Warden secures No. 3 in SCAC East with big win over Wahluke

WARDEN — The Warden secondary picked Wahluke quarterback Sebastian Soto four times in the first half and seven total. The Cougars offense fed off the defensive energy, the defense fed off the offense, which scored 30 points in the first quarter, and Friday night's SCAC East game was over before it started in Warden's 76-13 victory on homecoming night.

Warden quarterback Ryan Arredondo was 10-of-13 for 245 yards passing and three touchdowns. Ayzaiah Pruneda, the 6-foot, 170-pound junior, had eight carries for 145 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught three balls for 75 yards and a score.

Holden Haworth rushed for 175 yards and three touchdowns. He was also on the receiving end of a Arredondo 33-yard pass to make it a 30-point game at the end of the quarter.

“I thought I was throwing the rock around pretty good tonight. My receivers did an amazing job catching the ball and running after the catch,” said Arredondo, who is drawing considerable NCAA Division I interest as a pitcher on the Cougars' baseball team. “And, of course I can't do anything without the five guys in front of me doing their job.

“My O-line put on a show tonight. They're pretty scrappy kids and they know how to protect me. We wanted to jump on them early and that's what we did.”

Warden (5-3, 3-2 SCAC East) was coming off a 20-6 loss to Connell, so the Cougars needed a big performance to secure the third spot in the SCAC East.

“What we did tonight is who we are. We had a tough one last week (with Connell), but going into the playoffs this is it,” head coach Robert Arredondo said. “The coaches did a heck of a job with the game plan. We try to come out and strike fast and first. When we run the ball like we did it opens up the arm we have at quarterback.”

On the defensive side, the Cougars pressured Soto all night long. Tyson Wall finished up with three interceptions, Rodrigo Ozuna returned one for a pick-six, and Elijah Gonzales led the defense with 10 solo tackles and three assists.

Wahluke (3-5, 1-5 SCAC East) was without seven varsity seniors, who left the team, and their starting quarterback Oscar Rodriguez. Since they are out of the playoff picture first-year coach Ryan Antos went with a predominantly sophomore-freshman lineup to build for next year.

“We went with pretty much a JV team, so I wanted them keep competing and working hard,” Antos said. “We just wanted to get everything out of it we could.”

Freshman Oscar Perez made a nice one-handed grab on a 47-yard touchdown pass in the first half and Nathan Ponce caught the second TD pass on an 8-yard catch and carry.

Warden wraps up the regular season at Benton City against Kiona-Benton and Wahluke has Highland at home on Friday.

Wahluke 0 6 7 0 - 13

Warden 30 22 8 16 - 76

War - Ayzaiah Pruneda 10 run (Pruneda run)

War - Holden Haworth 1 run (Tyson Wall pass from Ryan Arredondo)

War - Wall 35 pass from Arredondo (Haworth run)

War - Haworth 33 pass from Arredondo (pass fails)

War - Haworth 1 run (Zach Richins pass from Arredondo)

Wahl - Oscar Perez 47 pass from Sebastian Soto (kick fails)

War - Pruneda 18 run (pass fails)

Wahl - Nathan Ponce 8 pass from Soto (Alex Valdez kick)

War - Rodrigo Ozuna (Kaden Skone pass from Arredondo)

War - Ozuna pass interception (Haworth pass from Arredondo)

War - Haworth 5 run (kick fails)