Gridiron Roundup: Five local teams remain unbeaten

MOSES LAKE — Five local teams remain unbeaten through the first three weeks of the 2024 season, with Ephrata, Othello, Royal, Soap Lake and Warden post unblemished records. 

Read along for a recap of Basin squads in their Week 3 action. 

Almira/Coulee-Hartline (2-1) 

50-36 loss at Liberty Christian 

The Warriors suffered their first loss of the season Friday night, falling 50-36 on the road against Liberty Christian in a non-league matchup of two state playoff teams from a season ago. 

Liberty Christian led the game 22-8 in the second quarter, with ACH cutting into the lead on a 1-yard rushing touchdown to cut the Patriot led to 22-16 after the ensuing two-point conversion. However, the Patriots scored twice before halftime to take a 36-16 lead, later going up 44-24 in the third quarter. 

Senior Carter Pitts led the Warriors on the ground with 29 carries for 221 yards and two scores, followed by junior Harvest Parrish who racked up 54 yards and a touchdown. Senior Caden Correia completed nine-of-20 passes for 69 yards and a touchdown in the loss, with senior Jameson Conley catching five of those passes for 43 yards and a touchdown. 

ACH travels to Curlew on Friday at 3 p.m. 

Ephrata (3-0) 

9-6 win at Ellensburg 

Ephrata earned yet another Central Washington Athletic Conference win with Friday’s narrow victory over Ellensburg, as junior Caleb Moberg connected on a 38-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter to seal the Tiger win. 

Ellensburg opened scoring in the first quarter on a five-yard touchdown run, later missing the extra point, though the first half remained scoreless outside of that play; the Tigers tied the ballgame up at six on an eight-yard completion from junior Brady Hendrick to junior Calvin Lybbert in the third quarter, though Ephrata’s extra point was also missed. 

Hendrick completed nine-of-26 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown, also leading the Tigers in rushing with 55 yards on 17 carries. Senior Coltyn Klingenberg led Ephrata with four catches for 57 yards in the win. 

The Tigers travel to East Valley (Yakima) on Friday. 

Lind-Ritzville/Sprague (2-1)  

19-14 loss at Newport 

While the Broncos took a 7-6 lead in the second quarter on the road against Newport on Friday, they couldn’t hold on for the win, eventually falling to the Grizzlies 19-14 for their first loss of the season. 

LRS took the lead on a four-yard touchdown run by quarterback Cameron Boness in the second quarter, leading 7-6 after Newport missed an extra point on its first-quarter touchdown. The Grizzlies took the lead for good on a 70-yard touchdown pass later in the second quarter, adding an additional score in the final frame. LRS senior Zach Klein caught a 55-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to shorten the deficit to 19-14. 

Senior Brody Boness ran for 89 yards on 21 carries in the loss and threw the ball to Klein on his touchdown in the fourth quarter. Klein ran for 65 yards on four carries. 

Moses Lake (2-1) 

35-21 win at Sunnyside 

The Mavericks racked up 436 yards of total offense in Friday’s road win over Sunnyside, giving Moses Lake its first Columbia Basin Big 9 win of the season. 

Junior Brady Jay completed 24-of-33 passes for 336 yards, four touchdowns and an interception in the win; leading Moses Lake in receiving was junior Carter Anderson, who caught seven passes for 124 yards and a score in the win. Junior Grant Smith hauled in two touchdowns on four catches for 55 yards, with sophomore Elijah Burns catching the other touchdown. Burns also ran for 89 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. 

Moses Lake also had four sacks in the win, as sophomore Eli Anderson and senior Malaki Town combined for a sack and junior Treyson Knowles, sophomore Petrah Mackenzie and Smith all had solo sacks.  

Moses Lake hosts Wenatchee on Friday at 7 p.m. 

MLCA/CCS (1-2) 

41-20 win vs Tekoa-Rosalia 

The Lions claimed their first win of the 2024 season on Friday night, defeating Tekoa-Rosalia 41-20 while putting up more than 500 yards on offense. 

Junior Johnny Ferguson completed six-of-15 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown, which was caught by sophomore Treyson Kast who had four catches for 110 yards on the day. Ferguson also caught a touchdown on a pass by senior Levi North in the win and ran for 162 yards and two touchdowns. Kast had six carries for 108 yards and a score, while North had 18 yards and a touchdown in the win. 

MLCA/CCS also forced three turnovers in the win.  

The Lions begin league play Saturday at home against Entiat at 6 p.m. 

Othello (3-0) 

41-0 win vs. Grandview 

The Huskies picked up their second CWAC win of the season on Friday night in a 41-0 defeat of Grandview, where Othello quickly went up 14-0 in the first quarter and never looked back.  

Othello ran for 214 yards on 30 carries as a team, with senior Jordan DeLeon scoring two touchdowns on the ground in the win. Junior Quade Gonzalez IV completed six-of-10 passes for 97 yards and three touchdowns, two of which were caught by junior RJay Garza and the other by junior Stadyc Stromberg. 

Defensively, the Huskies held Grandview to 22 yards passing and — 17 rushing yards. 

Othello travels to Selah on Friday at 7 p.m. 

Quincy (0-3) 

42-17 loss vs Toppenish — Statistics not available 

The Jacks fell to 0-3 overall and in the CWAC with Friday’s home loss to Toppenish, losing 42-17 to the Wildcats. Next up is a home game against Wapato in a non-league matchup Friday. 

Royal (3-0) 

42-7 win at Connell 

The Knights led 42-0 at halftime of Saturday’s South Central Athletic Conference road game against Connell, later holding on for a 42-7 win over the Eagles. 

Senior Lance Allred completed 14-of-18 passes for 265 yards and four touchdowns in the win, adding an additional score on the ground on a one-yard rush. Junior Shea Stevenson led the Knights with four catches for 111 yards and a touchdown, while senior Benson Jenks caught three passes for 42 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Ethan Ellis caught one pass for 17 yards and a touchdown in the win as well. Senior Kevin Gutierrez ran for 55 yards and scored on 10 carries in the win. 

Royal hosts Zillah on Friday night at 7 p.m. 

Soap Lake (2-0) 

Soap Lake’s game against Dayton was canceled, leaving the Eagles with an off week. The Eagles host Wellpinit on Thursday night at 6 p.m. 

Wahluke (2-1) 

16-12 loss at Kiona-Benton 

The Warriors suffered their first loss of the season on Friday, falling 16-12 on the road against Kiona-Benton in a SCAC matchup.  

Sophomore Franco Perez carried the ball 13 times for 75 yards and a touchdown in the loss, with senior Diego Perez scoring the other Wahluke touchdown Friday night. 

Junior Keaton Zirker completed seven-of-25 passes for 124 yards and four interceptions in the loss, with junior Damien Cardenas leading Wahluke in receiving with two catches for 56 yards.  

Wahluke hosts Cashmere on Thursday at 7 p.m. 

Warden (3-0) 

22-21 win at Tonasket 

The Cougars wrapped up their early season non-league slate with a road win over Tonasket, defeating the Tigers 22-21 on Saturday evening. 

Warden put up nearly equal numbers in the pass-and-run games, throwing for 142 yards and rushing for 141 yards in the win. Senior Michael Gonzalez caught two touchdowns in the win, and senior Patrico Santiago rounded out scoring with a touchdown of his own. 

The Cougars travel to Columbia (Burbank) on Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff. 

    Ephrata junior Caleb Moberg (4) kicks an extra point against Prosser on Sept. 6. Moberg connected on a game-winning field goal late in the fourth quarter against Ellensburg Friday night.
  

    The MLCA/CCS Lions picked up their first win of the season on Friday night, defeating Tekoa-Rosalia 41-20 at home.