High School Football

Andrew Vargas explodes for 7 TDs in Chiawana’s 54-7 win over Kennewick

Chiawana High School’s Andrew Vargas (14) pushes past Kennewick High School’s Blake Loftus, right, and Andrew Fridley to score a touchdown Thursday during a Mid-Columbia Conference game at Neil F. Lampson Stadium in Kennewick. See more photos at www.tricityherald.com.
Chiawana High School’s Andrew Vargas (14) pushes past Kennewick High School’s Blake Loftus, right, and Andrew Fridley to score a touchdown Thursday during a Mid-Columbia Conference game at Neil F. Lampson Stadium in Kennewick. See more photos at www.tricityherald.com. Tri-City Herald

The Andrew Vargas show continues for undefeated Chiawana.

Vargas, a senior running back, rushed 21 times for 254 yards and seven touchdowns as the seventh-ranked Riverhawks defeated the host Kennewick Lions 54-7 in Thursday night’s Mid-Columbia Conference football game at Lampson Stadium.

Vargas’ TDs included runs of 10, 35, 3 and 11 yards. He scored three of his touchdowns in the first quarter as Chiawana (5-0, 3-0 MCC) jumped out to a 20-0 lead.

Vargas, who entered the night with 1,149 yards on 112 carries, has 22 touchdowns on the season.

“It’s a formidable task to stop those guys,” Kennewick coach Bill Templeton said. “They’re very aggressive up front. First time I saw Vargas as a sophomore, he was playing JV, and he was turning heads then. He’s gotten faster and stronger since then. It’s gonna take a good team to shut them down.”

With 11:32 remaining in the game, Chiawana’s Hayden Carrasco had a pick-six for the final score of the night.

“We played them in the spring; they were a handful then,” Templeton said. “We came in and thought we had a game plan, but they’re just a real physical team.”

Blake Loftus returned an interception for a touchdown in the second quarter for Kennewick (2-3, 1-2).

Chiawana

20

6

21

7

54

Kennewick

0

7

0

0

7

SCORING PLAYS

C — Andrew Vargas run (Ryan Lowry kick)

C — Vargas 11 run (Lowry kick)

C — Vargas 3 run (PAT failed)

C — Vargas run (PAT failed)

K — Blake Loftus INT return (kick good)

C — Vargas run (PAT failed)

C — Vargas 35 run (Lowry kick)

C — Vargas 10 run (2-pt. good)

C — Hayden Carrasco INT return (Lowry kick)

STATISTICS

RUSHING — C, A.Vargas 21-254, Tro.Simpkins 5-27, Harris 1-12, Penny 1-23. K, Templeton 8-(minus-35), Loomis 11-37, Gee 2-3, Fiander 3-10, Ruiz 6-22, Ornelas 2-4, Riel 6-7.

PASSING — C, Tro.Simpkins 7-10-2-67, E.Vargas 1-1-0-12. K, Templeton 7-19-1-30, Gee 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING — C, Tre.Simpkins 4-31, Carrasco 2-13. K, Loftus 2-12, Newman 5-18.

This story was originally published September 29, 2016 at 10:37 PM with the headline "Andrew Vargas explodes for 7 TDs in Chiawana’s 54-7 win over Kennewick."

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