Warden overmatched in loss to Okanogan

WARDEN — Edgar Hernandez never thought he would get into a varsity game at quarterback for Warden.

But in the second quarter, starter Ryan Arredondo was blindsided on a blitz and came up favoring his right shoulder.

Hernandez and the overmatched Cougars could not stop Okanogan and fell in their season opener 49-6.

“He (Hernandez) was a little starry-eyed there in the beginning, but he made some positive things happen and so he’s going to be fine,” head coach Robert Arredondo said.

For Ryan Arredondo, it was an abrupt end to his first high school start.

The Cougars, for the most part, were stymied on offense. Ryan Arredondo and 6-foot-3 wide receiver Zach Richins looked to be developing a rapport on a drive early in the game that featured multiple third down conversions, but stalled near midfield.

“Even though Ryan got injured we’re going to look forward to our new quarterback,” Richins said.

However, Ryan Arredondo absorbed several “welcome to varsity” hits and eventually was knocked out of the game, and the foreseeable future.

“It looks like it’s a broken clavicle, a right broken clavicle.” Robert Arredondo said. “So we’re looking at about 6-8 weeks so it’s a big blow.”

Okanogan did much of its damage on the ground.

Julian Cates scored twice, from 13 yards and two yards out, and Martin Grooms broke free on a counter for a 48-yard touchdown in the first half.

The Bulldogs were neat offensively, scoring 14 points in each of the first two quarters.

Grooms provided the exclamation point, returning the second-half kickoff for a touchdown.

The Cougars put together their best drive of the night late in the fourth quarter.

Richins drew two pass interference penalties to move Warden just outside of the red zone. Later, Hernandez was able to loft a ball that Richins laid out to pull in for Warden’s first touchdown of the season.

“We just needed to score,” Richins said.

Score by quarters

O — 14 14 21 0 49

W — 0 0 0 6 6

Scoring

0 — Cates 13 run (Ramos kick)

0 — Grooms 48 run (Ramos kick

0 — Cates 2 run (Ramos kick)

0 — Goetz 72 pass from Nelson (Ramos kick)

0 — Grooms kickoff return (Ramos kick)

0 — Jessee 22 pass from Nelson (Ramos kick)

0 — Watts 24 pass from Nelson (Ramos kick)

W — Richins 21 pass from Hernandez (2-point failed)

Chiawana 24, Moses Lake 14

PASCO — Moses Lake could not overcome a 14-0 deficit on the road and lost to Chiawana 24-14.

Gio Walker grabbed two fourth-quarter touchdown receptions, the second drew the Chiefs within three points.

A 37-yard touchdown run by Tayden Jenkins iced the game for the Riverhawks.

Score by quarters

ML — 0 0 0 14 14

C — 7 0 7 10 24

Ephrata 21, Cashmere 10

CASHMERE — Newly-minted quarterback Zac Berryman threw two touchdowns and Ephrata beat Cashmere 21-10.

The Tigers outscored the Bulldogs 21-3 after trailing 7-0 after the first quarter.

Jakob Oxos caught eight balls for 62 yards and a touchdown.

Score by quarters

E — 0 14 0 7 21

C — 7 0 3 0 10

Royal 42, Ellensburg 0

ELLENSBURG — Royal asserted itself as one of the best teams in Washington regardless of classification, beating Ellensburg 42-0.

Sawyer Jenks threw five touchdowns passes, three to Corbin Christensen.

The Knights led 28-0 at halftime

Score by quarters

R — 7 21 14 0 42

E — 0 0 0 0 0

Asotin 34, Lind-Ritzville/Sprague 20

ASOTIN — Lind-Ritzville/Sprague could not dig itself out of a deficit and lost to Asotin 34-20.

The Broncos scored 14 fourth-quarter points to draw a little closer.

Bryce Esser connected with Shontz Yaeger for a 40-yard touchdown to even the game 6-6.

However, Asotin scored 28 unanswered points.

Score by quarters

LRS — 0 6 0 14 20

A — 6 14 14 0 34

Other Basin scores

Tonasket 54, Soap Lake 6

Quincy 35, Chelan 7

Zillah 28, Wahluke 0