Prosser takes on Royal. Can they stop the 40th consecutive victory streak?

Royal had to go to overtime to beat visiting Cashmere last week 21-15, giving the Knights their 40th consecutive prep football victory.

Royal quarterback Grant Wardenaar connected with Dax Jenks on a 13-yard TD pass in the OT for the victory. Wardenaar had two touchdown passes and ran for another.

The big left-hander was 24 for 33 for 260 yards passing. Jenks finished with 9 catches for 84 yards. He also had 7 tackles (1 for loss) on the Royal defense.

Cashmere QB Rylan Hatmaker had 156 yards passing.

The two teams are among the top Class 1A teams in the state, and could very likely cross paths in the state playoffs.

This coming week, Cashmere plays host to Zillah in another key 1A game.

• Prosser hosts Royal on Thursday night in a non-league game that pits two teams with a combined 9-1 record. The Mustangs visited Quincy last week and beat the Jackrabbits 35-7, as quarterback Daniel Diaz had 201 passing yards and two TD strikes. Three Prosser receivers were the main beneficiaries of Diaz passes: Xzander Espino with 3 catches for 75 yards; Brody Buxton with 8 receptions for 73 yards; and Noah Medrano, who had 3 catches for 21 yards and three touchdowns. Josiah Coffman added 86 yards rushing on just 11 carries.

• East Valley-Yakima looks to have the inside track to the 2A CWAC regular-season championship after the Red Devils rolled over visiting Othello 36-13 last week in Moxee. With EV already taking down Prosser and Othello — which had its 17-game win streak snapped with the loss — the Yakima school sits atop of the standings. In the victory, Jaxon Berg had 178 yards passing and three touchdown passes for the Red Devils. Teammate Braden Albrecht had 24 carries for 100 yards rushing, while receiver Greyson Stevens had 7 receptions for 80 yards. Gavin Carl led the Huskies with 78 yards rushing on 17 carries.

• How good is Grandview senior Nathan Montes de Oca? While the Greyhounds have yet to win a game, Montes de Oca easily leads the CWAC in rushing with 837 yards on 96 carries. He has 7 touchdowns and an 8.7 yards per carry average. East Valley’s Albrecht is second in the CWAC rushing category with 569 yards.

• Keep an eye on Connell for the rest of this season. Scott Forsythe’s Eagles started out the season 0-3, with losses to Zillah, non-league Othello, and Royal. Those were followed by wins over College Place and Naches Valley. By the time this season is done, though, the Eagles could be 4-4 and make the postseason out of the 1A SCAC. It’s a pattern that Connell has used for years, dating back to the days when Wayne Riner was head coach: front-load the schedule with tough opponents, then roll past the remainder of your schedule. In the 48-7 win over Naches Valley last week, Hunter VanHollebeke passed for 302 yards and 6 touchdowns; Ben Naef caught 7 passes for 127 yards; and sophomore defensive end Adam Mauia led the defense with 7 tackles (2 for loss), a quarterback sack, and a fumble recovery.

• Keep an eye on Connell for the rest of this season. Scott Forsythe’s Eagles started out the season 0-3, with losses to Zillah, non-league Othello, and Royal. Those were followed by wins over College Place and Naches Valley. By the time this season is done, though, the Eagles could be 4-4 and make the postseason out of the 1A SCAC. It’s a pattern that Connell has used for years, dating back to the days when Wayne Riner was head coach: front-load the schedule with tough opponents, then roll past the remainder of your schedule. In the 48-7 win over Naches Valley last week, Hunter VanHollebeke passed for 302 yards and 6 touchdowns; Ben Naef caught 7 passes for 127 yards; and sophomore defensive end Adam Mauia led the defense with 7 tackles (2 for loss), a quarterback sack, and a fumble recovery.

• Richland’s Liberty Christian has a 3-0 record, and the Patriots are considered one of the top 1B teams in the state. On Friday, they’ll play host to 5-0 Odessa in a big non-league matchup. Kickoff is at 7 p.m., at Fran Rish Stadium.

2A CWAC

East Valley-Yakima 4-0 CWAC, 5-0 overall

Prosser 4-1, 4-1

Othello 3-1, 4-1

Selah 3-1, 4-1

Toppenish 3-2, 3-2

Ephrata 2-2, 3-2

Ellensburg 1-4, 1-4

Quincy 0-4, 1-4

Grandview 0-5, 0-5

Oct. 2 — Ellensburg 28, Grandview 16

Oct. 3 — East Valley-Yakima 36, Othello 13; Ephrata 47, Davis 7; Prosser 35, Quincy 7; Selah 35, Toppenish 14.

Oct. 9 — Royal at Prosser, 7 p.m.

Oct. 10 — East Valley-Yakima at Toppenish, 7 p.m.; Ephrata at Othello, 7 p.m.; Quincy at Ellensburg, 7 p.m.; Selah at Grandview, 7 p.m.

1A SCAC

Royal 5-0 SCAC, 5-0 overall

Cashmere 4-1, 4-1

Zillah 4-1, 4-1

Naches Valley 2-2, 3-2

Connell 2-2, 2-3

Wapato 2-2, 2-3

Wahluke 1-3, 1-4

College Place 0-4, 0-5

Kiona-Benton 0-5, 0-5

Oct. 2 — Granger 28, Wahluke

Oct. 3 — Connell 52, Naches Valley 7; Royal 21, Cashmere 15 (OT); Wapato 14, College Place 12; Zillah 61, Kiona-Benton 0

Oct. 9 — Royal at Prosser, 7 p.m.

Oct. 10 — Kiona-Benton at Connell, 7 p.m.; Naches Valley at Wapato, 7 p.m.; Zillah at Cashmere, 7 p.m.

Oct. 11 — Wahluke at College Place, 6 p.m.

2B EWAC East

Tri-Cities Prep 2-0 EWAC, 5-0 overall

Warden 1-1, 4-1

Columbia-Burbank 1-1, 2-3

Granger 0-1, 2-3

River View 0-1, 2-3

Oct. 2 — Granger 28, Wahluke 7; Warden 18, River View 12

Oct. 3 — Tri-Cities Prep 51, Columbia-Burbank 23

Oct. 10 — Columbia-Burbank at Granger, 7 p.m.; Lind-Ritzville-Sprague at Warden, 7 p.m.; River View vs. Tri-Cities Prep at Southridge High School, Kennewick, 7 p.m.

Southeast 1B Grape Division

DeSales 1-0 SE 1B, 5-0

Liberty Christian 1-0, 3-0

Touchet 1-0, 1-2

Sunnyside Christian 1-1, 1-3

Mabton 0-2, 0-4

Yakama Tribal 0-2, 0-4

Oct. 3 — DeSales 38, Liberty (Spangle) 27; Sunnyside Christian 32, Yakama Tribal 8.

Oct. 10 — Mabton at Yakama Tribal, 3:30 p.m.; Odessa at Liberty Christian, Fran Rish Stadium, 7 p.m.; Sunnyside Christian at DeSales, 7 p.m.

Girls soccer

The MCC is about two weeks into its conference schedule, and we have our first big match on Thursday, Oct. 9, when Chiawana visits Kamiakin.

Both teams have 4-0 MCC records, and the game begins at 7 p.m. on the Kamiakin High School campus.

The two teams met Sept. 16 in a non-MCC counter, with the Riverhawks winning 3-0.

Thursday night’s counter, though, should be an interesting matchup.

Each team has three players who were either first- or second-team all-MCC last season.

For Chiawana head coach Samuel Nunez, that would be the senior trio of forward Mylie Anderson, defender Kalina Barbosa, and midfielder Lindsay Sanchez.

Long-time Kamiakin head coach Chris Erikson’s big three are senior midfielder Allison Cunningham, junior midfielder Taylor Schumacher, and senior defender Mallory Mercer.

This will be one of those situations where both teams could likely meet each other two times after this — in the District 8 4A tournament, and possibly in the 4A state tournament.

Chris Denslow dies

In late August, the hydroplane racing world was stunned when area resident Chris Denslow suddenly passed away due to a short illness.

Through his incredible photographs, it was Denslow who documented the exploits of the local, regional and national boat racing community.

Now that community will get a chance to mourn together when a Celebrating the life of Chris Denslow gathering will be held at 5 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 11, at the Sunset Gardens Event Center in Richland.

Prep baseball

Prep Baseball Washington recently came out with its rankings of the top Class of 2026 players in the state for high school baseball.

No. 1 on the list is Seattle Academy right-handed pitcher Eli Herst, who has already committed to Vanderbilt University.

But at No. 4 is Richland High’s Michael Revell, a righty pitcher who also plays first base. Revell has committed to Grand Canyon University.

At at No. 10 is Kamiakin’s Zach Vega, who is a right-handed pitcher and infielder. Vega has already committed to play for Gonzaga.

Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.