KENNEWICK -- Just a couple more seasons.

PASCO -- The Chinese may consider 2009 to be the Year of the Ox, but for the folks at Tri-Cities Prep, it's turning out to be the Fall of the Jaguar.

RICHLAND -- Hanford High School senior Laura Hughes will celebrate having signed a letter of intent with Eastern Washington University at a ceremony at noon Friday in the Falcons' Gym Foyer.

HERMISTON -- The Hermiston Linebacker Club will hold a luncheon meeting at noon Thursday at the Desert Lanes Bowling Alley, 1545 N. 1st Street in Hermiston.

YAKIMA -- Brittany Blackketter rolled a 222 game to help Kennewick tie Eisenhower 2-2 in a Columbia Basin Big Nine girls bowling match at Nob Hill Lanes in Yakima.

Two Mid-Columbia girls soccer programs will be playing for a shot at a state title this weekend on the west side of the state.

A busy weekend of football is set for Mid-Columbia teams still alive in the state playoffs, and the Tri-Cities will be the site of two of those games plus another featuring the top-ranked 2A team in the state.

A strong season for the Southridge football team led to a lot of Suns shining in the Columbia Basin Big Nine's postseason awards.

4A STATE TOURNAMENT

CASHMERE -- Connell midfielder Rosa Hernandez saw and opportunity and launched a shot from 30 yards in the 61st minute, beating Cashmere goalkeeper Suzy McCall to the top left corner for what would be the game's only goal.

WALLA WALLA -- Pat Richard completed 9 of 15 passes for 192 yards and five touchdowns -- three of them to Ryan Baumgart to lead DeSales to a decisive first-round 2B playoff win over White Swan.

OTHELLO -- Playing the same team over and over again can get a little monotonous. But if you are the Othello football team, there is nothing wrong with monotonous.

KENNEWICK -- The Pullman volleyball team stared down the barrel of elimination Friday night and lived to tell about it.

COLFAX -- Colfax stymied quarterback Zach Bartlow in posting a 39-0 victory over visiting Waitsburg-Prescott in the state 1B football playoffs Saturday.

OTHELLO -- Playing the same team over and over again can get a little monotonous. But if you are the Othello football team, there is nothing wrong with monotonous.

FEDERAL WAY -- Hanford capped an amazing season with 140 team points and a fifth-place finish in 3A state swimming finals Saturday at King County Aquatics Center.

KENNEWICK -- For Summer Nash, the long journey to a state volleyball title ended up worth it.

OKANOGAN -- Matt Wilhelm rushed for a 1-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to pull River View out of a 21-17 deficit and earn a victory over Okanogan in the 1A state playoffs.

CHELAN -- Royal erased a 20-0 deficit with four unanswered touchdowns to take a 25-20 third-quarter lead, but Chelan rallied for the final three touchdowns to capture the first-round 1A state game.

RICHLAND -- Hanford football coach Rob Oram had no trouble assessing his team's 48-14 loss to Greater Spokane League Champion Mount Spokane in the first round of the state 3A playoffs at Fran Rish Stadium on Friday night.

CONNELL -- Sophomore Matt Hadley had 391 all-purpose yards and Connell rolled to 1A playoff victory over Cascade-Leavenworth.

KENNEWICK -- If you're a volleyball player from Spokane, you know the tradition you have to uphold.

KENNEWICK -- If there's one lesson Washington volleyball fans have learned by now, it should be: Never count Mead out.

PASCO -- Will Hoppes threw for three for 207 yards and 3 TDs, and Jacob Schmidt capped a Tri-Cities Prep shutout of Wilbur-Creston with a 12-yard run as the Jaguars mercy-ruled with 5:40 to go in the third quarter in a Class 1B regional game at Edgar Brown Stadium.

SPOKANE -- Quick-strike offense coupled with timely and opportunistic defense against a mistake-prone foe provided the ingredients to propel Ferris into a State 4A football quarterfinal appearance.

YAKIMA -- It didn't take long -- barely enough time to thaw out from the freezing night -- for Southridge's locker room at Zaepfel Stadium to transform from a room full of faces crumbled in tears to one filled with smiling hugs.

KENNEWICK -- Taylor Dillard spoke with a lot of bravado for a player whose team hasn't been this far at state in a long time.

COOS BAY, Ore. -- Stevie Martinez ran for 340 yards on 29 carries and scored four touchdowns to lead Hermiston to a 5A state playoff victory over Marshfield.

YAKIMA -- It didn't take long -- barely enough time to thaw out from the freezing night -- for Southridge's locker room at Zaepfel Stadium to transform from a room full of faces crumbled in tears to one filled with smiling hugs.

Kamiakin girls soccer coach Chris Erikson had to be a little curious to see how Madi Meyer, her senior goalkeeper, would perform in a shootout against Lewis & Clark on Friday at Lampson Stadium.

KENNEWICK -- A year ago, Summer Nash had one of the best seats in the house for the 3A state volleyball tournament.

GRANDVIEW -- Last year, Grandview libero Gabby Sauve was the shortest player in the state volleyball program, listed at 4-foot-11.

KENNEWICK -- Here are the team-by-team outlooks for this weekend's girls 3A volleyball tournament at Toyota Center in Kennewick:

KENNEWICK -- Here are the team-by-team outlooks for this weekend's girls 2A volleyball tournament at Toyota Center in Kennewick:

The locker room Saturday at Lampson Stadium following the Kamiakin girls' 2-1 overtime win over Moses Lake was a virtual who's who of Kamiakin girls soccer standouts.

KENNEWICK -- At last weekend's 4A Eastern Regional tournament, Mead coach Judy Kight celebrated her 500th career victory in the title match.

KENNEWICK -- Whitney McGary rolled a match-high 234 in Game 2 to help pilot Kennewick to a 3-1 victory over Moses Lake in the pairs' CBBN 4A season opener at Spare Time Lanes.

KENNEWICK -- Here are some of the players expected to shine at this weekend's 2A state volleyball tournament at Toyota Center:

Kamiakin and Southridge find themselves in similar football waters tonight, both playing on the road in the first round of the 4A state playoffs.

KENNEWICK -- The Richland volleyball players kept up their brave facade until they belted out one final team cheer to close out their season.

YAKIMA -- Brooke Gibbons had 27 kills, Laryn Wells furnished 36 assists and 15 blocks and Shannon Jorgenson was 32-for-32 from the service line as Connell survived the first round of 1A state volleyball tournament at the SunDome in Yakima.

KENNEWICK -- Here are some of the players expected to shine at this weekend's 3A state volleyball tournament at Toyota Center:

KENNEWICK -- Chalk another one up for Team Erikson.

Hanford sophomore Melissa Merrill won't let nerves stand in her way this weekend when she, along with seven other Falcons, takes to the pool Friday and Saturday for the 3A state finals at King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

KENNEWICK -- Here are the team-by-team outlooks for this weekend's girls 4A volleyball tournament at Toyota Center in Kennewick:

Hanford sophomore Melissa Merrill won't let nerves stand in her way this weekend when she, along with seven other Falcons, takes to the pool Friday and Saturday for the 3A state finals at King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

RICHLAND -- Chelsey Bettinson has a unique perspective on the CBBN coaches' selections as the league's top two setters.

Kennewick will host Moses Lake in both teams' CBBN 4A season opener at 3:30 p.m. today, but Lions coach Oscar Garnica is already confident that his second year piloting the program will be an improvement over his debut season.

KENNEWICK -- Here are some of the players expected to shine at this weekend's 4A state volleyball tournament at Toyota Center:

Kamiakin may be the hottest team heading into the 4A state playoffs beginning today, having won 12 straight matches and 15 of its last 16.