Defendng 1B state champion ACH Warriors ready for another run

COULEE CITY — The closer a team can play to home this time of year the better, and winning Saturday afternoon’s game against Tekoa-Rosalia will go a long way to another home game for the defending 1B state champion Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors.

Either way, it’s “Just Win Baby” from here on out and ACH coach Brandon Walsh said his Warriors (9-1) are ready make another run to the Tacoma Dome.

“No question, we talk about staying focused and learning from last year where we rebounded from a regular season loss to Odessa,” Walsh said. “The kids get it. They’re smart and they’ve been successful. They know what it takes to get to the elite level.

“From Day 1, our goal was to be peaking Week 14 and it feels like we’re on the right track.”

Tekoa-Rosalia is a run-the-A-gap type team, smash mouth football straight up the middle, which is a lot of what the defending champions see every time they play Odessa. In eight-man football, it’s everybody to the ball with even a greater demand on creating turnovers for your offense, but more importantly, taking away scoring opportunities for the opposition.

“The intangible is going to be whether it’s defense or special teams, if we can generate some turnovers,” said Walsh, whose program has won state titles two of the past three years. “We have to create opportunities whether it’s an interception or covering an onside kick or whatever. We have to get the ball back. The more we can take away their opportunities to score, the more successful we’ll be.”

The Timberwolves (7-1) running game is centered around Kale Struble, a 6-foot, 155-pound sophomore and quarterback Riley McLain, a 6-foot junior. They also like to sling it around a bit and have a definite height advantage with 6-5, 200-pound tight end Craig Mueller, who they’ll see on the defensive line as well.

“They like to throw it down the field to (Mueller). He’s a Payton Nielsen type where they throw it up high and let him go get it,” said Walsh, whose team set several 1B state championship game records last year.

“We have to play good, assignment defense and make sure we stay home.

“It’s eight-man football, but we have to make sure we tackle well. If we play or assignments, we’ll be fine.”

The Warriors offense is centered around quarterback Maguire Isaak, who’s averaging 115 yards per game passing and is always a threat to go the distance from anywhere on the field when he pulls it down to run. But they also have running back Hayden Loomis (5-11, 165, sr.) and Brayton Schafer (6-2, 185). Loomis is the lightning with the speed and Schafer is the thunder with the ability to pound the ball between the tackles.

The defending state champions also have senior Gage Burchill at wide receiver. Burchill is just 5-9, but he runs a great route and has been an Isaak favorite this year in the passing attack.

“Things kind of start with Maguire, there’s no question he’s good,” Walsh said. “When he plays well, we play well.

“But it’s not just him. Down the stretch, for us to be successful, we’re going to need big games from Loomis, Burchill at wide receiver. Schafer is a game-changer when he gets it going.”

Kickoff is at 2 p.m. at the Brick House in Coulee City.