ACH Warriors suffer first loss of the season

COULEE CITY – The Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors (1-1) fell short 44-18 at home to Liberty Christian Friday. Head coach Brandon Walsh said that, despite the loss, it was good to have a game against a high-quality opponent.   

“It was one of those matchups that you want to have this time of year to see where you're at against a high-quality opponent, and it didn't go our way, but now we know where we need to go to get better. They played hard and competed the whole game,” Walsh said.   

Through the start of the second quarter, the Warriors fell behind 14-0. However, they would respond on back-to-back offensive drives. Nolan and Max Grindy recorded short rushing touchdowns to cut the score to 14-12. With a minute left in the half, Liberty Christian found a way to score on a 45-yard passing touchdown to take a 22-12 lead at halftime.   

“I thought we defended their running game pretty well. We got beat over the top. They're kind of a big play pass team and we just got beat deep a few times. Unfortunately, a couple times we had the quarterback pressured and he escaped on us,” Walsh said.   

Liberty Christian continued to add to their score with effective passing in the third quarter. They increased their lead to 30-12. As the Warriors tried to climb back into the game, they were hit with an obstacle that Walsh said took the wind out of their sails. Harvest Parrish, who had two kick returns that totaled 130 yards, suffered a broken leg that will end his season.  

“He’s a great athlete,” Walsh said. “He was pretty dynamic we're going to miss his overall explosiveness on both sides of the ball and on special teams... he's bummed, but he's a tough kid, and he'll bounce back. He'll still be a part of our team and be a leader on the team.”  

In the fourth quarter, the Warriors would cut their deficit to 36-18; however, Liberty Christian would put the final nails in the coffin with another score and a two-point conversion and secure the 44-18 win.   

Despite the loss, a win the Warriors are taking away from Friday is having Caden Correia back on the field. Walsh said they struggled to get him in rhythm with his receivers, but it was great to have him back on the field.   

“He's still not 100%, but it was good to have him back on the field. He was excited to play and considering where he was three months ago, it was pretty cool to have him out there,” Walsh said.   

After the loss, the Warriors have several takeaways from the game, Walsh said. While he felt good about how they ran the ball, the pass game was not operational. Keeping the quarterback upright will be an important focus going into next week. They also faced a zone defense that they do not see very often.   

Walsh said he likes to have his team pick something they need to improve on as a group and individually. Each week, they pick something new to get better at so that they continuously improve throughout the season. After Friday’s game, Walsh remained encouraging to his players.   

“This loss does not (define us). It is not the final chapter in our season. I'll own my part in it, I need to get them prepared better against an opponent like that, and so we'll move forward and work on the things we need to work on and two months from now that game will be a blip on the road, and we'll get better from it,” he said.   

The Warriors will be back on the gridiron at home facing Cusick, with kickoff scheduled for 5 p.m. 

BOX SCORE:  

ACHW: 0-12-0-6: 18
LCHS: 8-14-8-14: 44 

    The ACH Warriors’ Harvest Parrish (6) bursts through an opening on a kick return against Liberty Christian. Parrish recorded 130 yards on two kick returns on Friday.
  

    The ACH Warriors’ Brady Roberts (21) goes to tackle the Liberty Christian ball carrier. Head Coach Brandon Walsh said his team knows where they want to improve after facing a high-quality opponent like Liberty Christian.
  

    The ACH Warriors quarterback Max Grindy (12) slips a tackle on a designed run play against Liberty Christian. Grindy had 51 rushing yards against Liberty Christian.
  

    The ACH Warriors’ Caden Corriea steps up to pass while pressure from Liberty Christian storms in. Correia returned to the gridiron for the first time this season after suffering an ankle injury in the spring.
  

    The ACH Warriors’ Nolan Grindy runs through a tackler as he runs upfield. Grindy led the team in rushing yards with 107.