9 Tri-Cities area football teams earn chance to play for WA state championships
Nine football squads from the Tri-Cities region earned the opportunity to play for state championships beginning this week.
Here’s a quick look at what happened with our teams (in alphabetical order) last weekend, and what’s in store for some of them:
Chiawana (5-5): JP Zamora rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown, and passed for 75 yards and a score, but it wasn’t enough, as the Riverhawks lost at Gonzaga Prep 34-14 in a 4A regional crossover game. That ends Chiawana’s season.
College Place (5-4): The Hawks fell 56-13 last weekend to Toppenish in a 1A SCAC crossover playoff game, ending their season. Nick Josifek led CP with 220 yards passing, a TD throw, and a touchdown run. Jesse Mink added 6 catches for 101 yards.
State playoff team alert, Columbia-Burbank (10-0): The Coyotes trounced visiting Cle Elum-Roslyn 54-18 in a 2B EWAC crossover playoff, helping Burbank qualify for the state playoffs.
Ranked sixth in the state, Burbank plays host to 11-seeded Brewster at 6 p.m. Friday in a first-round 2B state tournament game.
Connell (4-4): Despite the efforts of senior running back Carson Riner (32 carries, 167 yards rushing), the Eagles fell 24-7 to Zillah in the 1A crossover playoffs, ending Connell’s season.
State playoff team alert, DeSales (5-2): Joe Baffney tossed five touchdown passes as the Irish trounced St. John-Endicott/La Crosse 76-14 to clinch the second Southeast District 9 8-man state playoff berth.
The state committee gave DeSales a six seed, and the Irish will play host to 11-seed Winlock in the 1B tournament at 1 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 13.
Grandview (1-8): Noe Medina caught a 27-yard TD pass from Robert Gomez, but it wasn’t enough as the Greyhounds completed their season with a 29-9 loss to Ellensburg last Friday.
Hanford (1-8): The Falcons had their season end on Oct. 29 with a 22-21 loss to Hermiston.
Hermiston (3-7): The host Bulldogs ended their season last week with a 44-7 win over Ridgeline (the newest Greater Spokane League school). Hermiston quarterback Chase Elliott finished his prep career by throwing three TD passes and catching another.
State playoff team alert, Kamiakin (10-0): The Braves just keep rolling, trouncing visiting Lewis & Clark 48-3 in a 4A regional playoff game Saturday at Lampson Stadium.
Henry Mercado threw three TD passes, while Luis Salgado scored three times.
What’s next? Kamiakin got a No. 4 seed ranking from the WIAA committee for the upcoming 4A state tournament, and the Braves will take on No. 13 seed North Creek at 4 p.m. Saturday at Lampson Stadium.
State playoff team alert, Kennewick (9-1): The Lions, playing in the 3A Round of 32, defeated Timberline 28-7 last Saturday at Lampson.
Myles Mayovsky rushed 34 times for 180 yards; Dayton Davis passed for 156 more yards; and Simeon Howard grabbed two interceptions.
Next up, as a 6 seed, Kennewick hosts No. 11 Spanaway Lake at 1 p.m. Saturday in the first round of the 3A state tournament at Lampson.
Kiona-Benton (4-3): Not able to qualify for the postseason, Kiona-Benton High School defeated La Salle 9-7 in a non-league game to end the Bears’ season.
Liberty Christian (4-6): The story this season for the Patriots was opponents canceling their contests against LC, usually due to a covid outbreak. Then LC is sent scrambling to find an opponent at the last minute. It happened again on Friday, as Rosalia pulled out — only this time, no opponent could be found — causing the Patriots to end its season without a Senior Day game.
Mabton (3-5): The Vikings fell 35-17 to Goldendale in a 2B EWAC crossover playoff, ending Mabton’s season.
State playoff team alert, Othello (6-3): The Huskies had a bye last week, and had already qualified for the 2A state playoffs as the CWAC’s second seed.
Othello got an 11-seed ranking from the WIAA and must travel to play at No. 6 Steilacoom in the first round of the tournament. Kickoff is at 4 p.m. Saturday at Mt. Tahoma.
Pasco (2-8): The Bulldogs were eliminated last Tuesday in a 4A regional play-in game in Spokane, falling 34-28 to Lewis & Clark.
State playoff team alert, Prosser (7-1): The Mustangs hung on to beat Selah 32-26 in double overtime to finish unbeaten in CWAC play, and earning the conference’s top seed into the 2A state tournament.
Erik Delgado scored three touchdowns for Prosser, while Kaiden Rivera threw for 299 yards and completed passes to 10 different receivers.
Prosser, ranked 7th, hosts No. 10-seed W.F. West at 2 p.m. Saturday at Art Fiker Stadium.
State playoff team alert, Richland (8-2): The Bombers defense shut down Central Valley for a 21-10 4A regional victory last Friday night.
Bombers defensive end Elijah Rodriguez set the tone, sacking CV senior quarterback Luke Abshire twice and hammering Bears running back Sam Cann two more times for losses.
“Someone to look out for was their quarterback,” said Rodriguez, who has committed to play linebacker next fall for Eastern Washington University. “We have a good defense. We let our defensive backs do their thing, and same thing with our linebackers and D-linemen.”
Meanwhile, Bombers quarterback Cameron Kitchens did enough damage to find the end zone three times — an 11-yard TD pass to Kenyon Coleman, a 2-yard scoring strike to Landon Charlton, and a 1-yard keeper into the end zone himself.
The win gives Richland a berth in the 4A state tournament. The Bombers got a No. 14 ranking from the WIAA and must travel to No. 3 Lake Stevens. Game time is set for 5 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 13.
State playoff team alert, River View (8-2): Despite having to travel, the Panthers defeated Kittitas 42-21 in a 2B EWAC crossover playoff to qualify for the state tournament.
Miguel Farias led River View by rushing for four touchdowns.
River View, a 12 seed, will travel to No. 5 Onalaska, with kickoff coming at 4 p.m., Saturday.
State playoff team alert, Royal (10-0): The top-seeded Knights continue to roll, beating Naches Valley 55-0 in an SCAC crossover playoff game.
Avery Ellis rushed for 132 yards and scored three touchdowns, while Luke Bergeson added 4 catches for 98 yards and three touchdowns.
Royal now plays host to No. 16 Bellevue Christian in the 1A state playoffs at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Southridge (4-6): The Suns made the postseason for the first time in a few years, and fell 42-0 at Bellevue in a 3A Round of 32 game to end their season.
Sunnyside (6-4): Chase Yanez scored two touchdowns to lead the Grizzlies over Davis 21-7 in a 4A Big Nine Conference contest Friday. However, Sunnyside failed to make the state playoffs.
Sunnyside Christian (8-2): SSC lost 58-0 to Pomeroy in a Southeast District 9 8-man game. That loss dropped the Knights out of the state 1B playoff race, and ends their season.
Touchet (2-6): Touchet lost 80-36 to Yakama Tribal, to see its season end.
Tri-Cities Prep (5-4): The Jaguars failed to make the playoffs, but found a crossover game with White Swan, and they beat the Cougars 55-28.
Caleb Sherfey had 290 yards passing for five touchdowns; Adam Baerlocher caught 8 passes for 137 yards; and Ulices Estrada was in on 16 tackles for the Jaguars.
Wahluke (3-7): The Warriors, while not qualifying for the 1A playoffs, ended the regular season on a winning note by beating Reardan 30-21 in a non-conference game.
Walla Walla (3-7): The Blue Devils finished with a non-league, 20-0 loss to GSL opponent Ferris last week.
Warden (5-5): The Cougars ended their season with a 22-12 non-conference victory over Granger.
This story was originally published November 9, 2021 at 12:58 PM.