Richland, Hermiston combine for 15 touchdowns in wild MCC football contest
The Richland at Hermiston football game on Friday night reminded me a lot of the old, heady days of the Tri-Cities Fever indoor football team from 10 years ago.
Back then, a Fever game wasn’t ever over until the final seconds, usually determined by a rare defensive stop.
That’s what happened in Hermiston on Friday, when the Bombers and Bulldogs combined for 15 touchdowns and 1,210 offensive yards. That’s right: 1,210 offensive yards.
In the end, the visiting Bombers pulled out a 56-49 Mid-Columbia Conference victory, giving Richland a 2-0 record. Hermiston falls to 1-1.
Richland senior Josh Woodard, the Bombers’ outstanding quarterback, was 20 for 31 for 388 yards. Woodard also was the master of the big play and tossed seven TD passes.
Woodard also rushed in for a 12-yard score. So he had a hand in on all eight Richland touchdowns.
Pretty impressive.
But Hermiston junior Issac Corey also shined.
He completed 31 passses on 38 attempts for 474 yards and three touchdown passes.
The contest was tied five different times, as well as the lead changed hands two other times.
There were some other video game numbers:
Richland receiver Colson Mackey caught 6 passes for 102 yards, including a 48-yard TD catch for a score as time expired in the first half.
Bombers teammates Rayce Reeves 4 catches for 92 yards with three touchdowns; Brody Bocek 4 catches for 86 yards; and Chris Daniels 2 receptions for 54 yards and two TDs.
Richland running back John Simons added 68 yards rushing on 13 carries.
In addition to his 474 yards passing, Corey also rushed 17 times for 45 yards to push up 519 yards of total offense. Corey also rushed for three touchdowns.
Bulldogs receivers Jaime Ramirez-Ortega (5 catches for 150 yards) and Dale Krebs (7 catches, 152 yards, two TDs) were the big recipients of Corey’s throws.
Hermiston senior Ben Larson added 102 yards rushing on 13 carries.
The turning point came in the fourth quarter. Neither team had more than a one-score lead on the other until then.
Woodard connected with Zach Rose for a 38-yard TD pass with 10:10 left in the game to give Richland a 49-42 lead.
The Bombers defense was able to stop Hermiston on the next series, and it was Woodard again, connecting with Daniels for a 14-yard TD pass for a 56-42 lead with 5:05 left in the contest.
Richland coach Mike Neidhold said he wanted to chew up 4 minutes on the clock on that last drive. But when you have Woodard at quarterback, sometimes it happens faster.
Corey was able to close the gap to 56-49 with 2:11 to play, running in from the 5 for a touchdown. But that was as close as the Bulldogs got.
Richland was able to run out the clock for the win.
CHIAWANA 38, HANFORD 0
The visiting Riverhawks bounced back from their Week 1 20-13 overtime loss to Kamiakin by shutting out the host Falcons.
Hanford was only able to get 86 total yards of offense.
Hunter Taylor led Chiawana offensively by rushing 26 times for 164 yards and two touchdowns.
DJ Duran, the Riverhawks quarterback, passed for 164 yards on 13 of 26 attempts, and connected for three TD passes.
Michael Hansen was Chiawana’s top receiver, catching 4 passes for 62 yards, including a 40-yard scoring reception.
KENNEWICK 54, WALLA WALLA 0
For the second consecutive week, host Kennewick built a huge first-half lead to activate the second-half running clock in an easy MCC victory.
Lions junior quarterback Ambrose Driver was 10 for 14 passing for 184 yards and 3 TD passes.
Senior David Wacenske caught 5 passes for 103 yards and two touchdown receptions, while running back Canaan Hays added 74 yards rushing on 7 carries, a reception for 17 yards, and three rushing touchdowns.
Kyler Witkowski also caught 3 passes for 58 yards and a score for Kennewick.
PASCO 33, SOUTHRIDGE 20
The host Bulldogs earned an MCC victory over the Suns, taking advantage of the Pasco defense recovering four Southridge fumbles and intercepting a pass.
Devon Valdivia rushed 21 times for 98 yards and a score for the Bulldogs, while Pasco QB Junior Olvera had 133 yards passing. Jose Luis Vargas caught 5 over Olvera’s passes for 68 yards and a touchdown.
Jael Valle’s 29-yard field goal with 7:23 to play in the first half gave Pasco a 17-14 lead that the Bulldogs never relinquished.
For Southridge, Austin Guier passed for 84 yards, while Koven Burke caught 6 passes for 71 yards.
MOSES LAKE 15, KAMIAKIN 14
In a Thursday night non-league contest at Lampson Stadium that was delayed by lightning strikes, the visiting Mavericks held on for the win.
The Braves opened the scoring when senior running back Makram Altahir rushed for a 21-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 Kamiakin lead early in the first quarter.
Lightning in the distance stopped play for at least 90 minutes.
But when play resumed, Brady Jay connected with Kyson Thomas for a 4-yard touchdown pass with 7:07 left in the first half. The Mavericks converted the 2-point attempt to take an 8-7 lead.
Just before halftime, Jay and Thomas connected on a 2-yard TD pass for a 15-7 lead.
Late in the third quarter, Altahir rushed 5 yards for another Kamiakin touchdown to cut the Mavericks’ lead to 15-14.
But that was as close as the Braves would get, dropping them to 1-0 in MCC play, 1-1 overall.
MID-COLUMBIA CONFERENCE
Kennewick 2-0 MCC, 2-0 overall
Richland 2-0, 2–0
Kamiakin 1-0, 1-1
Chiawana 1-1, 1-1Hermiston 1-1, 1-1
Pasco 1-1, 1-1
Walla Walla 0-1, 0-2
Hanford 0-2, 0-2
Southridge 0-2, 0-2
Scores & Games
Thursday, Sept. 7
Moses Lake 15, Kamiakin 14
Friday, Sept. 8
Chiawana 37, Hanford 0
Kennewick 54, Walla Walla 0
Richland 56, Hermiston 49
Saturday, Sept. 9
Pasco 33, Southridge 20
Thursday, Sept. 14
Sunnyside at Kennewick, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 15
Hermiston at Walla Walla, Borleske Stadium, 7 p.m.
Kamiakin at Southridge, Lampson Stadium, 7 p.m.
Pasco at Chiawana, Edgar Brown Stadium, 7 p.m.
Richland at Hanford, Fran Rish Stadium, 7 p.m.
Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.
