COULEE CITY — The Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors (3-0) remain undefeated after earning a statement 62-18 win over the defending 1B state champion DeSales Fighting Irish.  

"It's a big win for us, no question," head coach Brandon Walsh said. "Those guys knocked us out of the playoffs last year, and so this one's kind of been circled on our calendar all offseason, and I don't know that the score reflects how good that team is. They're a good team, and if we run into them again down the road, we better not overlook them."  

The Warriors controlled the game from the beginning, holding DeSales to just 12 points in the first half while they put up 40. From there, ACH continued to dominate on both sides of the ball, adding 22 points to their lead in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Walsh subbed in some of the younger players for the remainder of the game. While DeSales managed to cut six points off their deficit, ACH were ultimately victorious.  

A key element to their win was how the Warriors played in the trenches. On the ground, Max Grindy led the team with 13 carries for 220 yards and four touchdowns. Also productive on the ground were Nolan Grindy (68), Brody Pitts (63) and Trey Kast (61). What was a struggle the last time the two teams played, the Warriors were dominant this time around.  

"It's been a big focus for us all, really all off season," Walsh said. "Our O-line are – the three of them are our best buds, and they spent a lot of time in the weight room in the offseason. We got beat in the trenches, it seemed like, last year by those guys, and we just wanted to be more physical, really on both sides of the ball." 

First half 

The Warriors received the ball first and went right to work asserting their dominance at the line of scrimmage. After moving the ball downfield mainly through the run, Max punched it in from one yard out before completing a pass to Pitts for the two-point conversion.  

The Fighting Irish responded swiftly, recovering an onside kick by the Warriors before eventually scoring from 12-yards out. Their two-point attempt was unsuccessful, allowing the Warriors to remain ahead 8-6. From there, the Warriors shifted into another gear, as Max broke loose up the right sideline on a designed run for a 58-yard touchdown to increase their lead to 16-6 after another two-point play as well.  

DeSales offense was shut down on their next drive and a bad snap on the punt forced them to take a safety early in the second quarter. Capitalizing on the opportunity, Kast received the kick before slipping multiple tackles and returning the rock 82-yards for another touchdown, extending the lead to 26-6.  

On the Irish's next offensive drive, they almost came alive before missing a deep shot over the middle. Looking to punt, the snap was overshot once again forcing DeSales to take a second safety. Though Kast wasn't able to take the ball back on the kick again, Max took matters into his own hands when he ran around several tacklers for a 66-yard touchdown to make it 34-6.  

DeSales responded on their next drive, completing a similar deep shot they missed earlier to set them up in scoring territory. Moments later, the Irish punched it in from 16-yards out on a passing touchdown to make it 34-12. 

The Warriors continued to ride their momentum into the halftime break, but not before Kast shook loose for a 56-yard rushing touchdown to extend their lead to 40-12 by the break. Not only was ACH dominant in the trenches, but they demonstrated excellent speed in open space, something Walsh considers a strength with this team.  

"That's obviously a huge factor – Max, Nolan and Trey are all super fast," he said. "We saw it with Pitts; he's sneaky fast too on that one long run, and it's on both sides of the ball too. That (DeSales) quarterback's fast, the one receiver's fast, and we were able to run with those guys and just stay with them. The quarterback didn't really ever escape and have big plays, and that's a credit to our team speed as well on defense. That's a difference maker in eight man because the field's wide open." 

Second half 

Though DeSales received the ball first in the second half, it was the Warriors picking up where they left off. Across the third quarter, ACH added 22 points off touchdowns by Max, Pitts and Nolan to extend their lead to 62-12 heading into the fourth.  

DeSales executed a 57-yard passing touchdown in the fourth, before the Warriors younger players came in and helped run the clock out and officially seal the win.  

With the win, ACH avenges a loss to the Irish in the 1B state semifinals which the Warriors lost 44-22 before DeSales went on to win the state championship over Liberty Christian – who ACH just beat in week two this season.

With back-to-back wins over two state tournament teams, Walsh said its more important than ever to fight off complacency.  

"That's sort of the danger, we plateau or we quit peaking and we quit work and we think we're so good because we beat two really good teams," he said. "But with the things I think we're capable of, we have a lot of upward potential, and that's exciting. It's going to be the focus of our next few weeks. Of like, 'Hey guys, we're going to really buckle down on the little things, the fundamentals, and just try and get better at whatever it is-tackling, blocking, execution of plays,' those kind of things and be real picky on it in practice, so that we can so we don't have a letdown." 

The Warriors return to their home field next week on Sept. 26 at 5 p.m. when they host Inchelium.  

BOX SCORE: 

DSLS: 6-6-0-6: 18 

ACHW: 16-24-22-0: 62 

    The Warriors defense sacks the DeSales quarterback while also earning a penalty after being held by the Irish.
  

    Nolan Grindy (11) fights off a DeSales defender while advancing the ball on offense for the ACH Warriors on Friday.
  

    From left: Brody Pitts, Tucker Bayless, Ian McWalter and Max Grindy take the field against DeSales for the coin toss.
  

    Warriors quarterback Max Grindy (12) fights off a DeSales defender while preparing to truck through another.