Warriors defeat Neah Bay, advance to 1B semifinals

COULEE CITY – Despite being outgained in yards by No. 5 Neah Bay in Saturday’s 1B State Football quarterfinal matchup, the No. 4 Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors held on to defeat the Red Devils 14-12, advancing to the state semifinals for the first time since 2021.

“We’re excited to be at this stage of the season — we talked about it (Monday), there’s only four teams left at our level and that’s a pretty cool place to be,” head coach Brandon Walsh said. “It’s a privilege, and something to be proud of.” 

Both teams scored two touchdowns in the game, with the difference being the Warrior defense stopping Neah Bay on both of its two-point conversion attempts. 

“It was nerve-racking. In 20 years of doing eight-man football, I don’t think we’ve ever won a game where we only scored 14 points,” Walsh said. “It’s so uncommon. That was memorable.” 

Neah Bay had the ball late in the fourth quarter and drove down to the Warrior 35-yard line on a pass play, Walsh said. On fourth-and-long, the ACH defense forced a turnover on downs and went on to kneel away the rest of the game clock. 

“I still wasn’t nervous because our defense was playing so good,” Walsh said. “Sure enough, on that last possession, we got a sack on that third down that backed them up and then we knew they had to pass it and could play prevent on the back end.” 

The sack was by sophomore Noah Butler, one of his two on the day and four sacks for the Warriors; junior Caden Correia and senior Grayson Beal also recorded sacks in the win. 

“I just saw the quarterback and decided to tackle him,” Butler said with a laugh.  

“I was spying the quarterback and saw Noah close down and make the sack — I think I might have been more excited than Noah,” Beal said.  

The Red Devils ran for 161 yards on Saturday but also lost two fumbles. 

“They’re a big team, they weren’t easy to stop,” Beal said. “They’re a good offense, but we made the plays we needed to make when it came down to it. It was just the will of our team.” 

ACH’s 201 yards of offense were the second lowest in a game this season and the fewest since playing Wilbur-Creston-Keller on Oct. 25 (181 yards). 

“We didn’t execute great on offense, but a lot of credit for that goes to Neah Bay as well; that was an aggressive defense that took us out of the things that we do well,” Walsh said. “It was a hard-hitting, physical defensive battle, which on that side of the ball, our kids played awesome. I wish we would have played a little better offensively, but a win is a win.” 

Neah Bay opened the scoring with a one-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, to which the Warriors responded with a 32-yard rushing touchdown by Correia, with junior Brady Roberts running in the ensuing two-point conversion. In the second quarter, senior Jameson Conley reached the end zone on a 29-yard pass to put ACH up 14-6 at halftime. 

The Red Devils scored a touchdown in the third quarter on a 35-yard rush, but neither team scored the remainder of the game. 

“We had the ball in the red zone twice, and just didn't execute great; a penalty here, a negative play because they did something great on defense to back us up and then we’re out of rhythm,” Walsh said. “That’s kind of how the game went.” 

Next up for the Warriors is a matchup against top-seeded and undefeated Liberty Christian, who defeated No. 16 Ocosta 66-0 in the opening round and No. 8 DeSales 56-20 in the quarterfinals last week. The Warriors and Patriots have met once already this season, a 50-36 Liberty Christian win on Sept. 20 in Richland. 

“I love it – I think it’s great to be familiar with your opponent at this time of year because it’s easier to prepare,” Walsh said. “For kids, the unknown is dangerous or scary. Being familiar with them and even though they’re the No. 1 seed, we aren’t that far off. Hopefully, we’ve gotten better and can give them a game.” 

A flurry of Warrior miscues in the second quarter allowed the Patriots to build a consistent two-score lead in the game, while the remaining three quarters were played fairly evenly. ACH senior Carter Pitts ran for 221 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries, while Liberty Christian’s Perry Pottle completed 12-of-16 passes for 254 yards and four touchdowns, adding another touchdown on a run. 

“We were right there – we made some uncharacteristic mistakes, and I think offensively and defensively we’ve grown a lot since that game,” Beal said. “I’m excited to see where we stack with them now.” 

Kickoff between the Warriors and Patriots is at 1 p.m. Saturday at Fran Rish Stadium in Richland. The winner advances to the state championship, where they will play the winner of No. 2 Wilbur-Creston-Keller/No. 3 Naselle. 

“They’re well-coached, they’re fast — they have good team speed,” Walsh said. “We do too, so that part is hopefully a wash. They’re a little bit like us, balanced to the point where they spread the ball around. You can’t just load up in one area and try to stop one thing.” 

Box Score 

NEB: 6-0-6-0 12 

ACH: 8-6-0-0 14 

Around the Basin 

No. 1 Royal (11-0) vs No. 4 Cashmere (10-1)  

The Knights and Bulldogs will meet for the second time this season on Saturday, with both squads vying to reach next week’s 1A state championship game in Seattle.  

Royal defeated No. 8 Lynden Christian 56-12 last week, while Cashmere took down No. 5 Nooksack Valley 38-12. Both teams had first-round byes to begin the state playoffs. 

The two teams previously met in a league matchup on Oct. 4, as Cashmere moved into the South Central Athletic Conference this year. Royal won the game 55-14 on the road, racking up 534 yards of offense and limiting the Bulldogs to 133 total yards. 

Senior Lance Allred completed 19-of-21 passes for 283 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 144 yards and four more touchdowns, including a 73-yard rushing touchdown that broke a 14-14 tie in the first half.  

Kickoff between the Knights and Bulldogs is at 4 p.m. Saturday at Lions Field in Moses Lake. The winner will play either No. 2 Seton Catholic or No. 6 Montesano in the title game on Dec. 6. 

    Almira/Coulee-Hartline defenders rally to tackle an Inchelium player during a state playoff game on Nov. 15. The Warriors held Neah Bay, who came into the game averaging 58.6 points per game, to 12 points on Saturday.
  

    Almira/Coulee-Hartline senior Carter Pitts, right, runs the ball into the end zone for a two-point conversion against Inchelium on Nov. 15. The Warriors play No. 1 Liberty Christian on Saturday; the two teams met in a Sept. 20 game, where Pitts ran for 221 yards and two touchdowns.
  

    Almira/Coulee-Hartline defenders tackle an Inchelium player for a loss during a Nov. 15 game. The Warriors had four sacks Saturday against Neah Bay, including one by senior Grayson Beal, right, in black.