Big night ahead on the Tri-City football scene

If ever there was a week to clone yourself, this would be it.

There are so many big high school football games in the region on Friday that it would be great to be at at least two places at once.

Instead, people with no allegiance to any one school will have the most difficult decision as to which game to attend.

There are at least five big ones to watch.

Here they are:

Hermiston at Chiawana, Edgar Brown Stadium, 7 p.m.

The Mid-Columbia Conference standings are a mess, thanks to teams beating each other.

Hermiston is 4-1 in MCC play and tied for first with Hanford, while Chiawana and Kamiakin are right behind at 3-1.

So this becomes the biggest MCC contest of the night.

The visiting Bulldogs come into Pasco riding a two-game win streak, while Chiawana has a two-game losing streak.

The key will be what Chiawana’s offense can do. In those two losses, turnovers have hampered the Riverhawks. So Preston Vine or JP Zamora, whoever is at quarterback, must control the ball against what is the MCC’s top-ranked defense.

Conversely, Chiawana’s No. 2-ranked defense must find a way to stop Hermiston’s No. 2 offense. Bulldogs RB Wyatt Noland is the MCC’s top rusher with 842 yards (7.7 yards a carry) and the leading scorer with 13 touchdowns.

Hermiston QB Andrew James is third in total offense (719 yards passing, 326 rushing, for 1,045 total).

Hanford at Sunnyside, 7 p.m.

What a great matchup: Hanford and Sunnyside each own a share of the top spot in their respective leagues. It’s a non-league game, so it won’t be the end of the world for which team loses.

On paper, this looks like a shootout.

Both teams have their league’s No. 1 offense, while Hanford is the No. 4 defense in the MCC and Sunnyside is No. 3 in the Big Nine.

The big question is will Jared DeVine (391 yards rushing) play for the Falcons after severely spraining his ankle last week. If not, Dylan McElderry (who rushed for 141 yards in DeVine’s place against Chiawana) can step in.

Sunnyside WR Mike Rivera has been absolute lights out for the host Grizzlies, already catching 29 passes for 676 yards and eight touchdowns. He also has three interceptions on defense.

Derrick Escamilla, the Grizzlies’ QB, gets Rivera the ball. He’s the top-ranked QB in the Big Nine, with a 154.0 passing efficiency rating. He has 999 passing yards, but he can run too with 602 yards rushing (good for third in the Big Nine).

Hanford quarterback Garrett Horner is the MCC’s top passer, with a 167.0 passing efficiency rating, 1,308 yards passing, and an astounding 13-to-1 TD passes to interceptions ratio. Horner’s top target so far has been Blake VanderTop, who has 18 catches for 294 yards.

Horner, however, is great at spreading the ball around, connecting usually with at least eight receivers a game.

Prosser at Ellensburg, 7 p.m.

This game has no bearing on the CWAC standings – Prosser is in the South Division, while Ellensburg is in the North.

But for years this has always been the big showdown, and both teams sit atop their respective divisions.

Besides Escamilla to Rivera, Prosser’s Will Weinmann to Haden Hicks might be the area’s best QB to receiver combo.

The Bulldogs forced six turnovers last week in their 30-0 win over East Valley.

This might be the first of two games between these two teams. Division winners will meet in Moses Lake on Oct. 27 for the CWAC title and top seed to the postseason.

Connell at Royal, 7 p.m.

Royal has won 46 straight contests. Connell (3-1) has come closest to beating the Knights (5-0) over that span but hasn’t done it.

Connell coach Wayne Riner would like nothing better than hand his good friend, Royal coach Wiley Allred, a loss.

“That would make me a happy man if we could beat Royal this year,” Riner said before the season began. “I am so sick of losing to those suckers. We could lose every game this year and beat Royal and I think it would be a successful season.”

QB Austin Smith has been great running the offense for Connell, while DE Tony Hermann has been the anchor to a tough defense.

Royal is led by QB Sawyer Jenks and two-way star Alonso Hernandez, who can kill opposing defenses from his running back position. Allred calls Hernandez the best linebacker he’s ever coached.

Burbank at Tri-Cities Prep, Chiawana High, 7 p.m.

Coach Trevor Curtis has done a great job with the visiting Coyotes (4-1), who made the move from Class 1A to 2B this season.

He’ll need great performances from QB Devin Martin and RB Abraham Garcia.

But Prep has been lights out, beating highly touted St. Bernard’s of Eureka, Calif., last Saturday 23-21.

RB Nate Dituri averaged 9.7 yards a carry against St. Bernard’s, while LB Colton Tinnin led the defense with 16 – sixteen! – tackles.

This is for first place in the 2B EWAC.

Other Friday games

7 p.m. kickoff unless noted

▪ College Place at Warden: Key battle for important SCAC postseason berth.

▪ Dayton-Waitsburg at Liberty Christian, Hanford High: LC’s Curtis Morgan has been the EWAC’s top passer this season.

▪ East Valley-Yakima at Othello: Host Huskies need a big bounce back game after getting shut out last week.

▪ Grandview at Toppenish: Visiting Greyhounds must control Top-Hi’s Keyano Zamarripa.

▪ Kiona-Benton at DeSales: Non-league matchup between two third-place teams.

▪ Pasco at Kennewick, Lampson Stadium, 5 p.m.: First game of Lampson twinbill; host Lions still battling for postseason berth.

▪ River View at Wahluke: Visiting Panthers still looking for their first SCAC East win.

▪ Southridge at Richland: Host Bombers, after 0-2 start, now looking for their fourth straight win.

▪ Walla Walla at Kamiakin, Lampson Stadium, 8 p.m.: Host Braves trying to stay ahead of Kennewick in standings.

▪ White Swan at Mabton: Host Mabton battling for playoff berth.

Standings

MCC

CWAC North

CWAC South

SCAC East

EWAC