WARDEN — Warden’s defense limited Naches Valley to just two scoring drives the entire evening.

However, offense and special teams struggled in the winner-to-state crossover game and the Cougars lost 14-2.

“We sit there and we watch film on every team and we knew 80 percent of the time what was going to happen and we just had to execute it,” head coach Robert Arredondo said. “Other than that, these kids defensively really, really came to play today. We just failed on the offensive part of the ball. Tough group.”

Warden’s lone points came on an intentional safety in the fourth quarter.

The Cougars’ offense began with some promise as Tito Rodriguez broke off a 31-yard run into Naches Valley territory. That drive ended abruptly when safety Sean Coyne stepped in front of a Tanner Skone pass.

Both teams traded possessions during the first quarter. The Rangers scored the first of their two touchdowns with 8:35 to play in the first half when Coyne found Ryker Tripp for a 12-yard touchdown pitch and catch.

Naches Valley was poised to add more points after a blocked punt, but Warden’s defense stiffened in the red zone and forced a turnover on downs.

Coyne put the Rangers ahead 14-0 on the first drive of the second half, taking a bootleg 33 yards.

Warden’s defense held up the rest of the game, recovering a fumble and forcing two more turnovers on downs.

It was the offense that continued to struggle.

Skone was intercepted for a second time and every drive stalled at or near the red zone.

“We sit there and we get down into the 20 yard line a few times and they just toughened up,” Arredondo said. “We seemed to be running the ball decent. All I can say is they made plays when they had to. Until I go back and see film that’s basically it.”

Warden ended its regular season on a five-game win streak to climb out of an 0-4 hole, setting up an opportunity at the state playoffs.

“We start 0-4 and things are rocky and the boat is starting to take on water and we fixed things,” Arredondo said. “These seniors — the resiliency that they showed... Whatever they do in life, it’s going to be good. I plan to be here coaching tons of years and it’s going to be hard to find a group with that much resilience.”