MATTAWA - The Wahluke Warriors had two opponents in Warden Friday night - the formidable Cougars, and the referees.

One hundred-65 penalty yards later, the Warriors had their second defeat of the year, 20-14, falling to 1-2.

"Please don't ask if they were all legit. Lets just say I am keeping my mouth shut," coach Mike Forestiere said. "Anyway we played well. the kids played their tails off, what hurt was 165 yards in penalties. The kids played their tails off."

The Warriors rushed the ball for 432 yards and added 75 yards passing. Defensively they had interceptions from Nathan Buck and Daniel Corrales.

Once again, running back Randy Forestiere led the offense. He carried the ball 25 times for 203 yards and two touchdowns.

Quarterback Colin Ahmann had a near perfect night passing. He hit five of seven passes for 75 yards.

Buck had two receptions for 27 yards, Ethan Kinney had one reception for 15 yards, and Michael Coulson had two receptions for 33 yards and a 2-point conversion.

Also having a great night rushing was Jason Cruz. He carried the ball 11 times for 122 yards.

Other rushers were Carlos Thiede (5-25), Danial Corrales (5-25), Alex Chiprez (5-27), Bryan Anaya (4-27) and Jose Madrigal (1-3).

The Warriors will be out to level their record at 2-2 this Friday with a home game against Connell. Normally, a win over Connell is a tall order, but the Eagles have been hammered three times. The last loss was to Royal by 49-7.

"They are 0-3 but have played outstanding teams. I know they will be ready for us," Forestiere said. "In turn, we need to rebound from a tough loss. I expect it to be a very physical game, and I know that Connell has the tradition of being dominant in league play."