Winners of the 1st half football MVP in the Mid-Columbia. 10,000+ votes cast

They weren’t scientific polls but the Tri-City Herald’s recent first half Most Valuable Player reader polls for both big schools and small schools got some strong responses.

More than 10,300 votes were cast for our slate of Top 10 large and Top 10 small division players.

In the big schools division, Richland running back/defensive lineman Elijah Rodriguez was the overwhelming choice with 2,150 votes, or 70%.

Not a bad choice, as Rodriguez has been a key player for the Bombers’ 7-1 start.

Kamiakin is the only team better than the Bombers — and 7-1 Kennewick — with a 8-0 record.

With so many dangerous weapons, it’s hard to pinpoint just one guy for the Kamiakin Braves.

So perhaps for that reason it split the vote:

Kamiakin quarterback Henry Mercado was second on the list with 10% of the vote, while Braves running back/linebacker Luis Salgado was third at 9%.

Bombers quarterback Cameron Kitchens at Richland High was fourth with 7% of the votes.

Overall, nearly 3,060 votes were cast, though you could vote more than once.

Small division

Powerhouse running back Miguel Farias for 6-2 Finley River View, swept 50% of the vote, or 3,600 votes, to be the top small-school, first-half MVP.

Readers cast almost 7,275 total votes for these players.

Michael Lenke, the standout QB for unbeaten Columbia-Burbank, was second in the poll at 19%.

Elijah Kinsey, running back for Columbia Burbank, was third with 18%.

And Connell running back Carson Riner — a virtual lock each week to rush for over 100 yards and score a few touchdowns — was fourth with 11% of the votes.

You’ll be seeing more of these interactive polls for high school sports over the school year.

This story was originally published October 24, 2021 at 12:57 PM.