Historic night of football on tap in the Tri-Cities ... air quality permitting

Four big-school football games in the Tri-Cities in one night.

In years to come, the concept could become a tradition, but Friday night will surely appear at first to be a novelty — provided the smoke clears enough to play — with Richland facing Wenatchee at Fran Rish, Chiawana hosting West Valley (Yakima) at Edgar Brown, and Kamiakin (vs. Lewis and Clark) and Southridge (facing Sunnyside) participating in the first of three doubleheaders this season at Lampson Stadium.

A look at those games, and some of the area’s biggest Week 2 matchups:

L-C AT KAMIAKIN (5 P.M.): The defending 3A state champion Braves got off to a slow start and actually trailed after a quarter against Eastmont last week, before eventually cruising to a 35-6 victory. Wide out Benson Smith and running back Talmage Jacobson, both seniors, each scored a pair of touchdowns in the win, and should continue to be weapons for first-year quarterback Payton Flynn. For the Tigers, senior Josh Via has some big-play ability, as he ran for touchdowns of 32 and 14 yards in L-C’s 28-3 win over Lake City last week.

SUNNYSIDE AT SOUTHRIDGE (8 P.M.): Last year was a magical one for the Grizzlies, who reached the state playoffs for the first time since 1981 — but they ran into the Richland buzzsaw in the first round, losing 41-0. Sunnyside beat Southridge 35-13 in Week 2 last season, but that was before the Suns caught fire, finishing the season 8-5 and reaching the first round of the Class 3A state playoffs. Eric Stayrook is a force for Southridge; he caught four passes for 132 yards with touchdowns of 37 and 59 yards on offense, and recorded three sacks on defense in last week’s 24-21 road win over Wenatchee.

WEST VALLEY (YAKIMA) AT CHIAWANA: With arguably the best line in the state up front, the mostly inexperienced Riverhawks backfield is hoping to quickly get up to speed. Ethan Garcia ran for 141 yards with a pair of touchdowns and Enoch Vargas threw for 113 yards in Chiawana’s 24-14 Week 1 win over a pretty good Moses Lake team. The Riverhawks will try to finish the job defensively — Moses Lake was held scoreless until the fourth quarter — against a West Valley team playing its first game of the season, after its Week 1 tilt with Mercer Island was canceled because of poor air quality.

OTHELLO AT ROYAL: The two-time defending state champion Knights like the deep ball. Sawyer Jenks completed just 12 passes last week, but picked up 325 yards and five touchdowns to lead the 42-0 rout of Ellensburg. Six-foot-three senior wide out Corbin Christensen is a mismatch for most corners, and opened the season by hauling in six catches for 177 yards and touchdowns of 52, 33 and 39 yards. Othello returns an experienced group of skill position players, led by quarterback DJ Guzman, running back Trevor Hilmes and wide receiver Kyler Villarreal, but the offense picked up just 187 yards in a 28-10 Week 1 loss to Connell.

ZILLAH AT PROSSER: After going on the road and staving off a late charge from Kennewick in Week 1 for a 22-14 win, the Mustangs turn their attention to the three-time reigning SCAC West champion Leopards. Left-handed junior quarterback Will Weinmann — who threw for 208 yards and a touchdown last week — will try to lead the offense again against a Zillah D that shut out Wahluke in its opener for a 28-0 victory.

Other local matchups include Kennewick at Cleveland, 5 p.m.; Pasco at Davis, 1 p.m. Saturday (rescheduled from Thursday); Walla Walla at Eastmont, 3 p.m. Saturday (rescheduled from Friday); Hanford at Moses Lake, 7 p.m.; River View at Grandview, 7 p.m.; Kiona-Benton at Wapato, 7 p.m.; Waitsburg at Columbia-Burbank, 7 p.m.; Goldendale at College Place. 7 p.m.; Warden at Mabton, 7 p.m.; Cle Elum-Roslyn at Wahluke, 7 p.m.; Tri-Cities Prep at Lyle-Wishram, 7 p.m.; Chewelah at Liberty Christian, 7 p.m.; DeSales at McLaughlin-Griswold, 7 p.m.; Touchet at Republic, 6 p.m.; Lewiston at Hermiston, 7 p.m.; and Umatilla at Rainier, 7 p.m.

This story was originally published September 7, 2017 at 4:33 PM with the headline "Historic night of football on tap in the Tri-Cities ... air quality permitting."