Playing with confidence

COULEE CITY — A win in Friday’s crossover game against Waterville-Mansfield gave the Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors their seventh-straight state appearance, setting up a matchup against No. 11 Concrete this weekend.

“It feels great,” ACH coach Brandon Walsh said. “It’s a fun, young group of kids, it seems like we’re gelling and playing our best at the right time.”

With a state berth on the line, the Warriors defeated the Shockers 50-8 on their home field Friday, scoring 44 points in the first half while keeping Waterville-Mansfield out of the end zone until the fourth quarter.

“Our kids came out and played with a real purpose,” Walsh said. “They knew the importance of the game, and from the get-go, they were pretty dialed in. We got a quick stop on our first defensive series, and then we got the ball back (junior Carter) Pitts went 73 yards on the first carry of the game. That was pretty exciting and got our team going in the right direction.”

Pitts led the Warriors in rushing with 212 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries, and four Warriors got into the end zone in Friday’s win; senior Jaxon Baergen, sophomore Brady Roberts and freshman Max Grindy (twice). Sophomore quarterback Caden Correia completed four-of-five passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns.

ACH’s defense hasn’t given up points in the first half over its past three games.

“We have a ton of young guys and it seems like they’re getting comfortable in their roles and playing with a lot more confidence,” Walsh said. “In eight-man football, we place a huge emphasis on tackling and tackling techniques and being able to tackle in space with one-on-one situations. We work on it every single week all season long, and we’re starting to see that work pay off.”

The strong defensive play goes back to Walsh saying the Warriors are playing well at the right time, and the importance of that aspect entering the postseason for the seventh-straight season.

“It’s important, just because at the end of the season when, if you want to make a deep run in the playoffs, every week you’ve got to be great,” Walsh said. “I think it says a lot about the character of the kids, buying into the tradition and buying into our program and process of what it takes to be a high-caliber football player and team. They work hard, get better every week and it’s starting to show up.”

ACH (8-2) earned a No. 6 seed in the 1B State Football Playoffs, where they will play No. 11 Concrete (6-3) in the first round on Saturday. ACH played against three other teams that qualified for the 1B tournament, facing off against No. 1 seed Liberty Bell on Sept. 16, No. 2 seed Wilbur-Creston-Keller on Oct. 13 and No. 8 seed Wellpinit on Oct. 6. The Warriors defeated Wellpinit 40-14 and lost 64-34 to Liberty Bell and 50-30 to Wilbur-Creston-Keller.

“Anytime you can play high-quality teams throughout the season it’s a benefit to your team in the long run,” Walsh said. “Our strength of schedule this year was pretty tough. Hopefully, it’s going to pay off as we go forward in the playoffs and play some more tough teams.”

Earning a berth in the state playoffs wasn’t the only achievement that ACH has had this season, as the Warriors were named 1B football academic state champions by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association last week.

“It’s one of those things where the kids, they take pride in it,” Walsh said. “Every year at the beginning of the season, we have a goal-setting session with our team and a lot of it’s related to football, but almost every year that goal comes up by one of the guys — it’s not driven by me, it’s one of the guys that bring it up.”

Playing with conviction has been another important aspect for the Warriors over the final three weeks of the regular season, helping prepare ACH for their goal of a deep playoff run.

“I hope what they take from it is that they belong in the state playoffs and that they continue to play with confidence,” Walsh said. “Obviously, every game from here on out is going to be a tough one, if we advance then that’s just one more week of experience and one more week of gaining confidence.”

Kickoff between the Warriors and Lions is at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lions Field.

“At this stage of the season, I think we can play with anybody. So now we’ve just got to go do it,” Walsh said.

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.

Box score

W-M: 0-0-0-8 8
ACH: 20-24-6-0 50

    ACH freshman Max Grindy caught two touchdowns against Waterville-Mansfield Friday night.
  

    ACH Head Coach Brandon Walsh, right, said the Warriors are playing well at the right time, as they enter the postseason for the seventh-straight season.
  

    Liberty Bell was one of three teams that qualified for the 1B State Football Tournament that the Warriors faced off against earlier this year, joining Wilbur-Creston-Keller and Wellpinit.