Mid-Columbia football conference leaders pound their opponents in weekend wins

Teams atop the Mid-Columbia Conference standings, as well as other conferences, kept pace this past weekend by winning their contests.

Kamiakin, Kennewick, Richland and Chiawana — all looking at postseason berths — easily handled their opponents with victories.

With just two weeks left in regular-season play before we get to regional crossover games, local teams are setting themselves up for deep postseason runs.

Highlights and Scores

KAMIAKIN 48, PASCO 7: Luis Salgado rushed for 139 yards and four touchdowns on just 12 carries, as first-place Kamiakin rolled over host Pasco in an MCC game on Friday.

Braves quarterback Henry Mercado added 129 yards passing, a TD pass, 40 yards rushing, and a rushing touchdown for the Braves, now 7-0 in MCC play and overall.

KENNEWICK 42, HERMISTON 0: In a Thursday night game at Lampson Stadium, the host Lions rolled over the Bulldogs.

Kennewick rolled up 437 yards of total offense, with Myles Mayovsky getting credit for 192 of it. The senior running back rushed 15 times for 102 yards, and caught 4 passes for another 90 yards. He scored on a 3-yard run, and a 44-yard pass reception from Lions QB Dayton Davis.

Davis finished the game 181 yards passing and three TD passes. He also rushed for 45 yards and scored two touchdowns himself.

RICHLAND 49, WALLA WALLA 27: Cameron Kitchens tossed four touchdown passes — two to Deacon Boyce — as the visiting Bombers used an explosive offense to run away from the Blue Devils in MCC play on Friday.

Kitchens finished with a 20-for-24 for 384 yards passing, with Tanner Schuster catching 4 passes for 97 yards.

Elijah Rodriguez added two TD runs for Richland, which improves to 5-1 in MCC play, 6-1 overall.

CHIAWANA 36, SOUTHRIDGE 15: JP Zamora passed for four touchdowns — two each to Kade Smith and Isaac Hoag — and he ran for another, as the host Riverhawks beat the Suns in MCC play on Friday.

Zamora finished with a 15-for-19 passing performance for 288 yards.

Hoag led the receivers, catching just 3 passes for 138 yards; Smith caught 6 passes for 106 yards.

Max Martin passed for one touchdown for Southridge, while rushing for another.

EASTMONT 41, HANFORD 0: Brooks Trovato and Gunnar Peterson scored two touchdowns each, as Big Nine Conference power Eastmont shut out the Falcons on Friday at Fran Rish Stadium.

MOSES LAKE 23, SUNNYSIDE 22: Host Moses Lake knocked off the Grizzlies on Friday, scoring a touchdown and 2-point conversion in the final minute for the Big Nine Conference victory.

Logan Rodriguez led Sunnyside with 270 yards passing and two touchdowns, while teammate Myles Newhouse added 105 yards rushing on 16 carries.

Sunnyside falls to 3-1 in league play, 5-2 overall.

MCC FOOTBALL STANDINGS

Kamiakin 7-0 MCC, 7-0 overall

Kennewick 5-1, 6-1

Richland 5-1, 6-1

Chiawana 4-2, 4-3

Southridge 2-4, 3-4

Pasco 2-4, 2-5

Walla Walla 2-5, 2-5

Hanford 1-5, 1-6

Hermiston 0-7, 0-7

Thursday, Oct. 14

Kennewick 42, Hermiston 0

Friday, Oct. 15

Chiawana 36, Southridge 15

Eastmont 41, Hanford 0

Kamiakin 48, Pasco 7

Richland 49, Walla Walla 27

Friday, Oct. 22

All kickoffs 7 p.m. unless noted otherwise

Hanford at Kamiakin, Lampson Stadium

Kennewick at Chiawana, Edgar Brown Stadium

Pasco at Hermiston

Walla Walla at Ridgeline

Saturday, Oct. 23

Southridge vs. Richland, Lampson Stadium, 1 p.m.

Other action

PROSSER 19, OTHELLO 7: It’s pretty hard to believe Prosser senior Kaiden Rivera could have had a better Friday night.

The Mustangs quarterback tossed two first-half touchdown passes, was named Homecoming King at intermission, then fired a key 65-yard scoring strike to Isaac Kernan to open the third quarter — putting away a tough Othello team in 2A Central Washington Athletic Conference play.

When it was done, Rivera was 29 for 43 passing for 356 yards and three touchdown passes — none more important than that third-quarter 65-yard scoring strike.

“Kernan and I have good chemistry,” said Rivera. “Ive told him if I scramble, just go long.”

Which is what happened. Kernan sprinted, got behind the secondary, and Rivera hit him in stride for the TD, giving the Mustangs an insurmountable three-score lead.

Rivera hit 10 different Prosser receivers, but Kernan was the biggest beneficiary.

The junior wideout caught 9 passes for 203 yards and two scores.

Still, the verdict was still in doubt.

“Othello is a real physical team,” said Rivera.

Huskies head coach Roger Hoell decided to move quarterback Sonny Asu to tailback in the second half, and the junior responded by rushing for 99 yards on 21 carries.

Unfortunately for the Huskies, the one scoring drive they had in the fourth quarter took over 6 minutes of clock time.

Nehemiah Medrano, the Mustangs’ star linebacker, led Prosser defensively with 6 tackles and a blocked punt. Sophomore DB Havic Prieto added 4 tackles, two pass breakups and a cover; while DL Brennen Carey had 7 tackles.

Othello was led defensively by Terrill Freeman. The linebacker had 7 tackles, two for loss. Teammate Ethan Perez-Medina added 5 tackles and a pass breakup.

With the victory, Prosser has the inside lane to the CWAC title, boasting a 3-0 conference record (4-1 overall).

Othello falls to 3-2 in CWAC play, and 4-3 overall.