5 Mid-Columbia football teams headed to WA state quarterfinals

The nine Mid-Columbia region football teams that opened play in the WIAA state football playoffs last weekend have been winnowed down to five that are still alive.

That includes both Kamiakin and Kennewick, which won their openers on Saturday at Lampson Stadium.

Kamiakin used six touchdown passes from quarterback Henry Mercado en route to a 56-21 victory over North Creek of Bothell in the 4A state playoffs.

The Braves (11-0) will next play host to Camas (7-4) at 3 p.m. Saturday at Lampson in the 4A state quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, Andre Breedlove found Myles Mayovsky for the 30-yard touchdown pass with 90 seconds remaining to give Kennewick a 26-21 win over Spanaway Lake in the first round of the 3A state football playoffs.

The victory means the Lions (10-1) advance to play O’Dea (8-2) at 4 p.m. Saturday at Seattle’s Memorial Stadium in the 3A quarterfinals.

The game will be a rematch of the 2019 3A state semifinals.

For more information, see Monday’s Herald on both the Kamiakin and Kennewick games.

Meanwhile, Prosser, Royal and Columbia-Burbank also advanced into the quarterfinals of their respective classifications.

Weekend playoff roundup

LAKE STEVENS 52, RICHLAND 7: Richland senior Elijah Rodriguez scored on a 5-yard touchdown run, but it wasn’t enough as the visiting Bombers couldn’t keep pace with the highly touted Vikings in the 4A playoffs.

Lake Stevens, seeded third in the 4A tournament, jumped out to a 35-0 lead and never looked back in the Saturday night playoff on the west side in the rain.

Trayce Hanks caught a 72-yard TD pass and ran for a 64-yard touchdown for Lake Stevens (9-0), which plays host to Gonzaga Prep in the 4A quarterfinals at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Richland saw it season end with an 8-3 record.

PROSSER 34, W.F. WEST 29: In an afternoon filled with penalties, Prosser coach Corey Ingvalson was OK to see the final flag fly of the night. Prosser was called for its 15th penalty for a delay of game as the Mustangs were in the victory formation putting an end to a victory over W.F. West of Chehalis at Art Fiker Stadium on Saturday afternoon in a 2A first-round state playoff game.

“We found a way to keep bouncing back and I am proud of guys for sticking together,” Ingvalson said, in a game that was slowed by 25 penalties. “We just kept playing each play.”

Prosser (9-1) will play at third-seeded Lynden, who beat Fife 34-0 in its first-round game, next weekend in the state quarterfinals. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. Saturday, at Civic Stadium in Bellingham.

“We need to keep playing well,” said Prosser receiver Max Flores, who caught 5 catches for 73 yards and a touchdown. “We want to start fast and finish strong.”

That’s exactly what happened Saturday. The Mustangs scored touchdowns on all four of their first-half drives and led 28-14 at halftime. Quarterback Kaiden Rivera completed 15 of 21 passes in the first half for 251 yards and two touchdowns.

“That was a little different than what we have done all season,” Ingvalson said. “Sometimes we take some time to get going before everything starts clicking.”

Despite the offense rolling for most of the game, West stayed within striking distance the entire way and was in position for the game-winning score in the final minutes.

Led by freshman quarterback Gage Brumfield, the Bearcats had the ball at the Prosser 6-yard line with under 4 minutes remaining and trailing 34-29. But a holding penalty, a tipped pass, and a sack on fourth down by EJ Hurtado preserved the win for the Mustangs.

“That was a big play at the end,” Ingvalson said. “They are a good team and give them a lot of credit for the way they played.”

Eric Delgado led the Mustangs in rushing with 8 carries for 30 yards and two touchdowns. His second score of the game in the final 90 seconds of the first half. Prosser’s lone touchdown in the second half came on a 3-yard reception by Anthony Martin as the Mustangs went ahead 34-22.

“We want to get out and find open grass and attack that,” Ingvalson said.

Rivera finished the afternoon 27 of 39 passing for 344 yards.

STEILACOOM 30, OTHELLO 13: Sonny Asu opened the game with an 80-yard touchdown run for Othello, but it was all Steilacoom after that in a first-round, 2A first-round game Saturday at Mt. Tahoma High School.

The Sentinels (8-0) had three touchdowns from running back D’Andre Napier, who finished with 28 carries for 167 yards rushing, and two receptions for 23 yards.

Othello’s season ends, with the Huskies sporting a 6-4 record.

ROYAL 50, BELLEVUE CHRISTIAN 6: Host Royal rolled to a 43-0 first quarter lead en route to routing Bellevue Christian in a 1A state first-round game in Royal City on Saturday.

The Knights did all of the damage early, as Avery Ellis rushed for three touchdowns. Quarterback Derek Bergeson threw for two TD passes and also returned a fumble for a score.

Royal’s defense forced five turnovers in the game.

The Knights now play host to SCAC rival Toppenish at 1 p.m. Saturday in the 1A quarterfinals. Toppenish defeated Mt. Baker 26-22 on the road this past weekend.

Both Toppenish and Royal are 11-0, and although they are members of the South Central Athletic Conference, they did not meet during the regular season.

COLUMBIA-BURBANK 32, BREWSTER 28: Michael Lenke’s 65-yard touchdown run with 9:32 remaining gave the host Coyotes the lead for good in a 2B first-round playoff game on Friday night.

The Burbank defense was able to keep the Bears out of the end zone for the remainder of the game.

Lenke finished with over 125 yards rushing, as Burbank moves to 11-0.

The Coyotes now travel to Wenatchee to take on Okanogan (11-0) at 7 p.m. Friday in the Apple Bowl.

ONALASKA 62, RIVER VIEW 8: Onalaska jumped out to a 56-0 lead on a rainy night in Centralia en route to a 2B first-round victory over River View.

The Panthers finished their season with an 8-3 record.

WINLOCK 64, DESALES 60: The Irish saw their season come to an end in a B-8 shootout at DeSales on Saturday.

DeSales quarterback Joe Baffney passed for 328 yards and rushed for another 180 yards, while receiver Jack Lesko caught 4 passes for 173.

DeSales finishes the season with a 7-3 record.