PASCO - The Chiawana Riverhawks maintained their grip on first place in the Big 9 conference with a 38-9 win over the Chiefs Friday at Edgar Brown Stadium.

"I thought we played well against one of the top five teams in the state," coach Todd Griffith said. "Especially considering we were without our No.1 quarterback and running back."

Chiawana got on the scoreboard first with a 1-yard run by Jordan Downing. The point after attempt failed and the Riverhawks led 6-0.

The Chiefs answered back with a 26-yard field goal by Elliot Sage to close the gap to 6-3 to round out the first quarter scoring.

Chiwana got rolling again in the second quarter on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Joey Zamora to CJ Edrington, and a 23-yard field goal by Isaac Mitz to go up 15-3.

Moses Lake failed to score before time ran out in the quarter, and was down by 12 at the half, but still in the ballgame.

"Our defense came up big to keep it close," Griffith said. "We stopped them in the red zone a couple of times and forced them to kick a field goal just before the half."

Neither team scored in the third quarter as defense took control of the game.

"Our guys started clicking," Griffith said. "We also started running the ball well with Cameron Law who was filling in for Bryce Perez."

The Riverhawks rung up the first 14 points of the fourth quarter on a 10-yard run by Terro Bell, and a 52-yard fumble return by Edrington. Both PAT's were good and Chiawana led 29-3.

The Chiefs narrowed the margin by six on a 38-yard pass from Jordan Koon to Cameron Ballard. The 2-point conversion failed.

The Riverhawks scored nine more points on a 19-yard Mitz field goal and a 40-run (kick failed) by Bell to close the Chiefs out 38-9.

The loss drops Moses Lake to 0-3 in league play and 0-6 overall.

Perez (broken nose), and Justin Simmons (concussion), were unable to suit up for the game due to injuries suffered at home against the Hermiston Bulldogs two weeks ago.

Perez is expected back in the lineup next week when the Chiefs travel to Eisenhower to take on the Cadets. But the status of Simmons is still uncertain at this time.

"Justin is back in school," Griffith said. "We don't know when he'll be able to play yet, but Jordan has done a good job filling in for him for not having much time to prepare. We expect him to continue to play well if Justin is out for a while."