Kamiakin rolls over Rogers

Zach Borisch juked, jived and spun for four rushing touchdowns as the Kamiakin Braves ran over the Rogers Pirates 47-15 in a Class 3A regional crossover game at Lampson Stadium on Friday night.

With the win, the Braves advance to the Class 3A state playoffs for the first time since 2013. They will host Lakes next Saturday.

Kamiakin (8-2), the top 3A seed from the Mid-Columbia Conference, pulled away in the second quarter from a Rogers team making its first playoff — regional or state — since 1976.

Borisch and the Braves left little doubt Friday night that their season would not be ending in the crossover round for a second straight season. After the Pirates (4-6) tied the game at 7-all early in the second quarter, Kamiakin scored three touchdowns in the final 10 minutes of the first half to take a 28-7 halftime lead.

The Braves would lead 41-7 before Rogers added a late touchdown.

Borisch goes to work

Borisch accounted for all of the Braves first-half scoring, rushing for three touchdowns and throwing for another.

His big night started on the Braves’ third possession, rushing for a 27-yard touchdown on third down to give Kamiakin an early 7-0 lead. After Rogers tied the game at 7 with 10:52 left in the half, Borisch connected with Jace Navejas on a 52-yard touchdown play to give the Braves the lead for good at 14-7 with 10:11 left in the first half.

Borisch added touchdown runs of 32 and 15 yards before the half. The junior quarterback finished the game with 14 carries for 119 yards, 106 of those coming in the first half. He also completed 6 of 10 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown.

Rogers flexes early

The Pirates, whose four wins were their most in the regular season since 1994, showed why they were not to be taken lightly.

With a formidable running game, Rogers pounded the ball on the ground with Patrick Pullins and Eric McKay. After McKay rumbled for 37 yards, Pullins capped the drive with a 2-yard TD run.

Rogers next drive stalled on the Kamiakin 21.

McKay had nine first-half carries for 112 yards and Pullins added 48 yards on 12 carries. But it was the inability to convert in Braves’ territory that turned out to be the difference.

Big first half

Rogers, a heavy underdog in the game, got the break it needed early. But the Pirates could not capitalize.

On the first play of the game, Kamiakin running back Jethro Questad fumbled the ball and Rogers recovered. And the crowd took a deep breath.

But Kamiakin bounced back from the early mistake to score 28-first half points in the final 15 minutes.

Questad finished the night with 20 carries for 179.

Scoring Summary

K – Zach Borisch 27 run (Garrett Paxton kick)

R – Patrick Pullins 2 run (Iiya Kozhokaru kick)

K – Jace Navejas 52 pass from Borisch (Paxton kick)

K – Borisch 32 run (Paxton kick)

K – Borisch 15 run (Paxton kick)

K – Borisch 1 run (kick fail)

K – Jethro Questad 24 run (Paxton kick)

R – Khalil Winfrey 46 pass from Cole Shafer (Conrad Weeks pass from Shafer)

K – Dillon Crawford 1 run (kick fail)

Individual Statistics

Rushing – R, Pullins 22-97, McKay 11-117, Marcus Phillips 5-4. K, Borisch 14-119, Questad 20-179. Passing – R, Shafer 11-24-2-194. K, Borisch 6-10-0-96.

Receiving – R, Winfrey 8-150. K, Navejas 1-52, Isaiah Brimmer 2-14.

First Downs – R 18, K 21. Penalties-yards – R 11-106, K 9-77. Fumbles-lost – R 0-0, K 1-1.

This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 10:56 PM with the headline "Kamiakin rolls over Rogers."