ACH, Royal roll into their state semifinal games with a head of steam
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Almira/Coulee-Hartline quarterback Maguire Isaak finds room up the sideline and rushes 62 yards for a touchdown against Crescent.
Considering the fact the defending 1B state champion Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors set the new eight-man state records for most points scored in the championship game (84) and the most total yards (722) in a title game last year at the Tacoma Dome, it shouldn’t seem that far out-of-reach.
But their 100-point scoring effort, which included 92 unanswered points, in last week’s 1B quarterfinal victory over Crescent sent a loud and clear message, “It’s our championship, until someone takes it from us,” to the remaining three teams left in the tournament.
ACH plays No. 3 Naselle in the 1 p.m. game at the Apple Bowl in Wenatchee. Top-seeded Odessa faces No. 5 Quilcene in the 4 p.m. game.
Warrior coach Brandon Walsh, whose program has won the 1B state title two of the past three years, will tell you the only numbers that matter are the ones on the scoreboard. But last week’s scoring effort was one to remember. Maguire Isaak and Hayden Loomis accounted for eight of ACH’s 13 touchdowns in the 100-16 rout.
“I don’t plan to play in college. I’m just going to WSU to study, so the quarters are ticking down on my football career,” said Isaak, who was 21 of 41 for 368 yards and eight touchdown passes to go with four rushing TDs and 243 yards on the ground in the 2017 championship game.
Naselle (9-1) is a run-first team averaging a little over 300 yards per game on the ground. The Comets are averaging right around 20 points in the first quarter.
1A state semifinals
No. 1 Royal (12-0) goes into the 1A state semifinal in a tie for the longest active winning streak in the nation, according MaxPreps.
The Knights take on No. 5 Colville (9-2) in the 1 p.m. game at Lions Field in Moses Lake. No. 6 Lynden Christian faces No. 10 Newport in the 4 p.m. game.
The three-time 1A state champions are averaging 56.7 points a game with a defense that has eight shutouts and allowing just 2.75 points a game. The Knights won their 53rd consecutive game last week in the quarterfinals with a decisive win over Mt. Baker. The Mountaineers did manage to score the first touchdown against the stingy Knights defense for the first time in eight weeks.