Chiawana High to host WA quarterfinal playoff game in Tri-Cities. Who’s still in play?

The Mid-Columbia Conference went 2-3 this past weekend in the state high school football playoffs, with Chiawana and Kennewick winning their contests.

However, Kamiakin, Richland and Southridge all saw their strong seasons end in first-round losses.

In the smaller classifications, most of the region’s teams kept on winning.

Othello routed Washington of Tacoma 49-12 in Class 2A; Royal beat Cascade Christian 41-7 in the 1A state tournament; River View fell 28-14 to Liberty of Spangle in the 2B playoffs; while DeSales trounced Quilcene 54-14 in the 1B first-round.

DeSales will meet Liberty Christian of Richland this week in the 1B quarterfinals.

I’ll have more on the smaller classifications later this week. But here’s a recap of our teams from the Class 4A and 3A playoffs:

Chiawana 49, Sunnyside 20

When a team makes it to the state football playoffs, it needs every part of its game to be successful.

On Saturday at Edgar Brown Stadium, the host Chiawana Riverhawks introduced its special teams to the estimated 2,000 fans watching their Class 4A first-round victory over Sunnyside.

“Coach (Don) Hogue and his defensive staff spent some extra time this week on special teams,” said Chiawana head coach Scott Bond. “And did it ever work. Today was all about defense and special teams.”

The victory means Chiawana — the top-seeded team in the tournament — will host No. 8 Emerald Ridge in a state quarterfinal game at 1 p.m. Saturday at Edgar Brown Stadium.

This is how explosive things got against Sunnyside: the game was tied at 7-7 with just 5 minutes and 10 seconds left until halftime.

And then:

▪ Ian Mohl scored from 2 yards out with 5:09 to play; Chiawana 14-7.

▪ On the ensuing kickoff, Sunnyside fumbled. Chiawana’s Braxton Feldmann recovered at the 16, and three plays later DJ Duran connected on a 14-yard TD pass to Kade Smith; Chiawana 21-7.

▪ On the next ensuing kickoff, Sunnyside fumbled again. This time, the Riverhawks’ Cody Iverson recovered at the Grizzlies’ 17. Following a 15-yard penalty, pushing it back to the 32, Mohl broke free for a 32-yard TD run. Chiawana 28-7.

▪ This time, the Grizzlies hung onto the football on the kickoff. But a 3-and-out forced a punt, and the Sunnyside sideline watched in pained silence as Chiawana’s Hunter Azure-Pryce caught the punt and returned it 38 yards, untouched for another TD. Chiawana 35-7.

▪ The Grizzlies again were forced to punt on their next series. And again — this time Justin Webber — the punt was returned 46 yards for another score. Chiawana 42-7.

It all happened in 5 minutes and 9 seconds.

And it was all over at that point.

Chiawana’s defense was tough, although Brent Maldonado was 20 for 41 for 316 yards passing, with three touchdown passes for Sunnyside.

“We play a really aggressive style of defense to help set up our offense,” said Chiawana linebacker Judah Bishop, who led the Riverhawks with 7 tackles (2 for loss), two quarterback sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and two hurries. “We don’t set up to punch the ball loose. We just rally to the ball.”

Mohl finished the game with 16 rushed for 122 yards, and three touchdowns.

Kennewick 9, Rainier Beach 7

The Lions waited until the fourth quarter before scoring in a 3A first-round victory at Memorial Stadium in Seattle.

For Kennewick, it was another victory on another long road trip. In 2021, the Lions played on consecutive weekends in Seattle, beating O’Dea and then Eastside Catholic en route to making the state finals.

“I think the kids have gotten used to traveling,” said Kennewick head coach Randy Affholter.

The Lions, a No. 9 seed, now have to travel to play No. 1 Yelm at 1 p.m. Saturday.

In their victory, the Lions and Vikings played to a scoreless tie in the first half before Rainier Beach found the end zone for a 7-0 lead in the third quarter.

But Kennewick rallied in the fourth quarter. Lions QB Ambrose Driver ran in for a touchdown from 4 yards out. The PAT kick was missed, and Kennewick trailed 7-6 with 6:20 left in the game.

Kennewick got the ball back, and with 33 seconds left, sophomore Tanner Chavez kicked a 25-yard field goal to win the game.

Chavez took over the team’s kicking duties at mid-season after No. 1 kicker Zaydel Capetillo broke his leg.

“I told someone that I never would have thought Tanner Chavez, a sophomore, would kick game-winners the last two games,” said Affholter. “But he did great.”

Affholter also praised his defense.

“A lot of guys were making great plays,” he said. “Our inside linebacking play was pretty solid. Defensive end Dylin McIntyre had a great game at defensive end.”

Gonzaga Prep 40, Kamiakin 27

In battle between Gonzaga Prep’s rushing attack against Kamiakin’s air show, it was the visiting Bullpups’ Lilomaiava Mikaele and teammates who came out top.

Mikaele rushed 30 times for 190 yards, scoring three touchdowns, as No. 10 seed Prep beat No. 7 Kamiakin at Lampson Stadium on Saturday, ending the Braves’ season.

In all, Gonzaga Prep rushed the football 65 times for 296 yards.

That helped keep the ball out of the highly potent Kamiakin offensive unit’s hands.

“Their offense is tough to defend, although we did do it early,” said Kamiakin coach Scott Biglin. “It just wears you down.”

Offensively, the Braves were still able to move the ball through the air.

Kamiakin quarterback Carter Poland finished the game completing 27 of 48 passes for 374 yards.

Receivers Gavyn Buchanan (8 receptions for 129 yards) and David Kuku (9 for 124) had monster games for Kamiakin.

For Kamiakin, it ends a season with a young team that finished with an 8-3 record.

“If you watched us last summer in team camp, if you told us we’d be playing in the first round of the state playoffs, we wouldn’t have believed it,” said Biglin.

Kennedy 46, Richland35

The visiting Bombers saw their season end on Saturday, as the host Lancers had a 32-7 lead at the half in the 4A playoffs.

However, Richland made a game of it in the second half, outscoring Kennedy 28-14 over the final two quarters.

Josh Woodard was 31 for 55 passing for the Bombers for 263 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 42 yards, and caught a 35-yard TD pass from Seth Shook.

Shook also caught 10 passes for 76 yards, while Tanner Schuster caught 6 for 75 yards and a touchdown.

Kalani Steward added 80 yards rushing, had 8 tackles, and an interception for Richland, which finishes the season at 6-5.

Yelm 51, Southridge 7

The Suns saw their season end Saturday at the hands of the top-ranked team in the 3A tournament.

The Tornados jumped out to a 20-0 first quarter lead, built it up to a 44-0 lead, en route to the first-round win.

Yelm finished with 439 total yards, and Kyler Ronquillo scored four touchdowns for the Tornados.

Lucien Cone finished his prep career by rushing 12 times for 97 yards and a TD, while teammate and senior Jimmy Rush rushed 13 times for 29 yards. Both Southridge running backs were 1,000-yard rushers this season.

It was a great season for Matt Johnson’s Suns, who finished 7-4.