COULEE CITY — The four-seeded Almira/Coulee Hartline Warriors football team will be headed to Walla Walla tomorrow to face the number one-seeded DeSales in the semifinals of the 1B state tournament. This will be the final matchup before facing either Liberty Christian or Wahkiakum in the championships at Husky Stadium. 

The battle between these two 1B juggernauts will take place Saturday at Walla Walla High School with a kickoff at 3 p.m. 

“We’re excited about our team. We have a bunch of good athletes, and they’re great kids,” said Warriors head coach Brandon Walsh.  

The Warriors continued their postseason push after a dominant win over Naselle on Lions field last week. ACH came to the field at full throttle and continued this momentum throughout the game to win 61-26. 

DeSales won their quarterfinals matchup in a similar fashion against the number nine-seeded Neah Bay. The Irish kept their opponent at bay for the entirety of the game only allowing them to score one touchdown each quarter, while the DeSales offense progressively scored more, with the most points being scored in the fourth quarter at 28. 

Looking at the seasons both teams had leading up to this week’s matchup, the Warriors finished off the regular season 7-1 after going on a six-game win streak after their week two 44-18 loss against Liberty Christian. Since then, the Warriors have won each of their games by at least a 30-point margin, even in the postseason, which earned them the top spot in the Northeast 1B. 

Their opponent in DeSales had great success this season as they went undefeated in the regular season to earn the top spot in the Southeast 1B Grape. Much like the Warriors, DeSales has won all but two games by at least 30 points, with the exceptions being their week five 38-27 win over Liberty and week eight 36-28 win over Liberty Christian. DeSales also earned two shutout victories this year, beating Yakima Tribal 62-0 and Mabton 54-0. 

Only the top four seeds remain in the 1B state football tournament, and the Warriors will have to play to their full potential this weekend to get into the championship game. Walsh said the Warriors spent the last week getting ready for both the physical aspect of the game, but also building their confidence following their last victory. 

“Against any good team, you’ve got to be disciplined in your assignments, got to be physical, you’ve got to play hard for four quarters and the mental part of the game, I think at this stage is the most important part,” said Walsh.  

    Max Grindy, a junior for ACH, sprints downfield and speeds past the Naselle defenders during last week’s quarterfinals matchup.
  

    Freshman running back Nolan Grindy from the Warriors powers through a tackle from a Naselle defender during the quarterfinal round of the state tournament.