Connell, Royal wins set up showdown for 1st place in 1A SCAC East division
Top-ranked Royal and Connell are headed into a battle this Friday for the top seed in the 1A South Central Athletic Conference’s East Division after both schools easily won their games last Friday.
Royal beat College Place 61-13, and the Knights rolled up exactly 500 yards of total offense.
Quarterback Lance Allred was the main highlight show, completing 10 of 13 pass attempts for 240 yards and six touchdown passes. Allred also rushed one time for 46 yards.
Case Christensen caught 4 of his passes for 87 yards and two touchdowns, while teammate Cade Allred had 2 receptions for 55 yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Connell rolled over Kiona-Benton by a 49-7 score.
Jackson Forsyth rushed 14 times for 145 yards and scored four touchdowns to lead the Eagles, while Carson Lloyd passed for 187 yards and 4 TD passes.
Jackson Price caught 5 passes for 101 yards for Connell.
The top three teams in the standings after this week’s games will advance to play crossover games against the 1A SCAC West.
Kickoff for the Connell-Royal showdown — which is in Royal City — is at 7 p.m., Friday.
1A SCAC EAST
Royal 3-0 SCAC, 7-0 overall
Connell 3-0, 4-4
Wahluke 1-2, 2-6
College Place 1-3, 2-6
Kiona-Benton 0-3, 1-7
Friday, Oct. 20: Connell 49, Kiona-Benton 7; Royal 63, College Place 13; LaSalle 28, Wahluke 7
Friday, Oct. 27: College Place at Wapato, 7 p.m.; Connell at Royal, 7 p.m.; Wahluke at Kiona-Benton, 6 p.m.
2A CWAC
PROSSER 28, EPHRATA 21: The host Mustangs stayed alive for a share of the 2A Central Washington Athletic Conference title by beating Ephrata last Thursday night.
Kory McClure was 13 for 17 for 146 yards passing and three touchdown strikes for Prosser.
Isaac Montejano rushed 16 times for 87 yards and caught three passes for 28 more yards, and Landon Bailey caught 2 passes for 20 yards and two touchdowns for Prosser.
A number of things still have to happen in order for there to be a tie: Prosser must win this Friday at Selah; Ellensburg has to win at Ephrata; and East Valley would have to beat Othello at home.
If that all happens, there could be a four-way tie for first place.
2A CWAC
Othello 4-1, 6-2
Ephrata 4-1 CWAC, 5-3 overall
Ellensburg 3-2, 4-4
Prosser 3-2, 4-4
East Valley-Yakima 2-3, 5-3
Selah 2-3, 2-6
Grandview 0-6, 2-6
Thursday, Oct. 19: Prosser 28, Ephrata 21.
Friday, Oct. 20: Ellensburg 33, East Valley-Yakima 17; Othello 42, Kelso 24; Selah 40, Grandview 0.
Friday, Oct. 27: Ellensburg at Ephrata, 7 p.m.; Grandview at Clarkston, 7 p.m.; Othello at East Valley-Yakima, 7 p.m.; Prosser at Selah, 7 p.m.
2B EWAC East
River View clinched the 2B EWAC East title on Thursday by beating Columbia-Burbank 26-13.
Now this week’s key matchup has Tri-Cities Prep visiting Columbia-Burbank on Friday.
Both teams have qualified for the EWAC crossover regional playoffs. But Friday’s contest determines which team becomes the No. 2 seed, while the loser is set with the No. 3 seed.
2B EWAC EAST
River View 4-0 EWAC, 7-1 overall
Columbia Burbank 2-1, 5-3
Tri-Cities Prep 2-1, 5-3
Warden 0-3, 2-6
Mabton 0-3, 0-7
Thursday, Oct. 19: River View 26, Columbia-Burbank 13.
Friday, Oct. 20: Tri-Cities Prep 48, Mabton 0.
Saturday, Oct. 21: North Central 41, Warden 20.
Friday, Oct. 27: Liberty-Spangle-Sprague at River View, 6 p.m.; Mabton at Warden, 7 p.m.; Tri-Cities Prep at Columbia Burbank, 7 p.m.
Southeast 1B
Liberty Christian has the inside track to the conference title by beating the next three teams behind the Patriots in the Southeast 1B standings.
The Patriots, after having a bye last weekend, should also be well rested when they travel to play at St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse at 7 p.m. Friday.
Unlike the other classifications, the Southeast 1B has conference play for the next two weeks instead just one week.
SOUTHEAST 1B
Liberty Christian 7-0 SE 1B, 7-0 overall
Pomeroy 6-1, 7-1
Garfield-Palouse 6-2, 6-2
DeSales 5-2, 5-3
Sunnyside Christian 4-3, 4-3
Touchet 4-4, 4-4
Dayton 2-5, 2-5
Waitsburg 2-5, 2-5
Tekoa-Rosalia 1-4, 1-5
St. John-Endicott/Lacrosse 1-6, 1-7
Yakama Nation Tribal 0-6, 0-6
Friday, Oct. 20: Garfield-Palouse 60, Waitsburg 34; Liberty Christian bye; Pomeroy 44, DeSales 22; Sunnyside Christian 40, St. John-Endicott-LaCrosse 36; Tekoa-Rosalia 34, Dayton 22; Touchet 68, Yakama Nation Tribal 28.
Friday, Oct. 27: Dayton at DeSales, 7 p.m.; Garfield-Palouse bye; Liberty Christian at St. John-Endicott/LaCrossse, 7 p.m.; Sunnyside Christian at Pomeroy, 7 p.m.; Tekoa-Rosalia at Touchet, 2 p.m.; Yakama Nation Tribal at Waitsburg, 7 p.m.
CBBN
Perhaps the biggest game in the state may be in East Wenatchee on Friday, when Eastmont plays host to Moses Lake.
Both teams are unbeaten at 8-0, and the winner would earn the Big Nine’s No. 1 seed heading into the Week 9 crossover playoffs.
The top three CBBN teams will advance to the crossovers with the Mid-Columbia Conference and the Greater Spokane League.
That means Sunnyside has clinched the No. 3 berth in the CBBN.
COLUMBIA BASIN BIG NINE
Eastmont 5-0 CBBN, 8-0 overall
Moses Lake 5-0, 8-0
Sunnyside 3-2, 4-4
Wenatchee 2-3, 3-5
Eisenhower 2-4, 2-6
West Valley-Yakima 1-4, 4-4
Davis 0-5, 2-6
Friday, Oct. 20: Eastmont 28, Eisenhower 0; Ridgeline 63, Davis 14; Moses Lake 47, West Valley-Yakima 12; Sunnyside 20, Wenatchee 10.
Thursday, Oct. 26: Davis at Sunnyside, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 27: Eisenhower at Cheney, 7 p.m.; Moses Lake at Eastmont, 7 p.m.; Wenatchee at West Valley-Yakima, 7 p.m.
Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.
