Football preview Week 2 | Chiawana has a new quarterback to face Kennewick

High school football fans get twice the fun this week with a Thursday game scheduled in additional to the usual Friday night lineup.

Chiawana (1-0) visits Kennewick (0-1) at Lampson Stadium at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Riverhawks coach Steve Graff will need to start a new quarterback, likely freshman JP Zamora, after last week’s starter, junior Preston Vine, separated his non-throwing shoulder in Chiawana’s 19-0 win over Richland.

The loss of Vine for the next few weeks serves as a double whammy for Chiawana, since he also started in the defensive secondary.

Vine was in on at least three tackles. Offensively, Vine rushed for 64 yards and threw for 104 yards, including a 12-yard TD pass to Sisay West.

But time waits for no one in the Mid-Columbia Conference.

“The next guy just has to step up and get it done,” said Graff, whose team debuted this week in the Seattle Times’ 4A state football poll at No. 4.

Kennewick lost 32-22 in Week 1 to a quality Hanford team.

Lions QB A.J. Templeton rushed for 104 yards and passed for another 64 in the loss.

“A.J. had some nice runs and some good throws,” said Kennewick head coach Bill Templeton of his son. “Overall, a good performance.”

Templeton also liked the offensive line play of the McElroy twins, Baiden and Baylor.

“The McElroy twins performed very well,” said Bill Templeton. “And we’re hoping to get a couple more linemen back this week.”

Which is good, since line play on both sides of the ball will be a big key tonight.

“We are bigger than they are,” said Templeton. “And they are very fast.”

The Lions will be concentrating on stopping Riverhawks LB AJ Vongphachanh, who was all over the field last Friday against Richland. But fellow Chiawana LB Cameron Breier also had a big game for the Hawks.

Here are the other big matchups on Friday:

Hanford (1-0) at Walla Walla (1-0), 7 p.m., Borleske Stadium

This could be the game of the week. These teams have had some high-scoring shootouts in recent years.

Falcons QB Garret Horner played like the seasoned veteran he is in the 32-23 win over Kennewick by going 14-for-18 for 201 yards, a TD pass, and a passing efficiency rating of 190.0. He also rushed for 73 yards on just seven carries for an average of 10.4 yards a run.

“He managed the game nicely,” said Falcons coach Brett Jay. “He had one touchdown pass to Blake VanderTop. There were multiple times he changed the play from the line of scrimmage. We gave him two plays on a fourth-and-1, one pass and one run, and he made the call based on the defensive look. He threw a go route.

“Our offensive rapport is improving, which is a vital piece to have success.”

Hanford RB Jared Devine found the end zone four times.

Walla Walla shut out Southridge 28-0 last Friday.

Josiah Wik rushed for 55 yards on 14 carries. But he opened the game with a kickoff return for a score, setting the tone.

“Wik played well,” said Wa-Hi coach Eric Hisaw. “He has very good vision and is starting to really understand the game well and what his job is.”

Hisaw was also impressed with LB Cole Schmidt on defense and the game management of QB Keldan Swant (10-for-13 passing, 214 efficiency).

What he wasn’t happy with were the mistakes.

“Penalties fried me, I gotta be honest,” said Hisaw. “We really hurt ourselves. Aside from losing the 95 yards in penalty yardage, we probably lost over 220 yards of offense. We have to play smarter and cleaner. They weren’t cheap penalties, but holding, offsides, etc. Those numbers have to go down next week.”

Hermiston (1-0) at Richland (0-1), Fran Rish Stadium, 7 p.m.

The Bulldogs got off to a great start in the MCC last Friday, beating a rebuilding Pasco team 45-0.

Highlights included Wyatt Noland rushing for 255 yards and scoring four touchdowns; QB Andrew James, who led the Bulldogs to the Oregon 5A state title last year, with 91 yards rushing; and DL Cash Campbell, who had four quarterback sacks.

Noland didn’t even turn out for football last year at Hermiston.

“Campbell is not a surprise (with what he did),” said Hermiston coach David Faaeteete. “He has a great motor and never quits on plays. A couple of the sacks came from great coverage down field.”

But it’s James who makes this team run.

“Andrew James is awesome,” said Faaeteete. “He is a lot better than his numbers from the Pasco game. He is our field general, one of the guys that sets the tone of the game running and throwing the ball. He’s everything you want in a QB — he even picks up his teammates and gives some rides home. Not because he has to, but because they are his teammates and family to him.

“He is a great young man that we are blessed to have in the halls of Hermiston high school.”

Meanwhile, Richland coach Mike Neidhold needs to see improvement this week after the Bombers were shut out by Chiawana.

The Bombers lost QB Josh Fonner on the second series when Chiawana’s Vongphachanh hit him, cleanly, on a rollout play. Fonner is in the middle of concussion protocol.

It forced Richland to use Drew Daves, normally a receiver, at QB, and the Bombers couldn’t get untracked.

“It wasn’t his fault,” Neidhold said. “He hadn’t really practiced at that position, so Drew was out of sorts. Looking at the game film, we had guys open everywhere. Our offensive system works.”

Neidhold said if Fonner is cleared, he will suit up. But he won’t have been able to practice this week. So Daves will get the start at QB.

And he plans to use standout WR Cody Sanderson more.

“He’s got to have 20 touches this week,” said Neidhold.

In addition, big OL Aric Davison makes his debut. Davison, verbally committed to Utah State next year, missed last week after not having enough practices in.

“He’s started 42 games for us over his career,” Neidhold said. “He’s been there, all those big games for us the past few years. He means great senior leadership, and he knows how to calm the line down.”

Royal (1-0) at Othello (1-0), Huskie Stadium, 7 p.m.

Big wins for both teams last week.

Royal routed Ellensburg 34-7, while Othello beat a tough Connell team 9-7.

Royal coach Wiley Allred was concerned that Alonso Hernandez (ankle) wouldn’t be able to play. But he showed up.

“He did really well,” said Allred, who calls Hernandez the best linebacker he’s ever coached. “He’s still getting up to full speed. He led the team in tackles (5) and rushing, but he shared those duties with Lorenzo Myrick and Tucker Janett.”

Against Othello, Allred says Royal faces “a big and physical team. They have a stout defense and Isaiah Perez. They also have a solid running game.”

Othello coach Roger Hoell liked his team’s performance in its opener.

“Our defense played outstanding, especially in the red zone,” he said.

The Huskies are in the middle of a tough three-game stretch to open the season. Next week, they play West Valley of Spokane.

“We feel it will make us better in the long run going against great competition and learning to compete at a high level,” said Hoell.

West Valley-Yakima (1-0) at Prosser (0-1), Fiker Stadium, 7 p.m.

While this is a non-conference game, it’s a rematch of old Mid-Valley League rivals.

Dan Eyman’s Rams shut down Kamiakin last Friday, winning 17-9.

Reggie Harris rushed for 134 yards in the win, while QB Spencer Jolley passed for 152 more.

But it was defense that caught Eyman’s eye.

“I thought our kids did a great job of applying pressure on Kamiakin’s offense,” said Eyman. “That being said, Kamiakin shot themselves in the foot numerous times with bad snaps and penalties. … Our linebackers graded out really well in the game. Spencer Jolley, Brian Patrick and Stephen Farris are all senior linebackers who really stood out.”

Prosser lost a tough opener to Class 4A Sunnyside 22-19.

Mustangs QB Will Weinmann connected for three TD passes with Haden Hicks, for 38, 14 and 24 yards.

But turnovers hurt Prosser.

Kord Tuttle also had 73 yards rushing.

“I thought we moved the ball well in between the 20s, but we have to execute in the red zone and not turn the ball over,” said Prosser coach Corey Ingvalson. “Defensively, we need to limit the explosive plays and make teams drive the length of the field.”

Stopping Weinmann will be West Valley’s goal.

“We’ll need to apply pressure on Will,” said Eyman. “If he’s comfortable in the pocket, he’s pretty lethal.”

Tri-Cities Prep watch

One of the top 2B teams in the state, the Jaguars routed Liberty Christian 67-6 last Friday in Eastern Washington Athletic Conference play.

QB Dante Maiuri had 313 yards passing for 5 touchdowns, while Kobe Singleton – last year’s QB – enjoyed his receiver time with six catches for 118 TDs and two TDs.

Seven different Jags scored touchdowns.

“The entire offensive line graded out pretty well as we dominated the line of scrimmage,” said Prep coach Dan Whitsett, whose team plays Kittitas/Thorp next. “David Wilson and Leo Schroeder both graded out the highest overall. David is 6-6/280 left tackle and Leo is 6-4/265 right tackle.”

Defense played just as well.

“We had Sammy Parra-Escobar, an outside linebacker, have a great game (8 tackles, interception, pass defensed),” said Whitsett. “Kobe only gave up one pass completion the entire night for a short gain, and had a couple pass defends and an INT.”

Notes

Besides Chiawana being ranked No. 4 (Class 4A) in the latest Seattle Times’ poll, Richland is No. 10. Graham-Kapowsin is the top-ranked 4A team. … In 3A, Eastside Catholic is No. 1. Hermiston is ranked sixth, while Kamiakin is at No. 10. … Hockinson is the top-ranked 2A team, while Selah is No. 5 and Ellensburg is No. 10. … The Seattle Times doesn’t have rankings for 1A, 2B or 1B. … Linemen love: According to Hermiston’s Faaeteete, lineman Dustyin Coughlin (6-foot-5, 300 pounds) had seven pancake blocks for the Bulldogs on Friday. … Jay praised four-year starter Conner Milliken in Hanford’s win over Kennewick. “His communication up front helped with the execution of our OL play,” said Jay. “Junior guard Casey Moddrell graded out the highest on our offensive line. He started last year as a sophomore, so Game 1 was his 11th start. His execution on our slow screens in open field were fantastic.” … Congrats to Ryan Antos, whose Wahluke football team won its season opener and his first game as head coach, beating Wapato 23-7 on Friday. Warriors QB Jose Celaya rushed for 141 yards in the win, while LB Gerardo Ledezma scored a defensive TD. … Touchet will have to forfeit its second straight game. Last week, it was to Garfield-Palouse. This week, Pomeroy. Not enough numbers.