By Al Camp
Chronicle staff

     Okanogan County Commandos (5-1) used its winning formula - great defense and just enough offense - to edge Columbia Basin Riverhawks 15-7 May 10 at Warden High School.
     All scoring in the minor league football game occurred in the second quarter.
     The Commandos capped a nice drive with a one-yard sneak by quarterback Jordan Horner. Tom Cox missed an eventual extra point kick, his first miss of the season.
     On the Riverhawks’ next series, Bryce Boesel intercepted a pass and raced 75 yards for a touchdown.
     A two-point conversion pass completed by Levi Heyen to Clayton Ives was nullified by a holding penalty.
     “It was one of our 10 or so hold callings” in the game, coach Malcolm Townsend said. “It was terrible.”
     A second pass was tipped away.
     After the Riverhawks drove and scored, the Commandos put together a late drive that reached the five.
     “I did not use time outs right; it was a coaching mistake,” Townsend said. He had Cox boot a 22-yard field goal on third down with five seconds to go.
     The Commandos threatened in the second half, getting into the Riverhawks’ territory until four straight penalties made it third and 45.
     One of those penalties was called on a screen pass, which Townsend said appeared on tape to be a fair pass.
     “So, we held them on D and came up big,” he said.
     Adam Attridge intercepted a pass with fewer than two minutes to go that allowed the Commandos to take a knee on a couple downs to run out the clock.
     On the ground (32-115), Reese Stanfield carried 16 times for 62 yards. Shawn Townsend added 30 yards on five carries and Horner went 15 yards on four carries.
     Heyen was 9-19 for 97 yards and no interceptions.
     Horner caught three passes for 35 yards, Gabe Lopez three passes for 31 yards, Shawn Townsend two passes for 17 yards and Ives a pass for 14 yards.
     Coach Townsend kept the passing game short due to receivers not being able to break away for cornerbacks.
     He said what hurt the Commandos was 100 yards in penalties.
     Defensively, Steve Perry had an interception, sack and 2.5 tackles. Shawn Townsend led with seven tackles. Justin Koepke had two tackles and a sack, Eli Super had 5.5 tackles, Boesel three tackles and interception, and Attridge with two tackles and a game-ending interception.
     “They threw all game, with all of our tackles pretty much coming in the secondary,” coach Townsend said. He added there were not a lot of tackles due to many incomplete passes.
     The Commandos return for their final home game against the Skagit Valley Lightning (1-5) at 6 p.m. Saturday, May 17, at Okanogan High School.
     The top two teams in the league are to meet the same day - Yakima (6-0) and Walla Walla (5-1). A loss by Walla Walla and win by the OCC would elevate the Commandos into second place.
     Townsend said the team must win its final two games to possibly seal a first-round, home field playoff game.
     Ticket prices have been lowered to $5 for the game in appreciation of support of Commandos fans, Townsend said.
     Military, past and present, will be able to enter the game free.
     “We hope everybody comes out,” he said. “We always have the biggest crowd in the league. Okanogan County should be proud of these guys. They’ve worked hard. We’ve been playing these big city teams and winning games.”