ACH comes out firing on all cylinders, crushing Naselle in 1B quarterfinal
MONTESANO — Scoring 40 points in the first quarter, 60 in the first 24 minutes, has a way of making any visiting team feel all warm and fuzzy.
If you’re going to go all that way, you might as well bring your A-game. No. 5 Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors (10-2) unloaded the gear Saturday morning at Montesano High School, then unloaded on No. 3 Naselle 60-32 to advance to the 1B semifinals with its most complete game of the season.
Warriors quarterback Maguire Isaak had a highlight reel first quarter, scoring on touchdown runs of 83 and 90 yards to go along with a couple of touchdown passes to Hayden Loomis and Payton Nielsen, and that was just to get started.
Isaak completed 5-of-6 passes for 155 yards and three touchdown. The 6-foot, 175-pound junior also rushed 226 yards on 11 carries and finished up five combined touchdowns on the day. Loomis gave the Warriors some added pop, rushing for 128 on 11 carries and three touchdowns.
“The kids were ready to play and it showed,” ACH coach Brandon Walsh said. “It’s always our plan to get out fast, that’s how we’ve coached the game. We were just faster than them. We got to the edge and were gone and picking up yardage in big chunks.”
ACH scored on the second play of the game when Isaak the distance from 83 yards out, showcasing some of that speed Walsh was talking about. The eight-man kickoff game is a cat-and-mouse game of pooch kicks and onside efforts. The Warriors made it pay off on the ensuing kickoff when it recovered the onside kick.
Three plays later, Loomis punched it in for the first of his three TDs in the game. The Warriors come up with a big stop on defense and converted on a 90-yard run by Isaak, who had 173 yards rushing in the first four minutes of the game.
“Isaak had a great game. Payton (Nielsen) had two big catches for touchdowns,” said Walsh, whose team was up 24-0 in the first five minutes. “I thought our linebackers played really well stopping their running game. They tried to run right up the middle on us, but they shut it down.”
ACH finished with 582 yards in total offense, with 427 of that coming on the ground. When they did throw it, the Warriors averaged 31 yards a catch. Nielsen had to big day with two catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Loomis caught two passes for 36 yards and a touchdown.
Naselle trailed 32-0 in the first quarter before Erik Lund punched it in from four yards out, but by that time the damage was done.
Gage Burchill led the defense with 6.5 tackles and a sack. In fact, the Warriors defense was equally as impressive as the offense, holding Naselle to just one yard rushing and 302 total yards.
ACH (10-2) will play the Lummi Nation (9-3) in Bellingham on Saturday in one semifinal. Odessa (11-0) and Sunnyside Christian (12-0) will play the other 1B semifinal game in Pasco.
ACH 40 20 0 0 - 60
Naselle 6 12 6 8 - 32
Scoring summary
ACH - Maguire Isaak 83 run (Isaak run)
ACH - Hayden Loomis 2 run (Gage Burchill pass from Isaak)
ACH - Maguire 90 run (Payton Nielsen pass from Isaak)
ACH - Nielsen 50 pass from Isaak (Isaak run
Nas - Erik Lund 4 run (Run fails
ACH - Loomis 18 pass from Isaak (Parker Zappone pass from Isaak)
Nas - Ethan Lindstrom for 8 pass from Cole Dorman (pass fails)
ACH - Loomis 9 run ( Brayton Schafer pass from Isaak)
ACH - Nielsen 60 pass from Isaak (pass fails)
Nas - Antonio Nolan 1 run (run fails)
ACH - Loomis 75 run (run fails)
Nas - Josh Townsen 11 pass from Dorman (pass fails)
Nas - Lindstrom 4 pass from (Lindstrom pass from Dorman pass)