Football coming soon
IAN BIVONA | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 4 months AGO
Moses Lake senior Tommy Ransom Jr. (21) carries the ball against Davis last fall. Moses Lake is coming off an 8-2 season in 2023 where the Mavericks finished one game shy of reaching the state tournament.
IAN BIVONA/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Royal running back Ethan Ellis (22) returns a kickoff against Othello last September. The Knights won their fourth consecutive state championship last December, while Othello aims to defend its co-Central Washington Athletic Conference title, shared with Ephrata a year ago.
Ephrata junior Brady Hendrick (4) carries the ball during a game against East Valley (Yakima) last season. Ephrata finished last season with a 6-4 record, splitting the Central Washington Athletic Conference title with Othello and making their second straight appearance in the 2A State Football Tournament.
Soap Lake quarterback Jairo Lopez carries the ball during a league game against MLCA/CCS last fall. Soap Lake finished the 2023 season with a 5-5 mark, while the Lions went 7-2 in their inaugural season on the gridiron.
The Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors line up before a snap during a game against Liberty Bell in 2023. ACH reached the state quarterfinals last year, and returns the bulk of its players from the 2023 roster.
The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague kickoff unit returned a kick during a game last fall. The Broncos are coming off a 5-5 year.
A Quincy ball carrier advances upfield while being tackled by East Valley (Yakima) defenders. The Jacks are moving back into the 2A Central Washington Athletic Conference during the 2024-2028 classification cycle.
A Warden running back stiff-arms a Kiona-Benton defender during a game last fall. The Cougars are seeking to improve off of last season’s 4-6 campaign.
Ian Bivona serves as the Columbia Basin Herald’s sports reporter and is a graduate of Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. He enjoys the behind-the-scenes stories that lead up to the wins and losses of the various sports teams in the Basin. Football is his favorite sport, though he likes them all, and his favorite team is the Jets. He lives in Soap Lake with his cat, Honey. | August 26, 2024 3:30 AM
MOSES LAKE — High school football practices across the state began Wednesday, as teams prepare for the upcoming 2024 season.
The Columbia Basin Herald’s annual Gridiron Guide, which looks at each squad in Grant and Adams counties, releases Friday. There are several noteworthy storylines among the Basin’s 11 teams heading into this upcoming season — will Ephrata and Othello be able to defend their co-Central Washington Athletic Conference championships from a season ago? Will a veteran Almira/Coulee-Hartline team be able to build off last year’s win in the state playoffs? How will the Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian School Lions fare in the second year of their program? How will Moses Lake’s high-flying offense look in 2024? And, of course, will the Royal Knights once again be able to defend their 1A state championship for the fifth consecutive season?
All of this and more will be in Friday’s Gridiron Guide, including a look at players in new roles, league and classification changes around the Basin and team schedules.
Royal running back Ethan Ellis (22) returns a kickoff against Othello last September. The Knights won their fourth consecutive state championship last December, while Othello aims to defend its co-Central Washington Athletic Conference title, shared with Ephrata a year ago.
Ephrata junior Brady Hendrick (4) carries the ball during a game against East Valley (Yakima) last season. Ephrata finished last season with a 6-4 record, splitting the Central Washington Athletic Conference title with Othello and making their second straight appearance in the 2A State Football Tournament.
Soap Lake quarterback Jairo Lopez carries the ball during a league game against MLCA/CCS last fall. Soap Lake finished the 2023 season with a 5-5 mark, while the Lions went 7-2 in their inaugural season on the gridiron.
The Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors line up before a snap during a game against Liberty Bell in 2023. ACH reached the state quarterfinals last year, and returns the bulk of its players from the 2023 roster.
The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague kickoff unit returned a kick during a game last fall. The Broncos are coming off a 5-5 year.
A Quincy ball carrier advances upfield while being tackled by East Valley (Yakima) defenders. The Jacks are moving back into the 2A Central Washington Athletic Conference during the 2024-2028 classification cycle.
A Warden running back stiff-arms a Kiona-Benton defender during a game last fall. The Cougars are seeking to improve off of last season’s 4-6 campaign.ARTICLES BY IAN BIVONA
Moses Lake boys qualify eight, girls send 11 to Mat Classic
MOSES LAKE -- Nineteen total Mavericks qualified to wrestle at the upcoming Mat Classic, with the Moses Lake girls team qualifying 11 wrestlers and the boys team sending eight wrestlers to the Tacoma Dome. The Moses Lake boys took second at districts, scoring 214.5 points at the tournament. Sunnyside won the district tournament with 278.5 points.
Basin wrestlers bound for state after districts
MOSES LAKE – District tournaments were held across the state on Friday and Saturday, where boys and girls wrestlers punched their tickets into next week’s Mat Classic in Tacoma.
Mavs defeat Sunnyside, finish third in league
Moses Lake enters districts with confidence as regular season fades
MOSES LAKE – The Mavericks closed out the regular season with a trip to Sunnyside on Thursday night, coming out on top of a closely contested game with a 67-66 win over the Grizzlies. “They’ve been playing better, scoring more,” Head Coach Craig Groth said. “We’ve been doing a little bit better job on defense in certain situations and winning games leading up to that. Even games we haven’t won, we’ve been in really close games. Our confidence is really good right now, we felt great going into the game.”