These 3 Tri-City high schools remain unbeaten in Mid-Columbia Conference football

It took some second-half magic last week for the Richland Bombers to pull off a 27-19 win over host Southridge.

For the third straight week, Richland had a slow start, only to rally in the second half and pull away for a 3-0 Mid-Columbia Conference football record.

“We’ve had it in us,” said a relieved Richland head coach Josh Jelinek. “This is a good football team when it wants to be.”

Unfortunately for Southridge, the Suns looked like two different teams in different halves.

In the first two quarters, the Suns defense held Richland scoreless, which included a goal-line stand.

Offensively, Southridge quarterback Coppin Hunkapillar connected with big wide receiver Koven Burke for four passes for 152 yards and three touchdowns — including a 96-yarder — for a 19-0 halftime lead.

But things changed quickly in the second half. Jackson Woodard kept the ball moving, with the help of three Bombers running backs taking turns toting the ball.

Sophomore running back Micah Meyer stepped up big, with 78 of his 102 yards rushing coming in the second half. He also scored two touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Woodard started finding standout receiver Brody Bocek for first down passes, surgically picking apart the Suns defense in the final two quarters.

In the end, Richland scored 27 unanswered second-half points to win the game 27-19.

Woodard connected on a 17-yard scoring strike to tight end Jack Kirkham, and then found Kiyen Williams in the back of the end zone for the go-ahead score with a 9-yard pass and 1 minute and 51 seconds remaining.

Suns coach Matt Johnson said he told his team after the game how proud he was of them.

“Super proud,” said Johnson. “We had some injuries going into the week.”

Starting lineman Quinn Dixon and linebacker Jacob Korotkov couldn’t play. And in warmups, star lineman Andrew Walford hurt himself and didn’t play.

But the biggest problem, said Johnson, was that Richland just had the ball for much too long in the final 24 minutes.

How bad was it? The Bombers ran 41 plays in the second half compared to Southridge’s 9. Richland had the ball for 18 minutes and 50 seconds in the final 24 minutes, while the Suns had it for 5:10.

“At halftime, we said that we’ve gotta dig deep,” said Johnson. “We don’t want to give Richland hope.”

Tayton Jackman had a big game for the Suns, rushing 5 times for 98 yards. Defensively, Jackman led Southridge with 11 tackles (3 for loss).

CHIAWANA 54, HERMISTON 0: The visiting Riverhawks rolled up 477 total yards of offense en route to the shutout.

Anthony Godino led the way for Chiawana with 93 yards rushing and two touchdowns; while quarterback Gage Williams had 166 yards of passing, 48 yards rushing, a TD pass and a TD run.

Defensively, the Riverhawks surrendered just 117 yards of offense.

Bulldogs QB Brayden Medelez passed for 98 yards.

HANFORD 30, WALLA WALLA 14: The host Falcons, trailing 14-12 after three quarters, scored three unanswered fourth-quarter touchdowns to win.

Quarterback Cade Reed passed for 115 yards and two touchdowns, with both scoring strikes going to Asa Perkes. A senior, Perkes caught 8 passes for 67 yards.

Sione Nuku rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown. On defense, Nuku led Hanford with a team-high 7 tackles.

Kalama Roberson led Wa-Hi with 66 yards rushing.

KAMIAKIN 56, SAGEVIEW 7: Six different Braves scored at least one touchdown, as host Kamiakin routed Sageview for an MCC victory.

Freshman quarterback Jagger McEwen was a perfect 4-for-4 for 194 and three touchdown passes — including scoring strikes of 70 and 48 yards to Mason Severson, and a 67-yarder to Micheal Kori.

Ty Farris added a 27-yard interception return for a touchdown, as Kamiakin jumped out to a 28-0 first quarter lead and never looked back.

Alex Flores connected with Jaysen Beasley on a 46-yard TD pass in the secone quarter to give the Lobos their only points of the game.

Running back Kaeden Yanez led Sageview with 57 yards rushing.

KENNEWICK 31, PASCO 20: Kennewick pulled away late in the second half to hold off host Pasco.

The game was tied 7-7 at intermission, and the Lions led just 15-14 after three quarters.

Jakob Gay led Kennewick with 11 carries for 117 rushing yards and two touchdowns; while Lions QB Dominic Driver was 10-for-18 passing for 143 yards and a TD pass. Driver also rushed for 37 yards and a TD.

Brody Davis was Kennewick’s top receiver with 68 yards on two catches.

Junior Olvera led the Bulldogs, completing 17 of 36 passes for 206 yards and three TD passes. Jayden Williams rushed for 90 yards, and Max Valencia had 5 catches for 82 yards and two scores.

This weekend

Hanford (1-2) at Chiawana (3-0), Edgar Brown Stadium, 7 p.m., Thursday: The visiting Falcons picked up their first win last week, but can they stop the Riverhawks’ juggernaut?

Hermiston (0-3) at Kamiakin (2-1), Lampson Stadium, 7 p.m., Friday: Braves freshman Jagger McEwen is the real deal at quarterback, as struggling Bulldogs come up from Oregon.

Kennewick (3-0) at Sageview (0-3), Edgar Brown Stadium, 7 p.m., Friday: Visiting Lions look to bounce back after tough game last week against Pasco; host Lobos hoping to find a way to move ball against tough defense.

Pasco (1-2) at Richland (3-0), 7 p.m., Friday: Visiting Bulldogs finding a way to move the ball on offense; can Bombers find a way to overcome their slow starts?

Southridge (1-2) at Walla Walla (1-2), Blue Devil Stadium, 7 p.m., Friday: This is an important game, as both teams are battling for a 3A state playoff berth behind front runner Kennewick.

MCC standings

Chiawana (4A) 3-0

Kennewick (3A) 3-0

Richland (4A) 3-0

Kamiakin (4A) 2-1

Hanford (4A) 1-2

Pasco (4A) 1-2

Southridge (3A) 1-2 Walla Walla (3A) 1-2

Hermiston (3A) 0-3

Sageview (3A) 0-3

Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.