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KENNEWICK -- Southridge's football team entered it season opener Friday night wondering how it would stop Kamiakin's vaunted Spread Offense -- a one-back lineup with as many as five recieivers spread out.
The solution was simple: let Suns senior defensive end Austin Graves spend almost as much time in the Braves' backfield as Kamiakin quarterback Corey Hutchison.
By the end of the night the two got to know each other pretty well, as Graves sacked Hutchison four times for an unofficial school record in a 14-3 Southridge victory at Lampson Stadium.
"(Graves) is a stud," said Southridge coach Andy Troxel. "He may be the best defensive player in the state. But he's still gonna go to work."
Graves said Suns defensive coordinator Tony Reiboldt's plan was to keep seven or eight guys back.
"Coach Reiboldt has confidence in the guys up front to get the job done," Graves said. "Really, our goal was to keep them under 14 points. So we exceeded that."
Hutchison passed for 123 first-half yards, but all the Braves could muster was 3 points on a 32-yard Cody Crow field goal just 57 seconds into the second quarter.
That gave Kamiakin a 3-0 lead that held up until the final 30 seconds of the half, when Southridge quarterback Stephen Garcia plunged into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown.
That proved to be more than enough to beat Kamiakin, as the Southridge defense kept the Braves offense off the field for most of the second half -- including three consecutive 3-and-outs.
Graves finished with seven tackles, four QB sacks, another for a loss, and a pass breakup. Tamrich Perez added five tackles, one for a loss, and Randall Burton had an interception and a fumble recovery.
In turn Garcia, who was a little shaky running the offense for much of the first half, felt more comfortable in the second half. He and running back Dallin Palmer used the holes provided by the big horses up front, chewing up yardage and time in the second half.
Palmer finished with 102 yards rushing. Southridge controlled the ball 29 minutes and 21 seconds, compared to Kamiakin's 18:39.
In essence, Southridge's line wore down Kamiakin's defense in the second half.
"That was the game plan," said Troxel. "They have an explosive offense and we wanted to keep their guys off of the field."
Garcia added to the score in the fourth quarter, hitting receiver AJ Henderson on a 14-yard slant pattern for another touchdown.
"I think I did way too much visualizing in the first half," Garcia said. "I was way more relaxed in the second half."
Kamiakin coach Scott Biglin, making his debut for the Braves, said his team had opportunities.
"We dropped some passes that were huge momentum killers," he said. "We showed our youth tonight. But our young guys got to play a lot and they played hard."
Hutchison finished with 143 yards passing, while receiver Tim White caught six passes for 60 yards, despite fighting leg cramps. Dom Davis, Kamiakin's speedy running back, went down with an ankle injury in the first quarter and never returned.
Linebacker Matt Minnich led the Braves with seven tackles, one for a loss.
Southridge 0 7 0 7 -- 14
Kamiakin 0 3 0 0 -- 3
SCORING PLAYS
K -- FG Cody Crow 32
S -- Stephen Garcia 1 run (Chandler Mertens kick)
S -- AJ Henderson 14 pass from Garcia (Mertens kick)
STATISTICS
RUSHING--S, Dallin Palmer 26-102, Garcia 16-67, Brian Bowe 1-1, Totals 43-170; K, Matt Minnich 5-15, Dom Davis 3-8, Crow 2-1, Jason Hutchison 8-minus 26, Total 18-minus 2.
PASSING--S, Garcia 6-16-0-55. K, Hutchison 11-23-1-143.
RECEIVING--S, Henderson 3-32, Tyrell McGee 1-30, Palmer 1-minus 2, Austin Graves 1-minus 5. K, Tim White 6-60, Zach Umemoto 3-50, Trey Ralston-Loera 1-33, Crow 1-0.
FIRST DOWNS--S 12, K 7. FUMBLES-LOST--S 2-0, K 3-2. PENALTIES-YARDS--S 5-34, K 4-19.
