Ki-Be dominates soccer all-stars + Richland High already favored for MCC basketball title
Kiona-Benton had a heck of a season in girls soccer this fall, going 16-5 overall, winning the SCAC East regular-season title, as well as qualifying for the 1A state tournament.
So it should come as no surprise that the Bears also dominated the SCAC East all-conference team, as voted by the coaches.
Junior midfielder Yadricia Aguilar-Gomez was selected as the conference’s Player of the Year, while Emily Rab was named Coach of the Year.
Joining Aguilar-Gomez on the first team were three of her teammates: junior keeper Olivia Clayton, senior forward Jackie Gomez, and junior defender April Guevara.
Royal had three players on the first team, with junior forward Audrey Bergeson, senior defender Alexa Carrasco, and senior midfielder Sonia Ledezma.
Meanwhile, Connell and Wahluke both had two first-team selections.
For Connell, it was two juniors in defender Maritza Gomez and midfielder Leslie Magaña.
Wahluke’s two representatives are junior defender Maria Barajas and senior midfielder Salma Martinez.
Finally, College Place had one first-team player in junior forward Ruah Havens.
Football
Charlie Branning had a great football season for the Liberty Christian Patriots.
The junior running back rushed for 2,066 yards for the Richland school, helping lead the Patriots to the state 1B quarterfinals.
He also caught 17 passes for 395 yards, and altogether, Branning scored 39 touchdowns as LC had a 9-1 record.
So it should come as no surprise that Branning was named the Southeast 1B football Offensive Player of the Year, as voted by the conference coaches.
Branning — who was also named to the first team as a defensive back — was one of five Patriots who were named to the first team. Also named are senior Cole Alexander as both an offensive and defensive lineman; junior Hunter Cole as a wide receiver/tight end; junior Joey Isley as a defensive lineman; and junior Addison Lyle as a linebacker.
DeSales had four players named to the first team: Junior Remy Arceo was named to the offensive and defensive line; junior Diego Caso was selected at running back and linebacker; junior Billy Holtzinger was named as a linebacker; and junior Sol Sisk was named as a defensive back.
Touchet had two first-teamers: senior running back Hayden Kincaid; and junior Thad Krumbah as an athlete-kicker-punter.
Sunnyside Christian’s Buddy Smeenk, a senior, was named as a wide receiver/tight end.
Pomeroy defensive lineman Trace Robert was the Defensive Player of the Year, while Pomeroy’s Kyle Kimble earned the Coach of the Year honors.
▪ Chiawana senior Justin Webber, who starred for the Riverhawks football team this year, has received an offer to play next fall for Whitworth in Spokane.
Webber was a first-team, All-Mid-Columbia Conference defensive back, and a second-team return man.
He led the MCC with 6 interceptions.
Basketball
Richland’s boys basketball team got the season off to a rousing start with an 89-35 win at Pasco on Dec. 5.
The Bombers should be favored to win the MCC title this season.
In Tuesday’s win, senior Josh Woodard scored 22 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, dished off 5 assists, and had 7 steals.
Sophomore Landon Northrop added 19 points, while Luke Westerfield had a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds. Jack Forbes also scored 14 points.Richland will now play host to the Bomber Classic this Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, Camas takes on Mt. Spokane at 6 p.m. at Art Dawald Gymnasium. Richland follows at 8 p.m. with a game against Middleton, Idaho.
On Saturday, Middleton will take on Mt. Spokane at 1 p.m.; while Richland and Camas play at 3 p.m.
▪ Chiawana’s girls basketball team will be fun to watch this season.
Through Dec. 5, the Riverhawks are 3-0, and a different player has led the team in scoring each night.
In a 61-35 thrashing of Mount Spokane on Nov. 28, sophomore Baylee Maldonado — who transferred from Sunnyside, where she was a first-team all-conference player last season for the Grizzlies — had a team-high 18 points in the victory.
Then the Riverhawks beat Gonzaga Prep 67-63 on Dec. 1, with junior Kaia Foster scoring a total of 18 points.
And on Tuesday, Dec. 5, in a 58-53 victory over Davis, it was Malia Ruud leading the way with 24 points and 14 rebounds.
▪ Keep an eye on the Southridge girls basketball team this season. So far, through three games (and a 2-1 record), the Suns have had three different leading scorers.
In a 69-58 win over Eisenhower on Nov. 28, junior Jadyn Holdren led the Suns with 25 points on 8-for-12 shooting, and 13 rebounds.
In a 42-29 victory over Wenatchee on Dec. 1, sophomore Aryn Sloot led the Suns with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
And on Monday, in a 57-52 overtime loss at Selah, it was freshman Taylor Luce who led Southridge with a team-high 15 points.
That scoring balance could help Derrel Lete’s Suns team go a long way this season.
▪ Columbia Burbank’s Tristan Frimodt surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his career this past weekend when the Coyotes defeated Cle Elum-Roslyn 95-28 on Saturday.
Frimodt scored 20 points in the victory.
Coyotes head coach Todd Schumacher told me that Frimodt played a little bit as an eighth grader during the Covid-shortened season in 2021, when he scored 130 points.
Quincy Scott, said Schumacher, is about 150 points away from that 1,000-point mark. Scott did not live in Burbank as an eighth grader, so he didn’t play for the Coyotes then.
But here’s the deal: both Frimodt and Scott are just starting their junior seasons at Burbank. By the time they are done with their prep careers, a lot more points will be scored.
Jeff Morrow is the former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.
