Burbank wins in EWAC football showdown over Tri-Cities Prep

Tyler Good began the football season as the starting quarterback of the Columbia-Burbank Coyotes.

But not long after the opener, Burbank head coach Trevor Curtis opted to move Good to slot receiver to allow Dylan Frimodt to take over at QB.

“That was OK,” said Good. “I’m a team player.”

What it did was allow the Coyotes to have a good relief pitcher available if ever there was a time it was needed.

That moment came Friday night in Burbank’s big 34-28 2A Eastern Washington Athletic Conference win over Tri-Cities Prep.

Trailing 28-20 in the fourth quarter, the Coyotes looked to Good when Frimodt went down with a leg injury (Frimodt was OK after the game) and had to be helped off the field.

Curtis made the call to the bullpen, Good responded, and the damage happened in a matter of just 2 minutes and 14 seconds.

On his second play at the helm, Good found receiver Creed Pariera coming across the middle.

The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Pariera caught the pass, shrugged off a couple of would-be tacklers, and raced the remaining acreage for a 71-yard touchdown play.

When Abe Garcia ran the 2-point conversion in, the contest was knotted at 28-28 with 9:53 remaining. Burbank’s defense held tough on the ensuing Prep offensive series, as the Jags failed to convert on a fourth-down situation at the Coyotes 47, turning the ball over on downs.

Two plays later, Good ran an option play 53 yards for what would become the game-winning touchdown.

“It was a fake to Garcia, and if it was open for me, I was going to run,” said Good.

He did.

Tri-Cities Prep coach Dan Whitsett said it was another defensive breakdown for the Jaguars on a long night of many.

“The linebacker on the running back side is supposed to stay home just in case the quarterback cuts back,” said Whitsett. “He got sucked inside on the play.”

The victory gives Curtis and his team a 4-0 EWAC record (6-0 overall), and the inside track to the conference title – although both Burbank and Prep still have to play an upstart and an EWAC-unbeaten (at 3-0) White Swan.

It was also sweet justice for the Coyotes, who failed to pick up a single vote this past week from the state’s sports writers and broadcasters in the 2B poll conducted by The Associated Press.

No matter.

“We love coming in as the underdog,” said Good.

From Curtis on down to his players, everyone towed that company line.

“We love that role,” admitted Curtis. “There is no quit in these kids. They play all four quarters. And Tyler? That’s our next-man-up mentality.”

Pariera had an outstanding game, catching 5 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns. His most important catch may have been a one-hander for 31 yards, with a Prep defender draped all over him, that extended the Coyotes’ drive late in the game and chewing up more precious time on the clock.

“That,” said Pariera, “is on our coaches. They make us do those one-handed drills in practice every day.”

For the Jags, it was an all-around rough day.

First, they found out Friday morning that running back Davian Iniguez was diagnosed with a torn ACL and is done for the season.

And then the loss.

“It was a weird game,” said Whitsett, who couldn’t do anything but chuckle. “I have not seen a game where I felt our offensive and defensive lines dominated, and we still lost.

“It was crazy. We had a lot of adversity, and we fought through it. But they made more plays than we did. We dropped a lot of passes. Our quarterback was pressing. Hat’s off to Burbank. Bottom line is they made the plays.”

Notes

Prep (3-1 EWAC, 5-1 overall) plays host to White Swan next Friday at Chiawana High School. … Burbank travels to Tonasket for a 2 p.m., non-league contest on Saturday. … Curtis said his defensive unit kept changing up coverages on Prep. Jags QB Dante Maiuri passed for 208 yards. But it took him 51 attempts, and he had 18 completions. … Good also had a great game on defense, with 6 tackles, a pass breakup and a cover. Teammate Dounelson Mullen added 4 tackles, 2 pass breakups and 2 covers; while Garcia added 3 tackles, a pass breakup, a cover, and a big interception that he caught for a touchdown on a swing pass deep in the Jags’ territory. … DT Zerric Pardini led Prep defensively, with 5 tackles (two for loss), a quarterback sack, and a fumble recovery. DL Sam Stewart added 7 tackles (one for loss) and a QB sack. … Prep’s numbers are down to 19, which is pretty thin for an 11-man football team. Whitsett said if Prep doesn’t get a large freshman class next year, it’s possible the Jags would have to play 8-man football next season.

Coyotes 34, Jaguars 28

Tri-Cities Prep 7 14 7 0 — 28

Columbia-Burbank 8 6 6 14 — 34

SCORING PLAYS TCP – Jacob Levy 35 pass from Dante Maiuri (Drew Axel kick)

CB – Abe Garcia intercepted pass in end zone (Garcia run) TCP — Maiuri 2 run (Axel kick)

CB – Dounelson Mullen 58 pass from Dylan Frimodt (pass failed) TCP — Kaden Harrison 21 run (Axel kick)

CB – Creed Pariera 6 pass from Frimodt (pass failed) TCP — Noah Elliott 8 run (Axel kick)

CB – Pariera 71 pass from Tyler Good (Garcia run)

CB – Good 53 run (pass failed)

Individual statics

RUSHING – TCP, Harrison 17-81, Elliott 3-24, Landon Amato 1-minute 2, Maiuri 5-minus 6, Team 1-minus 9, Total 27-88. CB, Good 5-32, Garcia 20-23, Pariera 1-2, Frimodt 11-minus 5, Total 37-48.

PASSING – TCP, Maiuri 18-51-1-208. CB, Good 5-5-0-119, Frimodt 4-12-1-85.

RECEIVING – TCP, Amato 7-68, Levy 4-61, Adam Baerlocher 4-45, Austin Hiett 3-34. CB, Pariera 5-146, Mullen 1-58, Ethan Thoren 1-1, Garcia 2-minus 1.

FIRST DOWNS – TCP 15, CB 8.

PENALTIES-YARDS – TCP 7-51, CB 9-98.

FUMBLES-LOST – TCP 4-1, CB 4-1.

MCC Standings

Chiawana 5-0 MCC, 5-1 overall

Kamiakin 4-1, 5-1

Kennewick 4-1, 5-1

Pasco 3-2, 3-3

Walla Walla 3-3, 3-3

Hanford 2-3, 3-3

Richland 2-3, 3-3

Hermiston 1-5, 1-5

Southridge 0-6, 0-6

Friday

Chiawana 34, Hermiston 14

Hanford 70, Sunnyside 42

Kamiakin 37, Walla Walla 27

Kennewick 55, Pasco 20

Richland 44, Southridge 7

Thursday, Oct. 17

Walla Walla at Kennewick, 7 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 18

Hermiston at Eisenhower, 7 p.m.

Pasco at Hanford, Fran Rish Stadium, 7 p.m.

Richland at Kamiakin, Lampson Stadium, 7 p.m.

Southridge at Chiawana, Edgar Brown Stadium, 7 p.m.

2A CWAC Standings

North Othello 3-0 CWAC, 4-2 overall

Ellensburg 2-0, 2-4

Ephrata 1-2, 1-5

Quincy 0-2, 3-3

East Valley 0-2, 2-4

South Toppenish 3-0, 5-1

Prosser 2-0, 4-2

Selah 1-2, 2-4

Wapato 0-2, 1-5

Grandview 0-2, 0-6

Thursday

Selah 45, Wapato 26

Friday

Ephrata 38, Quincy 0

Othello 35, East Valley-Yakima 13

Prosser 21, Ellensburg 6

Toppenish 37, Grandview 13

Friday, Oct. 18

East Valley at Quincy, 7 p.m.

Ellensburg at Othello, 7 p.m.

Grandview at Wapato, 7 p.m.

Prosser at Toppenish, 7 p.m.

Selah at Ephrata, 7 p.m.

SCAC East Standings

Royal 3-0 SCAC, 6-0 overall

Kiona-Benton 3-0, 5-1

River View 3-1, 5-1

Connell 2-1, 3-3

Warden 1-2, 3-3

College Place 0-4, 2-4

Wahluke 0-4, 2-4

Friday

Kiona-Benton 47, Milton-Freewater 20

River View 40, Wahluke 16

Royal 34, Connell 0

Warden 42, College Place 22

Friday, Oct. 18

College Place at Wahluke, 7 p.m.

Connell at Warden, 7 p.m.

Goldendale at River View, 7 p.m.

Kiona-Benton at Royal, 7 p.m.

EWAC 2B Standings

Columbia-Burbank 4-0 EWAC, 6-0 overall

White Swan 3-0, 4-1

Tri-Cities Prep 3-1, 5-1

Liberty Christian 2-2, 2-4

Mabton 1-3, 3-3

Kittitas-Thorp 0-3, 0-5

Dayton/Waitsburg 0-4, 0-6

Friday

Asotin 48, Kittitas/Thorp 12

Columbia-Burbank 34, Tri-Cities Prep 28

Liberty Christian 20, Dayton-Waitsburg 14

White Swan 44, Mabton 20

Friday, Oct. 18

Kittitas-Thorp at Dayton-Waitsburg, 7 p.m.

Mabton at Liberty Christian, Hanford High School, 7 p.m.

White Swan at Tri-Cities Prep, Chiawana High School, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 19

Columbia-Burbank at Tonasket, 2 p.m.