Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009

Braves find comfort zone in win

By Rene Ferran, Herald staff writer

KENNEWICK -- After weeks of enduring frenetic finishes, the Kamiakin faithful finally got something Friday night they'd craved:

A comfortable ending.

The Braves scored on their opening possession and dominated from start to finish to beat crosstown rival Kennewick 28-14 in the CBBN crossover playoffs at Lampson Stadium.

"We knew we'd struggled the last couple of games, but we wanted to come out tonight and make a statement," said senior linebacker Matt Minnich, who led the defense with nine tackles -- three for loss -- including one of the Braves' four sacks.

"We wanted to show teams that we're not going to back down. We're going to play Kamiakin defense. We're in the playoffs now, and we're not going to let you stick around."

Kamiakin (7-2) advances to play Central Valley, the GSL No. 2 seed, in next weekend's 4A regional playoffs in Spokane.

"We're going to enjoy this win tonight," said first-year Braves coach Scott Biglin. "But then we'll hit the film room tomorrow and get ready for CV."

Kennewick (3-5) still has a game next week against an as-yet-undetermined opponent.

"In the locker room, there were some guys talking about thanking the coaches," said senior linebacker KC Hooper, who led the Lions with nine tackles. "But I'm not going to say thank you until after our last game. We're not done yet."

Lions coach Bill Templeton thought his team had an advantage up front against the Braves, but he was quickly proven wrong. Minnich shot through on Kennewick's first play from scrimmage to drop Drew Loftus for a 4-yard loss.

"On both sides of the ball, they dominated on the line," Templeton said. "We didn't get any pressure on them, and they got lots of pressure on Trent (Brown)."

Indeed, Corey Hutchison was hardly touched in the pocket for Kamiakin, and he took advantage of the good protection for one of his best games of the season -- 19-for-27 for 298 yards and four touchdowns.

"They showed their blitz early, and my line gave me plenty of time to be able to see it," Hutchison said. "Guys got open, found zones, and that makes a world of difference."

Biglin was even more effusive in his praise.

"That was by far the best game of the year for our offensive line," he said. "They're adjusting to a new system, just like our receivers did, and they're finally getting it."

After Kamiakin forced a three-and-out to open the game, the Braves went 62 yards in eight plays, with Hutchison hitting Zach Umemoto on a deep slant for a 21-yard touchdown.

The teams then traded interceptions twice to end the first quarter, but after Kennewick failed to score on first-and-goal from the 5, the Braves needed only six plays to go up 14-0 on a 25-yard pass from Hutchison to Tyler Holle.

The Lions answered just before halftime on a 12-yard TD pass from Brown to Zak Albertin.

Kamiakin made it 21-7 late in the third as Hutchison dropped in a deep ball to AJ Griffiths for a 44-yard touchdown, then put the game away with 9:36 to play on Hutchison's 30-yard TD pass to Tim White.

"The offense tore it up tonight, and that made things easier on us," Minnich said. "When Corey throws those bombs like that, it gives us momentum, and we can ride off that."

Brown finished 17-of-29 for 198 yards, including a 7-yard TD pass to Devven Ramos in the final two minutes.

Loftus had 12 catches for 151 yards.

Kennewick 0 7 0 7 -- 14

Kamiakin 7 7 7 7 -- 28

SCORING PLAYS

Ka -- Zach Umemoto 21 pass from Corey Hutchison (Garrett Bowe kick)

Ka -- Tyler Holle 25 pass from Hutchison (Bowe kick)

Ke -- Zak Albertin 12 pass from Trent Brown (Benjamin Hodzic kick)

Ka -- AJ Griffiths 44 pass from Hutchison (Bowe kick)

Ka -- Tim White 30 pass from Hutchison (Bowe kick)

Ke -- Devven Ramos 7 pass from Brown (Hodzic kick)

STATISTICS

RUSHING--Ke, Brown 9-(minus 2), Albertin 8-40, Drew Loftus 3-(minus 3), KC Hooper 3-43, Ramos 1-5. Ka, Dom Davis 17-62, Hutchison 11-21, White 1-0, Cody Wilmoth 3-(minus 5), Matt Minnich 1-5.

PASSING--Ke, Brown 17-29-2-198. Ka, Hutchison 19-27-2-298.

RECEIVING--Ke, Loftus 12-151, Ramos 3-31, Albertin 1-12, Brett Oliver 1-4. Ka, Holle 7-111, White 3-38, Griffiths 3-60, Umemoto 3-30, Tyler Wolf 1-13, Davis 1-18, James Swinyard 1-28.

FIRST DOWNS--Ke 15, Ka 18. FUMBLES-LOST--Ke 1-0, Ka 3-0. PENALTIES-YARDS--Ke 2-20, Ka 8-61.