense into us a little bit early, which was good.”

Moses Lake will have a final regular season test Friday at West Valley — the No. 1 offense in the CBBN. The Rams have four players on the receiving leader-board: Justin VanDeBrake, Cody Allen, Quinton Stromme and David Lindgren.

To limit a balanced offense such as West Valley’s it will take a strong effort from all levels of the defense, starting up front.

“We may not get them early, but I guarantee by the time the game goes on we’ve got enough guys that we can rotate in there (defensive line) that we keep our guys fresh and they always pin their ears back and get after it pretty good,” Griffith said.