Kamiakin must win tonight to get in playoffs. Chiawana cinches MCC football championship

The Round of 32 playoffs take place this week in Washington high school football — and with the exception of Class 3A having it already these past few years — it’s all brand new to the other classifications.

For a few schools, such as Spokane’s Lewis & Clark and Kamiakin, they’ll have to play a preliminary game just to get into the Class 4A Round of 32.

That LC-Kamiakin contest is at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Lampson Stadium, with the winner advancing to play at Moses Lake on Saturday. That contest would kick off at 1 p.m. at Lions Field.

Meanwhile, thanks to Chiawana’s 49-7 win over visiting Walla Walla, the Riverhawks clinched the Mid-Columbia Conference regular-season title.

Chiawana will host Sunnyside at 6 p.m., Friday, at Edgar Brown Stadium in a 4A Round of 32 contest.

Samuel Amaya’s 27-yard field goal with under a minute to play gave visiting Richland a 21-20 win over Kamiakin on Thursday night, giving the Bombers the MCC’s No. 2 seed into the 4A Round of 32.

Richland will play at Yelm at 7 p.m. Friday.

In Class 3A, Kennewick will be the MCC’s top seed, and the Lions will play host to Peninsula at 7 p.m., Friday.

Meanwhile, Southridge will travel to play Enumclaw at 5 p.m. Friday in the MCC’s other 3A playoff game.

Riverhawks dominate

Chiawana head coach Scott Bond always felt his Riverhawks team would be good this season, especially the defensive unit.

“This group of kids we have, they’re dudes,” said Bond. “But this offense, these guys picked up things faster than we thought they would.”

Perhaps the best thing to happen to Bond’s team was it losing its non-conference season opener to Idaho power Rocky Mountain by a 42-8 score.

“We thought we’d have more guys playing both ways,” he said. “But we found some extra guys who stepped in and gave other players some rest.”

Chiawana went 8-0 after that loss and after making some personnel changes. The Riverhawks left no doubt they were the MCC’s best, with dominating wins over the conference’s other top teams in Kamiakin, Kennewick and Richland.

Bond has a special affection for this Chiawana team.

“You can tell they love playing football,” he said. “They come out to practice early and are playing one on one against each other. This is fun for them, so it’s fun for us.”

Chiawana rolled over Walla Walla last Friday, as Braxton Feldmann scored four touchdowns — two rushing, one receiving, and an interception return.

Cooper MacPherson added a blocked kick return for a score, and Cooper Cissne had another pick-6.

Richland edges Kamiakin

The week’s best game was Thursday’s Halloween showdown between the Bombers and Braves. It was a battle for the No. 2 playoff seed.

In a game that featured four lead changes, it all landed on Richland quarterback Jackson Woodard. His team trailing 20-18 with 4:54 to play, Woodard began a drive at his own 3 and marched the offense 87 yards in 16 plays.

Using quick slants and out routes, Richland receivers found just enough room to catch Woodard’s passes for short yardage.

“He’s a stud,” said Jelenik, who said he and his coaching staff have taken a lot of heat this season for starting a sophomore at quarterback. “What he’s done this year, that’s pretty impressive.”

Woodard moved the Bombers to the Kamiakin 10 with 47.9 seconds left. The Bombers’ Dylan Dunnum — who was a big part of that final drive, catching three passes — has been his team’s normal kicker.

But Jelenik called an audible.

Dunnum had missed two extra-point attempts and had a field goal attempt blocked. Jelenik called on Amaya.

“He was going to be our kicker in August, but he pulled a quad in the first week and hadn’t been able to play,” said Jelenik. “I told him at halftime that he would kick. He got really excited. Then he came back to me and said ‘Coach, I want (long snapper) Fletcher (Owens) out there. He and I have been working every day for the last six weeks.’

“I thought ‘You little turd.’ But if he had the courage to tell me that, I thought why not and went ahead and made that change.”

Amaya drilled the kick through the uprights, and it wasn’t easy because the ball was spotted on the right hash mark and it was a tough angle.

The win meant for the first time in three years, Richland would not have to play three games in a 12-day period.

No, that assignment goes to Scott Biglin’s Braves, who take on LC on Tuesday night, and if they win that play at Moses Lake on Saturday.

“It becomes a mental thing at this point,” said Biglin. “We just have to take care of our bodies. We wanted to play as complete a game as possible against Richland. We came pretty close to that.”

RICHLAND 21, KAMIAKIN 20

Richland 12 6 0 3 — 21

Kamiakin 7 6 7 0 — 20

SCORING PLAYS

R — Zach Rose 23 pass from Jackson Woodard (kick failed)

R — Colson Mackey 88 pass from Woodard (kick failed)

K — Trent Woodhouse 1 run (Sascha Bordasch kick)

K — Korbyn Hopwood 1 run (kick failed)

R — Mackey 52 pass from Woodard (pass failed)

K — Mason Severson 10 pass from Woodhouse (Bordasch kick)

R — Samuel Amaya FG 27

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Rich, Jakob Brannon 19-94, Cannon Weikum 4-12, Koen Hanson 1-6, Woodard 9-minus 28, Totals 33-84. Kam, Woodhouse 13-116, Hopwood 10-28, Micheal Kori 1-4, Riley Stevens 1-2, Totals 25-150.

PASSING — Rich, Woodard 24-31-0-308. Kam, Woodhouse 15-35-2-155.

RECEIVING — Rich, Mackey 7-173, Rose 9-89, Dylan Dunnum 5-32, Kiyen Williams 1-6, Brannon 1-4, Preston Bryant 1-4. Kam, Severson 3-60, Kori 4-34, David Kuku 4-19, Robert Julima 1-18, Crew Miller 1-11, Ty Farris 1-8, Dominic Powell 1-5.

FIRST DOWNS — Rich 18, Kam 17. FUMBLES-LOST — Rich 0-0, Kam 0-0. PENALTIES-YARDS — Rich 13-104, Kam 9-97.

DEFENSE — Rich: LB Weikum 7 tackles, 1 for loss; LB Gavin Walther 5 tackles, pass breakup; DE Ethan VanBeek 5 tackles, 1 for loss; DB Rose 6 tackles. Kam: LB Powell 6 tackles, QB sack, 1 tackle for loss, 2 pass breakups; DL Christian Mejia 7 tackles, QB sack, 3 tackles for loss; DB Kuku 9 tackles, 1 for loss.

KENNEWICK 58, HERMISTON 0: Canaan Hays rushed for 96 yards and two touchdowns to lead the visiting Lions to a win over the Bulldogs.

Dominic Driver added two TD passes for Kennewick, while Dane Chavez caught one scoring pass and returned an interception for another TD.

SOUTHRIDGE 48, WENATCHEE 7: Gabe Borisch had a monster game for the visiting Suns in a non-league win over the Panthers.

Borisch rushed 31 times for 374 yards, scoring six touchdowns for Southridge. That included TD runs of 58 and 63 yards.

PASCO 35, HANFORD 27: Visiting Pasco won its second game in as many weeks, as Eli Henderson rushed for 132 yards and three touchdowns.

Bulldogs QB Junior Olvera passed for 252 yards and touchdown, while Makana Garza caught 4 passes for 110 yards and a score.

Max Valencia had two interceptions for Pasco.

Troy Jensen led Hanford with 185 yards passing and a TD pass, while Jaxon Niemi caught 5 passes for 104 yards.

MCC STANDINGS

Chiawana (4A) 8-0 MCC, 8-1 overall

Kennewick (3A) 6-2, 7-2

Kamiakin (4A) 6-2, 6-3

Richland (4A) 6-2, 6-3

Southridge (3A) 4-4, 5-4

Hanford (4A) 2-6, 2-7

Pasco (4A) 2-6, 2-7

Walla Walla (3A) 2-6, 2-7

Hermiston (3A) 0-8, 0-9

Last week’s scores — Chiawana 49, Walla Walla 7; Kennewick 58, Hermiston 0; Pasco 35, Hanford 27; Richland 21, Kamiakin 20; Southridge 48, Wenatchee 7.

Tuesday, Nov. 5 — 4A play-in game: Lewis & Clark at Kamiakin, Lampson Stadium, 6 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 8 — 4A playoffs: Richland at Yelm, 7 p.m.; Sunnyside at Chiawana, Edgar Brown Stadium, 6 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 8 — 3A playoffs: Peninsula at Kennewick, 7 p.m.; Southridge at Enumclaw, 5 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 8 — Non-league: Hanford vs. Shadle Park, ONE Stadium, Spokane, 5 p.m.; Hermiston at Cheney, EWU, 7 p.m.; Pasco at Davis, Zaepfel Stadium, Yakima, 7 p.m.; West Valley-Yakima at Walla Walla, Borleske Stadium, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 9 — 4A playoff: Kamiakin/Lewis & Clark winner at Moses Lake, Lions Field, 2 p.m.

This story was originally published November 4, 2024 at 6:36 PM.