MIKE MAYNARD

Frank’s free kick lifts Royal past King’s in state opener

ROYAL CITY — The Royal Knights (14-2-1) defeated the King's Knights 1-0 Tuesday in the first round of the 1A State Girls Soccer tournament, the first state playoff win in Head Coach Jens Jensen's tenure. "This is our third time getting into state, and each time in the first round we got blown out," he said. "This year the whole goal was to get us a game that we could win, and I didn't know when I watched (King's) on film. Their goalkeeper is spectacular, and so I didn't know how it was going to shake out. But Maggie (Frank) comes up with an absolute wonder strike on a free kick to win us the game. It's awesome, this is a huge, huge deal for us."

Moses Lake lands 18 All-League selections, claims six major Big 9 awards

MOSES LAKE — In the wake of their district win over Kentwood to advance to the 4A state tournament, the Moses Lake Mavericks football team also brought in a slew of Big 9 All-League honors for their play on the field this season. "I was going in there preparing for a little bit more of an argument on some of my guys, but the league came together and gave us our props a lot easier than I thought they would, and so I was really happy to see that," Head Coach Kyler Haneberg said. Across all three phases of football, the Mavericks earned 18 All-League selections, seven of which were unanimous selections. Additionally, Moses Lake brought home several individual accolades. Elijah Burns won league MVP, Nolan Decubber won Offensive MVP, John Rainey won his second straight Defensive MVP and the Mavericks front line earned Offensive Line of the Year with Reese Porter earning Lineman of the Year. Lastly, Haneberg was named Coach of the Year in his first season as the head coach.

State success concludes Mavs' XC season

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks cross country teams concluded the 2026 season with a strong performance at the 2026 4A State Cross Country Championships on Saturday. The boys took 15th as a team while the girls placed 9th, putting a nice finish to a successful season. "It was absolutely high quality," Head Coach Larry Dagnon said. "The teams were all extremely fast. I think we did very well, actually all things considered. We're 20 seconds faster per mile for the boys than we were last year, and the girls were, I think, 40 seconds faster almost per mile than they were last year. They showed market improvement. The boys didn't show it via their placing, but they sure were better than they were the year prior."

Knights defeated in district championship

ROYAL CITY — The Royal Knights (14-2-1) suffered a tough 2-0 loss to the Cashmere Bulldogs in the 1A Girls Soccer District Championship on Saturday. Though they're still state bound, it doesn't make the loss easier to digest. "Unfortunately, we didn't play tough enough, early enough," Head Coach Jens Jensen said. "There's a few things there where you can look at that game and say, okay, hey, congratulations to them. They played tough. They played very physical right from the beginning. The referee allowed it, now you need to figure out how to match that."

State dreams alive

Eight Basin teams set for postseason runs

MOSES LAKE — State tournament season is finally here in the Basin, as several local sports teams have punched their ticket to the big dance. Eight teams from six schools are vying for a shot at their respective state championship trophies in the coming weeks.

ACH Warriors run wild in state-clinching rout

COULEE CITY — The Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors (10-0) have punched their ticket to the 1B state tournament after earning a shutout win over Touchet 56-0 on Friday.

‘Somos uno’

Wahluke advances to state tournament

ROYAL CITY — ‘Somos uno,’ the Wahluke Warriors (9-7) chanted after defeating the Lakeside Eagles 3-0 Saturday to punch their ticket to the 1A state tournament for the second straight season.

State-bound Mavericks earn slew of big 9 honors

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks cross country team made their presence known on this year's Big 9 All-League honors. "It was just a special season for them," Head Coach Larry Dagnon said. "Sometimes you get just the right group that blends well together, and they work well off of each other in workouts and races and this was one of those times."

South Central Athletic Conference honors announced

MOSES LAKE — The South Central Athletic Conference has announced its All-League honors for cross country, football, girls soccer and volleyball. Many local Basin athletes from Royal and Wahluke were well represented after a long season of competition. See below where your favorite athletes landed.

'Playoff Paisley' strikes twice as Huskies top Selah, earn home crossover

SELAH — The Othello Huskies (6-7) defeated the Selah Vikings 2-0 in the consolation round of the District 5 2A Girls Soccer Tournament, earning themselves home field advantage in the District 5/6 2A Girls Soccer Crossover on Saturday. “The Ellensburg game was tough for them,” Head Coach Victor Quiroz said. “They were in it, and today they're like, ‘Hey, we have to win it, we have to host.’ They were saying, ‘How cool would it be if we qualified for state at home?’ And they showed today that they were the better team.” The Huskies took the attack right to Selah from the opening kick, booting the ball deep into their side of the field. The Vikings showed poise in the opening minutes as both teams engaged in a tug-of-war for possession.

Postseason football is here

Basin teams prepare to make push for state berth

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.

Wahluke state hopes alive with 7-0 win over Wapato

MATTAWA — The Wahluke Warriors (9-7) earned a crucial win Saturday, putting together a dominant 7-0 victory over the Wapato Wolves. This comes after a tough 4-3 loss to Cascade (Leavenworth) in the opening round of the District 5 1A Girls Soccer Tournament. "We competed in that game (against Cascade), we forced them to overtime, we blinked for a second and we ended up losing on a corner kick," Head Coach Cele Lopez said. "The girls never gave up, and that means a lot for any team. That's what you want to see, especially in districts. So far, I'm happy with the girls. I see a lot of progress (and) I see a lot of dedication."

BASIN SPORTS SCHEDULE: Nov. 3-9

MOSES LAKE — The 2026 fall sports season is getting down to the wire, now that regular season play has wrapped up; the postseason kicks off this week. See below where your favorite teams are playing next.

Mavs girls claim league, district crowns; both teams head to state

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks cross country teams had strong showings at the Big 9 4A District 5 Cross Country Championships on Thursday. While both teams qualified for the state meet, the girls also brought home the league and district championships.

Longer road, same goal: Huskies keep sights on state

ELLENSBURG — After long and physical battle, the Othello Huskies (6-7) fell just short 2-1 to the Ellensburg Bulldogs in the semifinals of the District 5 2A Girls Soccer Tournament on Saturday. Despite the final result, the Huskies aren’t hanging their heads. “That's just a game of just two halves,” Head Coach Victor Quiroz said. “That first half (Ellensburg) dominated. The second half, I think we had a better half. It's unfortunate – that goal, my goalkeeper had it in her hand, slipped out and the (Ellensburg) girl was right there on that backside to put it in. Autumn (Weyns) had a good shot on goal. She's been hitting that crossbar this whole year. We fought till the end, and you could tell we were there.”

‘Build the House’

Eagles look ahead after district loss

SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake Eagles (10-7) 2026 season came to a close Thursday after falling 3-1 to the Waterville-Mansfield Shockers in the District 5 1B Volleyball Tournament. Despite a tough loss, Head Coach Erin Fletcher was proud of how her team battled. "We're a really young team. We have one kid that's actually played in playoffs before and actually played in districts. (Waterville-Mansfield) is a team that has been district champs for two years in a row," she said. The Eagles started strong, taking an early lead over the Shockers in the first set. Soap Lake held a steady lead the entire way, with Waterville only cutting the deficit to two points at times. With a 20-18 lead, the Eagles put together a 5-point run to seal the first set win.

New look, same hunger: Lady Vikings chase another regional crown

MOSES LAKE — After a special season that saw the Big Bend Community College Lady Vikings compile a 27-4 record, they're back in the gym looking to build on last year's success. According to Head Coach Preston Wilks, the team has been itching to get the season started. "It seems like you wait forever to get the season started, you get these girls signed up in the late spring, everybody gets antsy," he said. "We seem to be doing well, and the girls are all on board and working together, working hard. They seem to like each other, but they also, so far, seem like they understand that you got to go hard at each other in practice, and worry about being friends after practice, and that's been nice so far."

Maggie Frank breaks scoring record as Knights blank Omak

ROYAL CITY — The Royal Knights (14-2-1) are one step closer to the district final after earning their 11th shutout win, overcoming the Omak Pioneers 7-0 Wednesday in the first round of the District 5 1A Girls Soccer Tournament. "It went good," Head Coach Jens Jensen said. "It was a good game, and we did some good things. It wasn't mistake-free, but it never is. (We) scored some goals and had some fun, and the heat's turning up a little because it's that time of year, and we'll see who manages that the best."

Basin soccer roundup, Oct. 22-28

MOSES LAKE — While the 2A was kicking off its district tournament, other local Basin soccer teams were wrapping up their regular seasons. See below how your favorite programs fared last week.

One goal, one step closer: Huskies advance at districts

EPHRATA — The Othello Huskies (6-7) overcame the Ephrata Tigers (5-8-2) 1-0 in the second round of the District 5 2A Girls Soccer tournament on Tuesday. Huskies Head Coach Victor Quiroz was ecstatic after the win. "It's a gritty win, and that's what it is in the playoffs," said the Huskies coach. "I told my girls it's going to take one goal, because it's going to be one of those games. We played them twice already, and they've always been tough. The girls battled; we got opportunities there in that second half too; couldn't capitalize, but hey, a win's a win."

Mavs cross country aims for state berths at district meet

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks cross country team is gearing up for the Big 9 4A District 5 Championships on Thursday. Though it's one of the bigger meets of the 2026 season, Head Coach Larry Dagnon said his team is feeling great heading into it. "I've just noticed a pretty good energy about all of the kids," he said. "The athletes seem to be ready to go, having raced there just about a month ago. I think they're ready. They know what to expect. They know it's going to be cooler than it was when we ran at Sunfair." At the Sunfair Invitational, which was also hosted at Franklin Park in Yakima, both the boys and girls teams performed well. The boys scored 102 as a team which earned them fourth; meanwhile, the girls placed first with 30.

Basin volleyball roundup, Oct. 20-26

MOSES LAKE — As district tournament competition kicks off this week, many local Basin volleyball teams battled in the final games of the regular season. See below how your favorite teams fared last week. Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors (9-7) Oct. 20 Vs Mary Walker, lost 3-1 Oct. 22 At Lake Roosevelt, won 3-0 Oct. 24 Vs Odessa, won 3-0

Gridiron Roundup – week eight

MOSES LAKE — Week eight of the Basin high school football season has come and gone and in the blink of an eye it's the final week of the regular season for many teams. See below how your favorite team fared last week ahead of the final week of the regular season.

Lee’s 265-yard night powers Ephrata past Ellensburg

EPHRATA — The Ephrata Tigers (4-4) earned a much-needed win Friday, as they stormed their way to a 39-12 win over the Ellensburg Bulldogs. Paired with a dominant defensive outing, the Tiger victory was spearheaded by Chance Lee's 265-rushing yard performance. "(It's) a testament to all of the work that he's put in (during) the offseason to get to where he's at," Head Coach Patrick Mitchell said. "And also a testament to our offensive line, who we challenged at the beginning of the week to get back to a little bit more of who we were. It had been a couple of games since we'd broken that 200-yard rushing plateau, which we set as our standard around here, and that was big on them. I thought the O-line blocked really well."

Mavericks take command of Big 9 race with 40-20 win over Eastmont

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks (7-1) essentially locked up the Big 9 league title with a 40-20 win over the Eastmont Wildcats on Friday.

Quincy girls soccer season ends in narrow district defeat

QUINCY — The Quincy Jacks (11-6) concluded their season Saturday in a narrow 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Grandview Greyhounds in the opening round of the Central Washington Athletic Conference district tournament. What seemed to hamper them the most was urgency, Head Coach Javier Diaz said. "The same thing we had these last few games," he said. "Not starting with urgency, letting ourselves be underdogs because of getting scored on a couple times, and just we fought back. But again, ran out of time. Urgency was our biggest enemy. We didn't play with urgency at the beginning, and then we did towards the end, got our goal, and then just ran out of time."

Flood scores three times as Knights cruise past Eagles

ROYAL CITY — The Royal Knights (8-0) took care of business Thursday, dominating the Connell Eagles 60-3.

Basin soccer roundup, Oct. 15-21

MOSES LAKE — The final week of Basin soccer is upon us, as teams battle for a spot in the postseason. See below how your favorite teams have fared.

Ephrata, Othello, Quincy gear up for district soccer

MOSES LAKE — The Ephrata Tigers, Othello Huskies and Quincy Jacks will be beginning their journey in the postseason with the opening round of the district tournament in the Central Washington Athletic Conference. The Huskies and Jacks will be hosting a win-or-go-home game while the Tigers will travel to play East Valley. While the Tigers game isn't a loser-out game, advancing with a win is still at the forefront of Ephrata Head Coach Gary Klepec's approach.

Mavericks show grit in 2-0 loss to Eisenhower

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks (4-9) were defeated 2-0 at home by the Eisenhower Cadets despite a gritty battle throughout the game. Head Coach Alysha Overland felt the tough loss. "It was a good game, a good game played by our girls," she said. "The second half, the girls came out with some fire. It hurts to lose that one. We're coming off a lot of momentum. The girls really wanted it, but I still think we're in a good spot. I'm optimistic for where we're headed." The Cadets earned both goals in the first half, scoring within the first three minutes after exploiting an opening in the Mavericks formation. The two teams went back and forth for about 27 minutes before Eisenhower found the net once more to give themselves a 2-0 lead at halftime. From there, the Mavericks defense took it to the Cadets, not allowing another goal. However, they were unable to capitalize on their own opportunities in the attack, including in the final minutes.

Basin volleyball roundup, Oct. 13-19

MOSES LAKE — Another week of Basin volleyball has come and gone. As the postseason inches closer, see below where your favorite teams stand.

Big Bend finds its grit as postseason race narrows

MOSES LAKE — The Big Bend Community College Vikings (6-9) bounced back from their 3-0 loss on Friday to Spokane Community College with a gritty 3-2 win over Treasure Valley Community College on Saturday. "We start off sometimes a little slower than normal, sometimes it just takes us a little bit of time to get into our groove," Head Coach Lindsey Linthicum said. "Which I think is normal for a lot of teams. It just depends on the set, depends on the rotation. Once we started recognizing and seeing like, 'No, we're not letting this get away from us,' that's when we started stepping up and running different rotations that we knew were more on our side for just keeping things going positive for our program."

Bobcats run wild in blowout of Eastern Washington

CHENEY — The Eastern Washington Eagles (2-6) fell in dominant fashion at home Saturday 56-20 to the Montana State Bobcats (6-1). Head Coach Aaron Best was candid in a postgame interview, according to EWU Athletics. “Our guys battled, and I thought we got some momentum on the surprise onside kick recovery, but it was a three-and-out right after. It seems to be a common theme to create momentum with a big play, but do not capitalize on it,” Best said. “On the defensive side, there were too many explosive plays and those explosives were touchdowns. A few of them were on third and fourth downs. It was not only explosives, but a conversion that ended in a touchdown.”

Warriors remain unbeaten behind Grindy’s five touchdown game

COULEE CITY — The Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors (7-0) earned yet another dominant victory at home with 475 yards of offense leading to a 58-6 rout of the Wilbur-Creston-Keller Wildcats on Friday. “It went really well; (the) kids played well (and) we got off to a fast start,” Head Coach Brandon Walsh said.

Gridiron roundup – Week 7

MOSES LAKE — We’re at the tail end of the 2026 regular season for Basin high school football. In week seven, several teams continued to build momentum for the postseason while other look to finish strong. See below how your favorite programs fared.

Knights remain unbeaten with shutout over Wahluke

ROYAL CITY — The Royal Knights (7-0) earned their fourth-straight shutout win on Friday with a 64-0 victory over the Wahluke Warriors (2-5).

Mavs season concludes after late rally falls short

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks (16-6) 2026 season came to an end after falling short 22-18 to the West Valley Rams on Saturday. The loss came in a play-in game for a state tournament spot after the Mavs originally suffered a 28-17 loss to Eastmont on Thursday in the district championship game. “We had a ton of errors, and we spotted them way too many runs,” Hofheins said. “We came back slowly in the last two innings, we showed some fight, but we had too big a hole to climb out of.”

Basin girls' soccer roundup, Oct. 8-14

MOSES LAKE — The end of the 2026 regular season for girls soccer is right around the corner. The competition is getting stiffer as teams are battling for a spot in the postseason. See below how your favorite teams have fared in the last week.

‘Into the storm’

Vikings hit reset under Dallin Spencer

MOSES LAKE — With the 2026 basketball season fast approaching, the Big Bend Community College Vikings men's basketball program isn’t wasting any time establishing a new culture under first-year Head Coach Dallin Spencer. “We've got some pieces,” he said. “They're freshmen and they're young, (we’re) teaching them the right way and the wrong way to do things and building a new culture and new standard. Holding everybody to that and letting everybody understand that the standard is the standard, and nobody's above it from the coaches down.”

Jacks snap skid with 3-1 win over Prosser

QUINCY — The Quincy Jacks (11-3) defended home field Tuesday, defeating the Prosser Mustangs 3-1. This win provided a confidence boost for the team after hitting some obstacles in recent weeks, including losing their prior two games. According to Head Coach Javier Diaz, the win will help them find their mojo again. “These last several games, we've just been limited on how much we've been able to do it by scoring goals, and so that was the focus these last couple weeks was how do we get back to our shape,” said the coach. “We've been working on trying to get that confidence that we had, that shine – we had that brightness at the beginning. Lately we've been hesitant, we've been overthinking some of the attack moments, but today was a good day to find our rhythm.”

Knights win record 54th straight game with shutout of Naches Valley

ROYAL CITY — The Royal Knights (6-0) earned a dominant 75-0 win over the Naches Valley Rangers on Friday. Not only did the win keep the Knights undefeated in 2026, but it also set a school record for the program's longest win streak at 54. Head Coach Wiley Allred spoke to the type of athlete it takes to achieve such a feat. “They've got to be dedicated, especially in the offseason and throughout the year, and play together and be unselfish,” Allred said. “These kids have been really unselfish, and they celebrate everybody's success. It goes a long way; it's been very rewarding to coach.”

Volleyball Roundup, Oct. 6 – 12

MOSES LAKE — The state tournament is a month away and local Basin volleyball teams are starting to separate themselves. See below how your favorite teams fared in the prior week of competition.

Gridiron Roundup – week six

MOSES LAKE — We have surpassed week six of Basin high school football. Before we look to week seven, see below how your favorite team fared on Friday.

Bell throws four touchdowns as Eagles survives UNC rally

CHENEY — The Eastern Washington Eagles (2-5) earned a much-needed win over the University of Northern Colorado Bears on Saturday, holding off a second-half surge to seal the victory 31-22. “If you looked at the score, you wouldn't think 22 points garnered 32 minutes on defense. Our defense was out there a lot, but we did enough to win this game,” Head Coach Aaron Best said in a statement by EWU Athletics.

Knights’ attack explodes in commanding win over Wapato

ROYAL CITY — The Royal Knights (11-1-1) defended home field after they earned a dominant 9-0 win over the Wapato Wolves Thursday. Though it took a while to find a rhythm, the Knights found a way to overwhelm the Wolves' defense on the pitch. “Their goalkeeper did really well in the first half,” Head Coach Jens Jensen said. “Then we figured a few things out and kind of overwhelmed her. They battled in the beginning, but I think we looked pretty good. We got the ball wide, and we're looking to send a lot of crosses, and that looked good, and they were dangerous on a lot of those crosses a high percentage of the time.”

Mavericks battle through tough Gorge course

GEORGE — It was the Moses Lake Mavericks turn to host a cross country meet on Thursday, as they held their annual Live Nation Invitational at the Gorge Amphitheater. Twenty additional high schools competed in the event, but it was the Mavericks finishing first overall for the boys and girls teams among large schools. “I was talking to a coach from another team, and he told his kids it really is about placement, not time,” Head Coach Larry Dagnon said. “Not every race is going to be a PR race, and (in) some of them, it's the course versus you and vice versa, and you've got to take that on and realize that not all courses are created to be fast, and this one wasn't.”

Mavericks roll past Pirates for second straight shutout

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks (5-1) earned their second straight shutout win with a 56-0 rout of the AC Davis Pirates on Friday. The win also extends their win streak to four straight. “Just doing our job, doing what we're supposed to do,” Head Coach Kyler Haneberg said. “Proud of the guys for doing that, especially our twos and threes getting in there, keeping that goose egg, getting a turnover, that's huge for our guys and getting that confidence level in those guys in case it's their time to come in, that's what that's what it's for.”

Basin girls soccer roundup, Oct. 1-7

MOSES LAKE — We are entering the halfway point of the Basin girls soccer season, and many teams continue to chip away at their schedules, whether they’re aiming for postseason positioning or looking to turn it around. See below how your favorite teams have fared.

Washington college football preview

MOSES LAKE — Another week of Washington college football is ahead of us this weekend as multiple top programs head into key matchups, some being must wins.

Mavs pile up 43 runs in sweep of Ike

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks (14-4) extended their win streak to four Tuesday, as they swept the Eisenhower Cadets 21-0 and 22-3 at home. The Mavs are building momentum in a busy final week of the regular season. “I'm super proud of the way (we played), this week's a grind with three double headers,” Head Coach Mike Hofheins said. “This is a tough grind at the end of the season, but I'm glad we scheduled that non-league game because I think it keeps us sharp.” After sweeping the Walla Walla Blue Devils 8-3 and 19-11 on Monday, the Mavericks carried the momentum from those victories and put together a dominant performance. Game one saw strong batting and seven runs in the first inning. From there, their high-powered offense and strong pitching earned them a shutout win over the Cadets.