State tournament qualifier Moses Lake returns to practice field

MOSES LAKE — BJ Mullin ended last season in a boot.

Wednesday morning, the senior defensive back skipped onto the field for a 7-on-7 drill with the exuberance of someone who had waited a long time to get back between the lines. He urged the first team defense to be “crisp and clean.”

And — first day of practice notwithstanding — that level of play came in flashes. Mullin even capped the drill with an interception on a tipped pass.

“It’s been a long recovery, long recovery ... spring I was limited, but now I feel good,” he said. “I told my teammates that I wouldn’t cut my hair until I was 100 percent. I let them cut me up. I’m ready to roll.”

Mullin, an all-league first-teamer a season ago, is one of several returners on the defensive side of the ball for Moses Lake, a team that finished second overall in the Columbia Basin Big Nine in that category in 2016. Payton Castro and Beau Mauseth come back as first team defenders, along with second-teamers Jon Ochoa, David Hersch, Hunter Cruz and Caleb Fischer.

“We can be great if we stay healthy, keep all our guys healthy,” Mullin said. “All returning starters on the defensive backs. We can be as good as we want to be. We’ve just got to use our experience to our advantage.”

Head coach Todd Griffith was optimistic about an offense that also boasts experience.

“We’re coming back with some guys that were play-makers for us last year,” he said. “Gio (Walker) had a bunch of touchdowns, Kyler (Haneberg) had a bunch of touchdowns, BJ had a bunch of touchdowns, Brandon (Griffith) returning quarterback ... started eight games last year so, yeah, I’m feeling pretty good.

“Coming back with your quarterback that’s really important.”

Should Moses Lake desire a different look, Dominic Signorelli can be called upon to play quarterback, shifting Griffith to wide receiver where he played his sophomore season. Griffith was able to sky for a touchdown reception in the corner of the end zone during one of those instances Wednesday.

“We think when you’ve got BJ and Brandon and Gio and Kyler on the edge, you can’t single one guy up,” he said. “You’ve got to play us pretty even and then if we can get our running game established, our offensive line comes together and we get that solidified we think, whether Brandon’s at the quarterback or Dominic either one, we think that we’re pretty good.”

Recently, Moses Lake has been the constant in a volatile CBBN.

The Chiefs have qualified for the state tournament in three out of the last four seasons, reaching the quarterfinals in 2015.

A return trip in 2017 hinges on health and execution. The Chiefs have the experience and talent and will be tested early with non-league road games at Chiawana and Coeur d’Alene.

“We’ve got kids that want to win and know how to do it,” Griffith said. “That usually transpires to wins. We’re in the same boat again. We have good kids.”

2017 schedule (all games at 7 p.m.)

Sept. 1: Moses Lake at Chiawana

Sept. 8: Moses Lake vs. Hanford

Sept. 15: Moses Lake at Coeur d’Alene

Sept. 22: Moses Lake at Eastmont

Sept. 29: Moses Lake vs. Eisenhower

Oct. 6: Moses Lake vs. Davis

Oct. 13: Moses Lake at Sunnyside

Oct. 20: Moses Lake at Wenatchee

Oct. 27: Moses Lake vs. West Valley