Halfway point MCC football season: Just 2 Tri-Cities teams are unbeaten
Before last weekend’s Mid-Columbia Conference football games, there were three unbeatens left among the conference’s 10 teams.
Now there are just two.
That’s because Kennewick shut down Richland 21-7 last Thursday at Lampson Stadium, using a ball control offense that just wore down the Bombers’ defense.
And it was never more apparent than in the third quarter. Leading 14-7, the Lions forced Richland into a 3-and-out situation to get the ball back.
For the next 10 minutes and 28 seconds, Kennewick senior quarterback Dominic Driver ran the offense to perfection, moving the team 63 yards on 18 plays. It culminated in a 4-yard touchdown run by Jakob Gay and a 21-7 lead.
Driver said Richland — which plays a lot of players on both sides of the ball — just got worn down.
“You could see it in their eyes. The last drive, we ran the same play four times in a row,” said Driver. “They knew it was coming, but they couldn’t stop it.”
Rivion Brooks led the way with 104 yards rushing. But there were others.
“Rivion is so good with his feet that he’s hard to tackle,” said Driver. “Then we have Jakob and Carter (Bendewald). We were just grounding it out.”
Kennewick did a good job defensively, too. Keeping the Bombers’ high-flying passing game, with standout junior QB Jackson Woodard, in check.
“Up front, our kids did a great job,” said Lions coach Randy Affholter. “(Linebackers) Cooper (Neer) and (Gay) were making plays. And I think our back end of the defense did a good job.
Indeed it did, with great coverage most of the night that included defensive backs batting away passes at the last second.
Richland coach Josh Jelinek said he and his staff came to the realization that they need to get more players out on the field.
“We need to find some rest for some of our players,” he said. “We’ve been over-playing some players and we need to get more guys out there.”
What’s next
If you take a look at the MCC standings, four teams are starting to separate themselves from the other teams. Three of them — Chiawana, Kamiakin and Richland — are Class 4A schools.
Kennewick is the lone 3A school among those top four, and the Lions are one of the top teams in the state in their classification.
With Chiawana and Kennewick the only MCC teams left with unblemished record (both at 5-0), fans will keep an eye on them when they meet on Friday, Oct. 17, at Lampson Stadium.
But there are a few other big games coming too.
On Oct. 24, Kennewick visits Kamiakin at Lampson, while Richland visits Chiawana.
And on Halloween, Oct. 31, Kamiakin visits Richland.
Maybe by then, things may have been straightened out for the playoff picture.
Then again, it could still be a mess.
Last week’s roundup
Gage Williams scored three rushing touchdowns to lead Chiawana over Southridge 36-13 last week. Sean Ramin had 4 catches for 128 receiving yards for the Riverhawks, while Anthony Godino added 95 yards rushing on 18 carries.
Tayton Jackman led the Suns with 98 rushing yards and a score.
Hermiston earned its first win by beating visiting Sageview 35-21. Bulldogs quarterback Brayden Medelez scored on a 4-yard TD run just before halftime to give Hermiston the lead for good at 21-14. Medelez scored two rushing touchdowns. Teammate Hayden Larson had a huge night rushing 18 times for 227 yards, with TD runs of 48 and 87 yards.
For the visiting Lobos, quarterback Alex Flores was 24 for 46 for 234 yards passing. Eli Henderson compiled 112 yards of offense — 6 catches for 68 yards, and 44 yards rushing on 15 carries. Jaysen Beasley added 8 catches for 67 yards.
Kamiakin shut out Hanford 41-0, as Stephen Wadan (17 rushes for 92 yards and a TD) and Korbyn Hopwood (12 carries for 75 yards and a score) led the running game. Freshman QB Jagger McEwen passed for 144 yards and three TDs, while Crew Miller caught two TD passes for a combined 49 yards.
Lincoln Heinrich connected with Trey McCauley on a 7-yard TD pass late in the second quarter, as the visiting Blue Devils beat Pasco 14-6. Heinrich had 152 yards of passing, while Derrick Bingham caught 9 passes for 104 yards. The Blue Devils won despite Pasco forcing four turnovers.
4A-3A Mid-Columbia Conference
Chiawana (4A) 5-0
Kennewick (3A) 5-0
Kamiakin (4A) 4-1
Richland (4A) 4-1
Southridge (3A) 2-3
Walla Walla (3A) 2-3
Hanford (4A) 1-4
Hermiston (3A) 1-4
Pasco (4A) 1-4
Sageview (3A) 0-5
Oct. 2 — Kennewick 21, Richland 7
Oct. 3 — Chiawana 36, Southridge 14; Hermiston 35, Sageview 21; Kamiakin 41, Hanford 0; Walla Walla 14, Pasco 6
Oct. 9 — Hanford at Hermiston, 7 p.m.; Richland at Sageview, Edgar Brown Stadium, 7 p.m.
Oct. 10 — Kennewick at Walla Walla, 7 p.m.; Pasco at Chiawana, Edgar Brown Stadium, 7 p.m.; Southridge at Kamiakin, Lampson Stadium, 7 p.m.
KENNEWICK 21, RICHLAND 7
Richland 0 7 0 0 — 7
Kennewick 7 7 7 0 — 21
Scoring Plays
K — Dominic Driver 5 run (Anthony Mariano kick)
K — Driver 1 run (Mariano kick)
R — Matthew Stanfield 3 run (James Green kick)
K — Jakob Gay 4 run (Mariano kick)
Individual Statistics
RUSHING — Richland: Finn Bunnage 9-20, Stanfield 3-11, Tucker Watkins 3-19, Totals 15-50. Kennewick: Rivion Brooks 15-104, Driver 17-47, Gay 7-31, Carter Bendewald 4-15, Totals 43-197.
PASSING — Richland: Jackson Woodard 13-30-1-110. Kennewick: Driver 5-11-0-77.
RECEIVING — Richland: Pierson Bryant 3-48, Brody Bocek 3-38, Kiyen Williams 3-19, Stanfield 1-5, Will Mayer 1-3, Watkins 2-minus 3. Kennewick: Brody Davis 3-62, Bendewald 2-15.
FIRST DOWNS — R 11, K 13. FUMBLES-LOST — R 0-0, K 0-0. PENALTIES-YARDS — R 3-12, K 6-50.
DEFENSIVE LEADERS — Richland: LB Gavin Greene 7 tackles (2 for loss), 1 QB sack; LB Sylen Kiesel-Kauhane 6 tackles; DE Brayden Sims 5 tackles (1 for loss); DE Matthew Stanfield 4 tackles (1 for loss), QB sack. Kennewick: LB Cooper Neer 9 tackles (1 for loss), 1 cover; LB Jose Campos 5 tackles (1 for loss), interception; DB Caden Pratt 3 pass breakups, 1 cover.
Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.