WARDEN — The Warriors Juan Silva rushed for 171 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns and Wahluke held off Warden 28-20 on the Cougars home turf Friday.

“It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win for us,” coach Mike Foristiere said. “Things started off well for us when Manny Garcia and Tony Cruz stripped the ball carrier on the opening kickoff and Oscar Rodriguez came up with it on Warden’s 22 yard line. Three plays later we were in the end zone when Danial Ayala scored from 5-yards out (kick failed).”

Warden responded with a 19-yard strike from Ryan Arrendondo to Zach Richins (2-point conversion failed) to even it 6-all.

The Warriors answered back with a Rock Forisitere 1-yard run and a 2-point conversion to make it 14-6 and round out first quarter scoring.

Both team scored in the second 12 minutes and Wahluke held the 8-point lead at the half.

The Cougars hung the only points on the board in the third quarter on a Holden Hayworth 20-yard run (2-point conversion) to knot it at 14-14.

Silva hit pay dirt twice in the fourth quarter on runs of 6 and 20 yards. Both 2-point conversions were successful and the Warriors gained some much needed breathing room, 28-14.

Warden put six points on the board with six seconds left in the game on a 5-yard pass from Arredondo to Kaden Skone.

The win nailed down a spot in the postseason for Wahluke.

“Defensively we bent but did not break,” Foristiere said. “On offense our goal was to control the ball and keep Wardens offense off the field. We did that for the most part, and most importantly, we didn’t turn the run ball over the entire game.”

The Warriors run heavy offense produced 298 yards on the ground, led by Silva’s 171. Rock Foristiere finished with 25 carries for 127 yards and 1 TD. Wahluke threw just two passes in the game and completed one for 22 yards.

“We qualified for playoffs, but this Friday is a big game,” Foristiere said. “We are going up against a very good Ki-Be team and we really to improve to compete with them.”