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RICHLAND -- Mike Neidhold knows something has to change.
He's just not sure exactly what those changes are right now.
But there is no doubt where those changes have to be made.
The second-year coach of the Richland Bombers doesn't want to have to stomach another Friday night like he did against Eisenhower.
The Bombers failed to mount any sort of consistency on the ground or in the air and where shut out 20-0 by the Cadets on homecoming night at Fran Rish Stadium.
"Offensively we didn't get the job done," Neidhold said. "It's disappointing."
Neidhold was quick to credit the Cadets, who stayed unbeaten and remained in first place in the CBBN Cascade Division. But he was less than pleased with his offense that managed just 136 yards.
The Bombers (1-3, 1-2) crossed midfield just three times and the closest they came to the end zone was the 25-yard line.
Jake McKinney, one of the top running backs in the league, was battered by the Cadets defensive line and linebackers. He rushed for 70 yards on 19 carries.
"You can't come out and run the ball 50 times," McKinney said. "You have to have some sort of cushion."
That cushion McKinney is referring to is some help in the passing game.
Hayden Hilty continued his season-long struggle, completing 7 of 14 passes for 60 yards.
In four games this season, Hilty is 27-for-64 for 233 yards.
"We weren't able to run the ball in the second half, and we made some poor throws," Neidhold said. "You can't play at this level like that."
Despite all the offense woes, Richland trailed just 14-0 at halftime and appeared to gain some momentum to start the third quarter.
Tyler Hibdon intercepted the first of his two James Lopez's passes on the third play after halftime and the Bombers took over at the Eisenhower 43-yard line.
The Bombers managed to get down to the 25-yard line before coming up short on a fourth down. It was the closest Richland would come to the end zone.
The Cadets defense would not allow the Bombers to cross midfield the rest of the game.
"Our defense really stepped up and shut them out tonight," said Ike quarterback James Lopez.
Lopez did his share on offense to keep the Cadets moving down the field. The senior tossed two touchdown passes for Asay Morioka and continually made big plays to keep Ike moving down the field.
After a scoreless first quarter, Ike took a 7-0 lead when Lopez hit Morioka on a 15-yard pass play with 10:24 left in the quarter.
Ike stretched the lead to 14-0 on its next drive when Morioka snatched another Lopez pass, this time from 12-yards out.
Joe Fuerst, the league's leading rusher, capped the scoring with a 5-yard fourth-quarter run.
Fuerst, who had a league-high 499 yards on in 74 carries, was held in check by the Bombers' defense, carrying the ball 16 times for 60 yards.
But after the game, the superb defensive effort against the top-ranked offense was overlooked.
It was all about the offense. The offense wasn't there.
"We got to figure something out," Neidhold said. "We got to get our offense on track."
* Ben Reynolds: 509-582-1509; breynolds@tricityherald.com
Eisenhower 20, Richland 0
Eisenhower 0 14 0 6 -- 20
Richland 0 0 0 0 -- 0
SCORING PLAYS
E -- Asya Morioka 15 pass from James Lopez (kick failed)
E -- Morioka 12 pass from Lopez (Lopez run)
E -- Joe Fuerst 5 run (kick failed)
STATISTICS
RUSHING--E, Fuerst 16-60, Daniel Ortega 2-5, Morioka 1-8, Issac Sarate 7-23. R, Jake McKinney 19-70, Hayden Hilty 8-8, Sawyer Powell 2-2, Elijah Gardaya 1-1, Brad Baird 2-(minus-5).
PASSING--E, Lopez 9-19-2-182. R, Hilty 7-14-0-60, Chris Hayes 0-2-1-0.
RECEIVING--E, Antonio Martinez 2-102, Ryan Watson 2-23, Morioka 4-51, Dylan Hudson 1-6. R, Cordarrius Ramsey 3-13, Andrew Kusuda 3-35, Brennen Creer 1-12.
FIRST DOWNS--E 10, R 8. FUMBLES-LOST--E 1-1, R 1-0. PENALTIES-YARDS--E 7-73, R 4-40.
