Postseason football is here

MOSES LAKE — Postseason high school football is finally here in the Basin, as several teams have earned their chance to win their way into the state playoffs. From Coulee City to Othello, Royal City and Moses Lake, several local teams face high stakes this weekend.  

Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors (9-0) 

The Warriors enter the District 6 1B bracket as the number one seed and will host the Touchet Redhawks (2-7) on Friday at 7 p.m. They come in as the eight seed, with their two wins coming over Yakima Nation Tribal High School (20-18) and St. John-Endicott (32-20).  

The Warriors come into this matchup undefeated, having toppled state contenders like Liberty Christian (58-22), DeSales (62-18) and Wilbur-Kreston-Keller (58-6). The Warriors closed their regular season on the road last Friday with a 52-16 win over Wellpinit. Forty-six of those points came in the first quarter, behind a mix of dominant running and passing by Max Grindy, Jackson Elder, Cade Carstensen, Ian McWalter, Trey Kast and Quin Peha.  

Spectators could have a quarterback duel on their hands between Grindy and Touchet QB Hudson Zessin, who completed 12-of-17 passes for 204 yards and 3 touchdowns. Grindy completed 4-of-6 for 169 yards and 2 touchdowns.  

The Warriors are a motivated group coming into the postseason, Head Coach Brandon Walsh noted in a previous interview with the Columbia Basin Herald.  

"It doesn't seem like they're content with where they're at," he said. "When we watch film, they're critical of themselves as individuals and recognize where they need to get better. It's just such a senior-heavy group with a couple of years of us almost making it behind us, and so they're highly motivated that they can take the next step this year, and as coaches, we're really happy with the progress we've made and the mindset of continual growth."  

Moses Lake Mavericks (8-1) 

The Mavs are set to host the Kentwood Conquerors (5-4) at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Likely leading the way this weekend will be their high-powered offense, which averages over 400 yards per game and is led by quarterback Nolan Decubber, receiver Case Anderson and running back Elijah Burns.  

With a 69% completion percentage, Decubber has thrown for over 1,700 yards, 33 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions. In their final win of the season against Eisenhower, he completed 13-of-20 passes for 195 yards and 6 touchdowns, no turnovers. He's also contributed to the ground game this season with 23 carries for 103 yards and 2 touchdowns.  

In the run game, Burns has been averaging 9 yards per carry, totaling 1,042 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. While they don't receive the same number of carries as consistently as Burns, fellow backs Jackson Miles, Petrah Mackenzie and John Rainey have been productive any time they have touched the ball, too.  

Miles has put up 261 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns, while averaging just over 5 yards per carry. Mackenzie has recorded 245 yards rushing, 4 touchdowns and averaged over 8 yards per carry. Lastly, Rainey has carried the rock 12 times for 153 yards and 2 touchdowns while averaging a dominant 12 yards per carry.  

In the pass game, Anderson leads the team with 406 yards and 10 touchdowns. He's got sticky hands too, catching 35-of-48 targets, putting him at about 73% catch rate. Fellow receivers like Taggart Rathbun, Isaac Legault and River Hutchinson have also proven to be reliable weapons this season. 

Not to be overlooked, the front line will play a key factor in making sure the run game opens up and therefore the passes, as well. Leading the pack with pancakes is Reese Porter (46). Also totaling double digit stats are Ryder Janke (17), Cristian Ramos (15) and Carson Overfield (10). Head Coach Kyler Haneberg praised his linemen in a previous interview with the Columbia Basin Herald.  

"Those guys are absolute dogs up front," he said. "These guys want to run, they've been stuck behind an all-state quarterback who can chuck it around, and so now they're seeing they can run the ball a little bit. Those guys are just hungry consistently, and there's some warriors up there. They're constantly dealing with injuries, rolling ankles, hurt backs, and these guys do not care — they just want to get up there and fight." 

Othello Huskies (5-4) 

The Huskies are the lone team that will travel this week. They'll head up to Spokane to play the West Valley Eagles (8-1) on Friday at 6 p.m. In his first season as head coach, Jerome Learman has led the Huskies to an opportunity to play for a state tournament berth.  

In year one, Learman and the Huskies have established high standards for themselves, at times exceeding their own expectations, and sometimes not. However, they continue to lean on their goal of always being the best version of themselves and aiming to improve everyday, said Learman.  

Having won games in any way one can think of, the experiences this team has gathered this season has prepared them for their next test.  

"We definitely want to play as hard as we can for as long as we can," said the coach. "Football, just like life, is never going to be perfect.  But we are going to strive to be our best, minimize mistakes, when we do make mistakes learn from them and not repeat them and obviously, try to mentally get back on track and not let one mistake hurt more than once." 

The Eagles sole loss is to the Selah Vikings, but they have averaged 37 points per game. When it comes to game planning for a strong opponent like West Valley, the Huskies are focused on playing sound football.  

"In the postseason, I think you find that defense and your run game will travel," Learman said. "We want to be sound in all three phases of the game and play complementary football.   Executing fundamentals at a high level, this being blocking, tackling shutting blocks.   Turnover margin is always big and then not beating yourself with penalties or all keys to victory in the postseason." 

Royal Knights (9-0)  

The defending 1A state champions begin their journey to potentially winning their seventh straight state title with a district matchup against King's Way Christian Knights (2-7) on Friday at 3 p.m.  

In their nine wins this season, five have been shutouts. In total, the Knights have outscored their opponents 526-32, averaging over 58 points per game. Their most recent win came in a 69-0 rout of the College Place Eagles.  

In that game, it was the pass game led by Grant Wardenaar which led them to victory. He completed 10-of-11 passes for 197 yards and 3 touchdowns, getting multiple weapons like Dax Jenks, Scout Stevenson, Fischer Livingston and Manny Ruvalcaba involved.  

While the Knights have the capability to be explosive on offense, the defense also does their best to give them every opportunity to do so. In the trenches, Krew Jenks, Orlando Santillan and Ernie Weeks have become key fixtures on defense this season, according to Head Coach Wiley Allred.  

"Guys like Krew Jenks at nose (tackle), and then Orlando Santillan and Ernie Weeks up front just set the tone on defense," said the coach in a previous interview with the Columbia Basin Herald.  

He also praised the second and third level defense for doing their jobs well in that same interview.  

"Our outside backers are Tyce (Christensen) and then also David Jimenez and Easton Eilers. All three of those guys just have really come on. They're all seniors, and they've all worked really hard. They're having a great season. They're doing a great job on the outside and outside linebacker for us,” he said. 

With such a well-rounded team, the King's Way will have their work cut out for them. 

Stay tuned for future editions of the Columbia Basin Herald for the most up to date news and stories regarding postseason high school sports in the Basin. 

    Elijah Burns (23) drags Eastmont defenders downfield during their game earlier this season.
  

    Jose Acevedo (11) from the Royal Knights drops back into coverage on defense earlier this season.
  

    The Knights' Jackson Flood (33) and Dax Jenks (6) celebrate a touchdown against Connell earlier this season.
  

    The ACH Warriors' Max Grindy (12) sprints toward the endzone against DeSales earlier this season.
  

    Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors Head Coach Brandon Walsh watches on as his team faces off with defending state champion DeSales earlier this season.
  

    Othello quarterback Noah Ozuna (2) takes a shot downfield against Selah earlier this season.
  

    Huskies running back Cain Gonzales (7) runs up the sideline for a gain against the Quincy Jacks earlier this season.