Richland, Kamiakin renew rivalry after instant classic in 2016

Anticipation for Friday night’s clash between the undefeated Richland and Kamiakin high school football teams has probably only been matched in recent history by the thrill of their 2016 meeting, a 21-20 overtime Bombers’ victory that was an instant classic.

With matching 5-0 records (3-0 in MCC play), the teams bring in two of the most talented wide receiver/defensive back groups in the conference, touted front sevens and offensive lines, and two of the top quarterbacks in the league — Richland’s Cade Jensen and Kamiakin’s Payton Flynn.

“I hope Kamiakin plays a great game, because that’s going to bring out the best in us, and I hope we do the same for them,” Richland coach Mike Neidhold said. “We’ve gotta keep our eye on the ball and play a full 48-minute game, and be ready for a great Kamiakin team that will play with a lot of spirit and will being their fans.”

But between two teams of this caliber (Richland ranked No. 4 in this week’s Class 4A poll, Kamiakin No. 3 among 3A’s), often a game is decided by a favorable bounce, a controversial call or a wild play that few could have anticipated.

That latter certainly was true last year, as a game-ending extra-point block quickly turned Richland’s Adam Weissenfels from the game’s goat into its hero.

The two plays that looked like they would define the then-junior’s night came late in the fourth quarter. Weissenfels was responsible in coverage when Zach Borisch (now at Idaho) found Isaiah Brimmer (Idaho State) for a 4-yard touchdown that tied the game at 14-all, then missed a chance at redemption when he failed to convert a 30-yard field goal with 50 seconds remaining in regulation that likely would have won it.

“I kinda felt like I had let my team down almost, because I know they believed in me, and I believed in myself, so I felt like I let myself down too,” Weissenfels said. “But I had full confidence in myself, in my team, so I almost felt like I had to prove myself, and fix what I had done.”

After Richland needed just three plays to score on its overtime possession — 22-yard pass from Paxton Stevens to Alex Chapman (both graduated), followed by a Weissenfels extra point — Kamiakin answered quickly, pulling within a point on a 4-yard hookup from Borisch to Darreon Moore. Garrett Paxton lined up for a kick that would tie the game and send it to a second overtime, and struck it pure. But Weissenfels came off the left edge of the Braves’ line like he was shot out of a cannon, making a diving block that brought the game to a thrilling, unforeseen halt.

“Honestly, right after they scored the touchdown, I said to (fellow senior wide receiver/DB) Ryan Piper, because he’s right next to me on the field goal block, I said ‘we’re gonna block this one.’ ” Weissenfels said. “I kinda got the feeling down to time the snap during the game, and at that moment my adrenaline was rushing and I just told myself I was going to block it. And it worked out.”

The rest is history, as that game — along with Richland’s 21-14 win over Chiawana two weeks later — locked up the MCC crown for the Bombers, who went on to win their first 13 games of the season before falling to Camas in the state title game. The Braves, meanwhile, have won 13 games in a row since then, including a 14-7 win over O’Dea to capture the first state championship in school history.

How they stack up

Unlike last year, both teams are undefeated heading into this week’s contest (Kamiakin was 4-1 after losing to Chiawana). Richland is beating its opponents by an average of 39.4 points per game, while Kamiakin is averaging a 32-point margin of victory.

As impressive as the last four blowouts have been — Week 1 was a gutsy 24-21 win at Bellevue — Neidhold and the Richland coaching staff are still hung up on the fact they haven’t recorded a shutout yet this season.

“DJ (Search, defensive coordinator), he’s been all fussy about it,” Neidhold said. “He’s a grumpy Gus; he wants a shutout.”

It’s not likely to come this week. The Braves feature the No. 2 scoring and yardage offense in the MCC — behind Richland — led by Flynn, their senior first-year QB who has thrown for 1,062 yards and 16 touchdowns, seven of which have gone to senior wide out Champ Grayson.

For the Bombers, it’s been an endless rotation of dynamic backs and receivers, epitomized in last week’s 63-7 win over Pasco when 12 players caught passes and seven scored touchdowns. The beneficiary of the bottomless depth has been Jensen, who leads the league in touchdown passes (18) and completion percentage (65.6), and is second in passing yards with 1,320.

Both signal callers, however, could be under siege, with linebacker Dillon Crawford and linemen Parker Larson and Chase Kissell getting after it for Kamiakin, and linemen Jax Lee and Aric Davison leading the charge for Richland.

This story was originally published October 5, 2017 at 11:58 PM with the headline "Richland, Kamiakin renew rivalry after instant classic in 2016."