Mid-Columbia football teams rank well on AP Washington high school polls

There is at least one Mid-Columbia football team in each classification’s Associated Press poll this week.

Kamiakin, which beat Chiawana 20-13 in overtime last Friday, is ranked No. 5 in the Class 4A poll.

Lake Stevens, which received four first-place votes, is ranked No. 1. Graham-Kapowsin received three first-place votes and is ranked No. 2.

Kennewick, which routed Pasco 59-14 last Thursday, sits at No. 3 in the latest Class 3A poll.

O’Dea and Yelm are both tied at No. 1, with both teams getting three first-place votes.

Kennewick jumped from fourth to third over Eastside Catholic, which fell 20-0 to California power Orange Lutheran. EC still received a first-place vote.

In the Class 2A poll, CWAC powers Othello and Prosser are ranked 8-9, respectively, after both teams got victories last week — Othello beating Connell 27-20, and Prosser beating Sunnyside 19-13 in overtime.

North Kitsap, with four first-place votes, is ranked No. 1 in 2A.

Royal, the three-time defending state champion in Class 1A, remains atop the 1A poll. The Knights, who beat Toppenish 35-7 last Friday, received four first-place votes to stay ahead of No. 2 Nooksack Valley (which had two first-place votes).

In Class 2B, River View is ranked No. 8 this week after routing 1A Kiona-Benton 48-6. Napavine received all seven first-place votes, and the Tigers are the unanimous No. 1 pick in the division.

Finally, in 1B, Richland’s Liberty Christian earned the No. 5 ranking after beating Pomeroy 38-26 last week. Liberty Bell is ranked No. 1.

This weekend’s games

Here are the three big games this weekend (all kickoffs at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted; all games Friday unless otherwise noted):

Richland (1-0) at Hermiston (1-0): The visiting Bombers got their offense untracked last Saturday in a 35-14 win over Southridge.

Josh Woodard passed for three touchdowns and 247 yards, while John Simons added 108 yards rushing on just 11 carries.

Meanwhile, Hermiston’s Issac Corey passed for 184 yards, threw a TD pass, and scored two touchdowns himself on runs, as the Bulldogs beat Hanford 21-12.

One of these teams is going to get off to a 2-0 start after Friday’s game.

Connell (0-1) at Nooksack Valley (1-0): One thing I like about Connell — and for that matter, Othello and Royal too — is that the program always loads up on incredibly tough non-conference competition.

Eagles head coach Scott Forsyth’s team goes from a loss at Othello last week to visiting Nooksack Valley this Friday. The Pioneers are one of the top 1A teams in the entire state.

Othello (1-0) at Royal (1-0): Roger Hoell’s Huskies never avoid anybody. So here they are, heading over to Royal City.

Wiley Allred’s Knights have their new quarterback, Lance Allred, who ran up 384 total offensive yards in a 35-7 rout of the Toppenish Wildcats, who are no slouches either in Class 1A.

The rest

• Asotin (1-0) vs. Tri-Cities Prep (1-0), Chiawana High School: Host Jaguars hope to shut down Panthers.
• Chiawana (0-1) at Hanford (0-1), Fran Rish Stadium: Visiting Riverhawks need to get QB DJ Duran untracked this week.
• Columbia-Burbank (0-1) at Kiona-Benton (0-1), 1 p.m., Saturday: 2B Coyotes took one on the chin last week against Okanogan. So did 1A Bears against River View. Something has to give here.
• Mabton (0-0) at Granger (0-1): Visiting Vikings get to open season with a neighborhood battle in the Valley.
• Post Falls (2-0) at Sunnyside (0-1): Grizzlies need to bounce back from last week’s tough loss at Prosser. Visiting Trojans from Idaho be easy.
• Prosser (1-0) at Skyline (1-0): Mustangs head to Sammamish for tough road game against 4A Spartans.
• River View (1-0) at College Place (1-0): Visiting 2B Panthers step up against another 1A school. Offense looks good.
• Southridge (0-1) at Pasco (0-1), Edgar Brown Stadium, 1 p.m., Saturday: Both visiting Suns and Bulldogs need to cut down on penalties, mistakes this week to get that first win.
• Touchet (0-1) at Sunnyside Christian (1-0), 2:30 p.m.: Redhawks lost to Waitsburg last week, need to bounce back against host Knights.
• Waitsburg (1-0) at Pomeroy (0-1): Visiting Cardinals, fresh off winning its first 8-man game, look to go up 2-0 against Pirates.
• Walla Walla (0-1) at Kennewick (1-0): Host Lions look awfully tough, have a lot of talent. Blue Devils looking to get untracked with loss last week to West Valley-Yakima.
• Wapato (0-0) at Grandview (1-0): Greyhounds pounded Wahluke last week, now host a Wolves team that didn’t have a game last week.
• Warden (1-0) at Wahluke (0-1). Class 2B Cougars hope to sneak a win out of 1A Warriors in Mattawa.
• Yakama National Tribal (0-0) at Dayton (0-1): Visiting Eagles to face Bulldogs, who combined last year with Waitsburg in 11-man football.

College update

▪ Richland High grad Sage Brustad has been the top player this fall for the Eastern Washington University volleyball team.

The senior outside hitter has 87 kills for the Eagles, who are 2-4 so far this season.

Junior libero Makenna Collins (Irrigon) has been playing , while junior outside hitter-right side Alyssa Radke (Connell) has yet to play for the Eagles this season.

In a 3-1 victory over Providence on Aug. 26, Brustad had 16 kills and 16 digs. Collins added 20 digs and 10 assists in the match.

In Eastern’s other victory, a 3-1 verdict over Seattle University, Brustad led the team with 21 kills and 15 digs. Collins added 14 digs.

▪ Chiawana grad AJ Vongphachanh has made an impression on the BYU football coaching staff.

Vongphachanh was a standout at linebacker for four seasons at Utah State before graduating. Yet he still had a season of eligibility left, and elected to enter the transfer portal, where BYU quickly grabbed him.

Before the Cougars’ season opener, the coaching staff named Vongphachanh one of the team’s eight captains.

BYU beat Sam Houston State 14-0 last Saturday, and the former Chiawana standout was in on 5 tackles — one solo and four assists. He also had a QB hurry, and was credited with a half-tackle for loss.