Kamiakin knocked out of WA football championships + Royal returns to playoffs for 4th year
Royal is the region’s sole survivor when it comes to the state high school football playoffs.
The Knights — trying for a fourth consecutive Class 1A championship — jumped on No. 12-seed Seton Catholic from the Vancouver area with a 28-0 lead after one quarter and never looked back with a 42-0 victory in Saturday’s semifinals.
Royal, seeded first, was led by quarterback Lance Allred. He rushed for three touchdowns.
Teammate Ethan Ellis added 153 yards of rushing and scored two touchdowns himself.
It was the third straight shutout that the Knights have had in the tournament.
Royal now takes on No. 2-seeded Lakeside of Nine Mile Falls in the 1A state title game, which is set for 3 p.m., Friday, Dec. 1, at Husky Stadium.
▪ Kamiakin’s outstanding run ended Saturday at the hands of the No. 2 seed Lake Stevens, which beat the Braves 48-7 in the Class 4A semifinals.
Kamiakin ended its season with a 10-3 record.
The Vikings just proved to be too much, jumping out to a 41-0 lead at halftime and never looking back.
Lake Stevens — the defending 4A state champion — was led by quarterback Kolten Matson, who was 19-for-21 passing for 314 yards and four TD passes.
The Braves just couldn’t get any offense going in the first half, totaling just 84.
Kamiakin quarterback Trent Woodhouse finished with 121 passing yards, while Robert Julima caught 2 passes for 37 yards.
Camden Schmidt rushed 11 times for 34 yards, and he scored the Braves’ lone touchdown of the game with a 1-yard run.
Here are the final scores from all of the state semifinal games:
Class 4A — (1) Graham-Kapowsin 27, (4) Eastlake 24; (2) Lake Stevens 48, (6) Kamiakin 7.
Class 3A — (6) Bellevue 21, (2) O’Dea 17; (1) Yelm 7, (4) Eastside Catholic 0.
Class 2A — (2) Anacortes 34, (3) Enumclaw 20; (1) Tumwater 19, (4) North Kitsap 17.
Class 1A — (2) Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) 24, (6) Nooksack Valley 23 (OT); (1) Royal 42, (12) Seton Catholic 0.
Class 2B — (1) Napavine 36, (4) Onalaska 26; (2) Okanogan 21, (3) Northwest Christian-Colbert 0.
Class 1B — (1) Liberty Bell 64, (5) Neah Bay 34; (2) Wilbur-Creston-Keller 66, (3) Mossyrock 22.
▪ For the first time in years, all six state championships will be played at the same site — this time, Husky Stadium at the University of Washington in Seattle.
There will be three games on Friday, and three more on Saturday.
Here is Friday’s schedule:
1B: (2) Wilbur-Creston-Keller vs. (1) Liberty Bell, 11 a.m.
1A: (2) Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) vs. (1) Royal, 3 p.m.
3A: (6) Bellevue vs. (1) Yelm, 7 p.m.
Here is Saturday’s schedule:2B: (2) Okanogan vs. (1) Napavine, 11 a.m.2A: (2) Anacortes vs. (1) Tumwater, 3 p.m.
4A: (2) Lake Stevens vs. (1) Graham-Kapowsin, 7 p.m.
What it also tells me is that the state seeding committees for the football playoffs did their job correctly. Every No. 1 seed made the finals.
Even more impressive is that the top two seeds in five of the six classifications earned their way to the finals.
Only No. 6 Bellevue broke the mold, advancing to the 3A finals.
Prep volleyball
River View dominated the East Division of the 2B Eastern Washington Athletic Conference this fall before going 0-2 at the state tournament in Yakima.
But EWAC coaches knew the Panthers had a lot of talent, voting senior Marina Jimenez the conference’s Player of the Year.
River View’s Allyson Stanley was named the Coach of the Year, and joining Jimenez on the first team are Panthers teammates Hailey Huston, a senior, and junior Aliyah Maloine.
Warden had two players voted to the first team in senior Lauryn Madsen and junior Genesis Ozuna. So did Walla Walla Valley Academy, with junior Kienna Stepper and senior Clara Scully.
Also making the first team was Tri-Cities Prep junior Ava Douglas.
Prep basketball
High school basketball gets into full swing this week, with almost everyone in the Mid-Columbia Conference opening the season with non-conference contests.
Here are each MCC team’s openers:
Chiawana boys and girls play host to Mount Spokane on Tuesday, Nov. 28. Girls tip off at 5:45 p.m., while boys follow at 7:30.
Hanford boys and girls open on Tuesday also. But the boys travel to Ridgeline in Spokane with a 7 p.m. tipoff. Falcon girls open at home with a 7 p.m. start against University.
Hermiston’s girls open Tuesday with a 6 p.m. road game at Prosser. On Friday, Dec. 1, Hermiston’s boys will play host to Ellensburg at 7:30 p.m. (Hermiston girls will open at 5:45 p.m.).
Kamiakin’s boys will begin the season at home against Davis at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 1. The Braves girls will wait until 4:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 1, with a road trip to West Valley of Yakima.
Kennewick’s boys and girls open the season on Thursday, Nov. 30, against Moses Lake. Only the Lions boys will be at home against the Mavericks, while the Kennewick girls travel to Moses Lake. Both games start at 7 p.m.
Pasco’s boys head to Davis for a 7 p.m. season opener on Tuesday, Nov. 28. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs girls head to Sunnyside for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff on Friday, Dec. 1 (Pasco boys follow at 7 p.m.).
Richland’s girls open at home against Mount Spokane on Saturday, Dec. 2. Game starts at 5:45 p.m. Meanwhile the Bomber boys will wait until the following week to open their season with a boys-girls MCC doubleheader at Pasco. Girls play at 5:45 p.m.; boys at 7:30.
Southridge’s boys and girls open at home on Tuesday, Nov. 28, in a boys-girls twinbill against Eisenhower of Yakima. Suns girls start at 5:45 p.m.; boys play at 7:30 p.m.
Walla Walla’s boys open the season on Friday, Dec. 1, at home against Lewis & Clark with a 7 p.m. start. Blue Devils girls will wait until the following week with a road game at Moses Lake (7 p.m. start) on Tuesday, Dec. 5.
Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.
