Friday, Oct. 23, 2009

Kamikin pulls out another squeaker

By Kevin Anthony, Herald staff writer

KENNEWICK -- It was almost a perfect piece of cosmic irony.

There was Kamiakin, a solid second in the Cascade Division and smack dab in the middle of senior night, about to get its tables turned by one-win Chiawana, the CBBN's expansion team without so much as a single senior on the roster.

In the end, the Braves showed just enough poise -- and the Riverhawks missed a field goal by this much -- to pull out a 15-14 squeaker Friday night at Lampson Stadium.

"Huge steps tonight," said Chiawana coach Steve Graff. "This was a good confidence builder for us. It would have been a great confidence builder if we pulled it out."

But, in the vein of "not meant to be," Nick Stallbaum's potential winning 30-yard field goal hit the right upright and caromed back into the end zone.

"A win is a win," noted Kamiakin coach Scott Biglin, whose Braves (5-2, 5-1) await tonight's play to find out who they'll play in next week's CBBN crossover games.

"You always want to beat Graff," Biglin continued about his former coach at Pasco. "They're 1-7, but they came out battling."

In the end, the Braves showed their fight -- the same spirit that has led to a pair of overtime wins the last two times they played at Lampson.

"When we get the ball, we know we have a chance," said junior receiver Tyler Holle, who sparked Kamiakin with a pair of big catches in the fourth quarter, including what proved to be the winning touchdown on a 24-yard hookup with Corey Hutchison.

Chiawana (1-7, 1-6) set the tone on defense in the first half, sacking Hutchison four times. The CBBN's top thrower had just 30 yards on 3-for-10 passing at the half, including an interception at the goal line by Luc Graff.

Graff, who picked off another pass at the goal line in the second half, finished 14-for-24 for 204 yards quarterbacking the Riverhawks. Jordan Downing added 92 tough yards running up the middle.

Graff's 72-yard connection with CJ Edrington on an out-and-up put Chiawana up 14-3 one play into the fourth quarter.

That's when Hutchison finally began clicking with his receivers, starting with an 18-yard pass to Holle to set up Kamiakin's first score.

Chiawana fumbled the ball on the ensuing kickoff -- the Riverhawks' only turnover -- and Kamiakin finally cashed in on a short field with Hutchison finding Halle at the goal line.

"He just gave me a good chance to catch it, and I got up and caught it," Halle said, noting that the frustration was building after the Braves failed to score on three previous trips into the red zone before the fourth quarter.

Hutchison finished 9-for-22 with 118 yards.

Tim White caught five balls for 44 yards, though the league's leader in TD catches was held out of the end zone.

Kamiakin 15, Chiawana 14

Chiawana 7 0 0 7 -- 14

Kamiakin 0 0 3 12 -- 15

SCORING PLAYS

C--Nick Mackay 20 pass from Luc Graff (Nick Stallbaum kick)

K--FG Garrett Bowe 27

C--CJ Ederington 72 pass from Graff (Stallbaum kick)

K--Matt Minnich 4 run (pass failed)

K--Tyler Holle 24 pass from Corey Hutchison (pass failed)

STATISTICS

RUSHING--C, Jordan Downing 21-92, Graff 6-(minus 4). K, Dom Davis 19-63, Cody Wilmoth 3-13, Minnich 3-9, Tim White 1-0, Hutchison 11-(minus 2).

PASSING--C, Graff 14-24-0-204. K, Hutchison 9-22-2-118.

RECEIVING--C, Ederington 5-122, Mackay 3-39, Justin Smith 2-20, Enrique Salas 2-11, Dwning 1-9, Brett Adamson 1-3. K, White 5-44, Holle 2-42, Zach Umemoto 1-21, AJ Griffiths 1-11.

FIRST DOWNS--C 11, K 15. FUMBLES-LOST--C 1-1, K 4-0. PENALTIES-YARDS--C 6-59, K 6-50.