Kamiakin jumps out early, cruises to 48-14 win over Hanford
Two weeks after it had been routed 35-13 by Chiawana, the Kamiakin Braves football team seems to have itself back on track.
Using a 27-point first quarter, the Braves were running on all cylinders Friday night with a 48-14 Mid-Columbia Conference victory on the road over Hanford.
“Good things happen when everybody does their job,” said Kamiakin quarterback Zach Borisch, who passed for 217 yards and four touchdowns. “After losing to Chiawana like we did, there has to be a chip on your shoulder. One of the things you have to do is play hard. If we work hard, if we follow our assignments, we can do great things.”
The Braves did a lot of great things Friday night as they raised their record to 2-1 in the MCC, 4-1 overall.
After the Kamiakin defense stopped Hanford’s offense on the opening series with a 3-and-out, Borisch handed the ball to running back Jethro Questad. The senior took it 54 yards for a TD, bursting through a hole his linemen created that could have had an SUV go untouched.
“It makes things easy on Jethro when our linemen do their job,” said Borisch.
Kamiakin coach Scott Biglin agreed.
“Our guys blocked well up front,” he said. “And Zach made things look easy.”
That opening TD by Questad knocked the wind out of the Falcons’ sails right away.
“That hurt us,” admitted Hanford coach Brett Jay. “They just did a great job in the box.”
Questad would score two more times — on a 9-yard run and a 51-yard catch and run from Borisch — in the first quarter.
The Braves scored touchdowns on their first four possessions, all in the first quarter, and led 27-0 after 12 minutes.
By then, the game was out of hand.
Junior wide receiver Benson Smith added three touchdowns of his own for Kamiakin — on catches of 11 and 31 yards, and then a 29-yard run from the backfield.
But it was a stellar Braves defensive effort that may have been more impressive, providing front-line pressure that harassed Falcons sophomore quarterback Garrett Horner all night long.
Hanford, which can put up points with the best of them at times, could only find the end zone twice.
“(Defensive coordinator) Coach (Tim) Maher, (Chad) Potter, (Keith) Duncan and (Rich) Harris came up with a great game plan,” said Biglin.
Jay agreed: “Coach Maher is as good of a coach as there is.”
Linebacker Alex Bayuk led the Braves with seven tackles, including two quarterback sacks and another for loss. Defensive lineman Hayden Larson added six tackles with three QB sacks, and linebacker Talmage Jacobson had five tackles, one for loss.
Hanford, which is 0-3 in MCC play and 2-3 overall, was led defensively by linebacker AJ Wiegand with six tackles (with a QB sack) and a fumble recovery.
For Biglin, though, Friday’s win means his Braves are solidly back on the line after the derailment two weeks ago at Chiawana.
“We’ve responded well these last two week,” Biglin said.
Kamiakin | 27 | 14 | 7 | 0 | — | 41 |
Hanford | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | — | 14 |
SCORING PLAYS
K — Jethro Questad 54 run (Garrett Paxton kick)
K — Questad 9 run (kick blocked)
K — Benson Smith 11 pass from Zach Borisch (Paxton kick)
K — Questad 51 pass from Borisch (Paxton kick)
K — Thane Thomas 18 pass from Borisch (Paxton kick)
H — Thomas Kitchens 16 pass from Garrett Horner (Steven Woody Page kick)
K — Smith 31 pass from Borisch (Paxton kick)
K — Smith 29 run (Paxton kick)
H — Joe Gauthier 42 pass from Horner (Woody Page kick)
STATISTICS
RUSHING – Kam, Questad 18-126, Smith 3-40, Borisch 7-16, Talmage Jacobson 3-12, Tyler Gourley 4-1, Payton Flynn 1-minus 5, Team 1-minus 13. Han, Drezdyn O’Daol 10-41, Luke Sutey 2-13, Tayvonne Miller 3-1, Gauthier 1-0, Horner 8-minus 41.
PASSING – Kam, Borisch 11-20-0-217, Flynn 1-1-0-2. Han, Horner 12-26-1-93.
RECEIVING – Kam, Isaiah Brimmer 4-77, Questad 1-51, Smith 3-47, Thomas 2-32, Darreon Moore 1-10, Jacobson 1-2. Han, Gauthier 5-69, Kitchens 2-31, O’Daol 1-2, Dmetri Kennedy Woody 1-minus 2, Miller 1-minus 3, Sutey 1-minus 4.
FIRST DOWNS – Kam 17, Han 8. FUMBLES-LOST – Kam 2-1, Han 1-1. PENALTIES-YARDS – Kam 6-36, Han 5-51.
This story was originally published September 30, 2016 at 11:27 PM with the headline "Kamiakin jumps out early, cruises to 48-14 win over Hanford."