Chiawana defense defeats Mead to earn state football playoff spot

Steve Graff later how many interceptions his Chiawana defense got against Mead quarterback Ryan Blair.

The answer was five.

“There’s the difference in the game right there,” said the Riverhawks head coach. And he was right.

The Chiawana defense surrendered just 178 yards of offense, picked off Blair five times, and held the visiting Panthers to just 10 points in a 21-10 Class 4A regional crossover playoff game.

With the victory Friday at Edgar Brown Stadium in Pasco, the Riverhawks (9-1 overall) qualify for the first round of the state 4A football playoffs.

They will find out who they play, and where, after the state seeding committee meets Sunday morning in Renton to rank the teams.

Mead saw its season end with a 7-3 record.

It wasn’t an easy victory for the Riverhawks, though it looked like it might be in the beginning.

Chiawana scored touchdowns on its first two possessions — a 6-yard run by quarterback JP Zamora, and a 13-yard TD run by Gabe Schilz — to take a 14-0 lead.

After that, though, the Riverhawks offense couldn’t get anything going over their next four offensive possessions.

As it turns out, those first two TDs would end up being enough, as Mead — sporting a quarterback in Blair who had thrown for over 2,300 yards, and 31 touchdowns to just 1 interception entering the game — couldn’t get close.

“The defensive coaches did a great job putting a game plan together,” said Graff.

The Panthers got a 31-yard field goal from kicker Eli Eldridge in the second quarter, and a 70-yard TD strike from Blair to Kolby Blackler in the fourth quarter.

But in between those two scores, Zamora hit a wide-open Bridger Feldman for a 13-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to extend the lead.

But the Riverhawks defensive unit ended up being the star of the game. And there were plenty of outstanding performances:

• Linebacker Cameron Breier, who had 7 tackles (one for loss), a hurry, and two quarterback sacks;

• Defensive back Dion Lee, who had two tackles, a pass breakup, a cover, and two big interceptions of Blair. He also held Mead’s standout receiver, Evan Wiersma, to just 3 catches for 15 yards;

• Defensive back Preston Vine, who added a tackle, but also two more interceptions of Blair;

• Linebacker Roy Colvin, who had 6 tackles (one for loss);

• DB Jalen Webber, who added 5 tackles (one for loss), and a cover.

Vine said that the Riverhawks did their homework.

“They came into the game with a quarterback who had thrown 33 touchdowns and just one pick,” said Vine. “Their receivers have a lot of talent. But for us, that just came with a lot of film study this week. We just knew what they were going to do.”

By getting five picks and having the offense hold the ball for almost 30 minutes (compared to just 18 minutes for Mead), the Riverhawks wore down the Mead defense and kept the ball out of Blair’s hands much of the night.

Mead coach Benji Sonnichsen said his Panthers still had their chances.

“We had a lot of drives where we shot ourselves in the foot,” he said. “We had some opportunities. We were just a tad off tonight.”

Notes

Graff is a member of the 4A seeding committee and will be at the meeting Sunday morning. He would expect Chiawana to be in the top eight, meaning the Riverhawks should get a home game in the first round of the state playoffs next weekend. … Graff was once again not happy with the penalties. Chiawana was flagged 11 times for 86 yards. “I’ll bet we had six to eight holding penalties,” said Graff. … Schilz hurt his ankle and left the game in the second half, “but that’s just something that’s going to happen in his situation. He should be OK for next week,” said Graff. … Backup running back Marvell Cooks is still in concussion protocol from the Kamiakin game a few weeks ago. … Lee also had a strong offensive game for Chiawana, catching 5 passes for 102 yards. … Mead LB Ben Voigtlaender led the Panthers defense 5 tackles (2 for loss). DT Trace Franks added 5 tackles (one for loss) and a QB sack, and Wiersma had two interceptions of his own.

Riverhawks 21, Panthers 10

Mead 0 3 0 7 — 10

Chiawana 14 0 7 0 — 21

Scoring Plays

C – JP Zamora 6 run (Evan Dawes kick)

C – Gabe Schilz 13 run (Dawes kick)

M – FG 31 Eli Eldridge

C – Bridger Feldman 13 pass from Zamora (Dawes kick)

M – Kolby Blackler 70 pass from Ryan Blair (Eldridge kick)

Individual Statistics

RUSHING – Mead, Nick Terrill 9-39, Hunter Marler 2-18, Blair 6-minus 6, Totals 17-51. Chiawana, Roy Colvin 17-76, Schilz 13-65, Sam Buggs 4-9, Zamora 5-8, Team 1-minus 2, Totals 39-158.

PASSING – Mead, Blair 13-28-5-127. Chiawana, Zamora 15-21-2-226.

RECEIVING – Mead, Blackler 1-70, Kaveh Abghari 4-21, Kaden Gardner 4-21, Evan Wiersma 3-15, Terrill 1-0. Chiawana, Dion Lee 5-102, Caleb Alvarez 2-45, Kaden Davis 2-24, Feldman 2-20, Bennie Alferness 2-17, Preston Vine 1-10, Schilz 1-8.

FIRST DOWNS – Mead 10, Chia 19. FUMBLES-LOST – Mead 1-0, Chia 1-1. PENALTIES-YARDS – Mead 5-64, Chia 11-86.

This story was originally published November 9, 2019 at 5:10 PM.