Kennewick High places 3rd in the state. Royal to fight for 1A football title

Royal continues on to the WIAA state high school football finals.

But for Kennewick and Connell, that road for them ended this weekend in the state semifinals.

Kennewick, which finished the season with an impressive 11-2 record, fell to O’Dea 29-7 on Saturday night in Bothell.

The Irish, 12-0 and seeded No. 1 in the state 3A playoffs, scored on their first three offensive possessions and never looked back In jumping out to a 22-0 lead.

Lions coach Randy Affholter had concerns before the semifinal with the Irish’s large offensive and defensive lines, and O’Dea controlled the clock with its methodical rushing game.

Sophomore K’son Mika stepped in for senior running back and captain Cameron Daniels, who was sidelined with an undisclosed injury.

Mika carried the ball 28 times and rushed for 211 yards, scoring three touchdowns.

The Lions fought back in the second half, as quarterback Elijah Tanner scored for Kennewick on a keeper to cut the O’Dea lead to 22-6.

But Mika answered for the Irish with a 54-yard TD run.

It ended a great season for Kennewick, which finished second in the Mid-Columbia Conference with a 7-1 conference record, 8-1 overall.

A regional playoff win over Shadle Park, and then victories over Yelm and WIAA in the state playoffs, got the Lions an extra month of football while playing for Affholter — a long-time veteran coach who was in his first season at Kennewick.

Kennewick finishes third at state.

O’Dea now plays Eastside Catholic (11-1) this coming Saturday in the Class 3A state championship game.

The two teams met in the regular season in October, where O’Dea won 28-6.

Royal victory

Meanwhile, Royal is returning to the Class 1A state championship game for the fourth time in five years, after the Knights beat SCAC East rival Connell 42-0 in the state semifinals on Saturday at Lions Field in Moses Lake.

Coach Wiley Allred’s Knights defense earned its seventh shutout in 13 games this season, and it’s the second time this season Royal has blanked Connell.

In October, Royal beat Connell 34-0 on the road.

On Saturday, Knights quarterback Caleb Christensen was the offensive star, as he tossed four touchdown passes and ran for another.

Cooper Christensen caught three of those TD passes, while Tyler Allred grabbed the other.

Derek Bergeson returned an interception for a touchdown for the Knights for the other score.

Wiley Allred said last week that his defensive unit, run by assistant coach Jeremy Scroggins, has been a huge reason the Knights are 13-0 this season.

Now top-seeded Royal will take on No. 7 Lynden Christian (11-1) for the Class 1A state title at 12 p.m. Saturday at Harry E. Lang Stadium in Lakewood.

Lynden Christian beat Deer Park 14-7 to advance from the semifinals.

Connell, meanwhile, ends its season with a 9-4 record — which included an 0-2 start.

Using a big offensive line, a tough rushing game, and a stout defensive unit, head coach Wayne Riner’s team was seeded 13th out of the 16 teams in the Class 1A tournament.

No matter. The Eagles went on the road and beat No. 4-seed La Center 17-7 in the first round, then shut down No. 5 seed Mt. Baker for a 14-9 quarterfinal victory.

Even though the Knights ended Connell’s season, Riner and his staff have a lot to build upon for the 2020 season, with a number of starters coming back.

State title schedule

Here is the state championship schedule for all classifications this coming Saturday. Remember, the WIAA is not using the Tacoma Dome this year, but rather three sites in the Pierce County region.

Class 4A — (No. 2 seed) Camas (13-0) vs. (5) Bothell (11-2), 4 p.m., Mt. Tahoma Stadium, Tacoma.

Class 3A — (2) Eastside Catholic (11-1) vs. (1) O’Dea (12-0), noon, Sparks Stadium, Puyallup.

Class 2A — (2) Steilacoom (11-2) vs. (1) Tumwater (13-0), 4 p.m., Sparks Stadium, Puyallup.

Class 1A — (7) Lynden Christian (11-1) vs. (1) Royal (13-0), noon, Harry E. Lang Stadium, Lakewood.

Class 2B — (3) Kalama (10-2) vs. (1) Onalaska (12-0), 4 p.m., Harry E. Lang Stadium, Lakewood.

Class 1B — (2) Naselle (12-0) vs. (1) Odessa (12-0), noon, Mt. Tahoma Stadium, Tacoma.

ROOT Sports will broadcast the Sparks Stadium doubleheader live on Saturday, with the 3A game at noon, and the 2A game at 4 p.m. But it is not broadcasting the 4A title game.

Winter sports

And with football just about over, it’s time to jump in with all of the other winter sports — girls bowling has been going on for a few weeks already.

In boys basketball, the Mid-Columbia Conference has five teams hitting the road on Tuesday.

In girls basketball, local fans can see two MCC teams play at home Tuesday: Chiawana hosts Post Falls at 6 p.m.; while West Valley of Yakima visits Kamiakin at 7 p.m..

Four other girls teams are on the road Tuesday.

The first MCC conference games for both boys and girls basketball will be played Dec. 13.

Boys swimming has a jamboree at Whitman College in Walla Walla at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

MCC wrestling gets going pretty quickly starting Thursday, as Southridge’s boys and girls travel to Hermiston. The girls go at 6 p.m., while the boys begin at 7 p.m.

• The Richland girls basketball team got an early start with its opener on Saturday.

Laura Smith scored a team-high 15 points, Megan Holm added 12, and Jayda Clark 11, but it wasn’t enough as the visiting Bombers lost at Coeur d’Alene 60-53.

NWAC all-star soccer

The NWAC released its all-star teams earlier in November, and the list is filled with local talent.

CBC has three men on the North-East Region team, led by East Region MVP Jason Cortes (Kennewick High grad).

Cortes made the team as a defender, while CBC teammate Juan Mendoza (East Valley-Yakima) is listed as a midfielder and Mario Negrete (Sunnyside) as a forward.

Walla Walla CC had two players: defender Abraham Diaz (Walla Walla) and midfielder Jose Peralta (Riverside-Boardman).

Spokane midfielder David Uribe (Pasco) is also on the all-star list.

Former CBC coach Kyle Vierck, now at Wenatchee Valley, was named East Region Coach of the Year.

Tacoma CC midfielder Allen Escalante (College Place) was named to the South-West Region all-star team.

Walla Walla CC dominated the North-East all-star team, beginning with Jordan Hacker being named East Coach of the Year.

WWCC’s Jessica Maher (Hanford) and Sariah Valencia (Grandview) were named East Region Co-MVPs.

Other’s from WWCC on the list include defender Blake Danna (Hanford), keeper Josey Gunter (Idaho), midfielder Valencia, defender JuliAnna Ventura (Chiawana), and forward Taylen Wohl (Clarkston).

CBC had three players named to the team: midfielder Megan Haugen (Richland), defender Mya Spencer (Ephrata), and forward Rebecca Wheeler (Centennial-Portland).

Peninsula midfielder Grace Hipke (Richland) was also named to the squad.