Could this Week 2 matchup of Tri-Cities powerhouses be the MCC game of the year?

Scott Biglin and Scott Bond have a lot in common.

They’re both former Pasco High School quarterbacks. They both run successful football programs, Biglin at Kamiakin, and Bond at Chiawana.

They know each other and how they coach.

In the past two years, their games with each other have been tight. Kamiakin won in 2023 with a 20-13 score; Chiawana took honors in 2022 with a 22-19 overtime victory.

So that sets the scene for their matchup (7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 12, at Lampson Stadium) this week.

This will be the first big Mid-Columbia Conference matchup of the season, featuring two teams who could easily win the league title.

Let’s take a look:

Last week: Kamiakin rolled over Walla Walla 41-0 on the road.

The first big game of the Mid-Columbia Conference football season is here this week, as Chiawana visits Kamiakin at 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 12, at Lampson Stadium.

Senior quarterback Trent Woodhouse was 18-for-21 for 226 yards passing and four touchdown strikes. He also rushed 5 times for 50 yards and a score.

“Trent made a lot of really good decisions,” said Biglin. “His confidence in his knee injury situation is there.”

Woodhouse had knee injuries his freshman and sophomore seasons.

“Last year, I think he waited for (a knee injury) to come back,” said Biglin. “But he got through it. In the spring, when he played baseball all season and did well, he thought ‘OK. I’m myself.’”

Receiver David Kuku added 93 yards of offense: 6 receptions for 71 yards and two touchdowns, and two carries for 22 yards.

And running back Riley Stevens added 11 carries for 65 yards rushing and a touchdown.

▪ Chiawana ran into a buzzsaw in Boise, losing 42-8 to Class 6A Idaho power Rocky Mountain.

Braxton Feldmann led the way for the Riverhawks, rushing for 65 yards on 13 carries. Feldmann also was in on 9 tackles, 2 of them for loss.

Fellow Chiawana senior Cooper MacPherson totaled 77 yards of offense, catching 2 passes for 51 yards and a score — a 43-yard pass to him from Chiawana quarterback Julian Martinez — and 4 rushes for 25 more yards. Martinez finished with 112 yards passing.

Bond said it was a tough situation.

“I can offer you all of the excuses,” he said with a chuckle. “They were big. They were fast. They were strong. They two-platooned. It was 97 degrees out.”

But Bond said after mulling over the loss on the bus ride back to the Tri-Cities, he realized it could help his team get better — especially since it was a non-league game and doesn’t affect the Riverhawks’ status in the MCC standings.

“It doesn’t hurt us in what we want to do,” said Bond. “We’re definitely going to make some adjustments.”

Biglin and his staff weren’t fazed by that score either.

“One hundred percent no,” he said. “Rocky Mountain is a very good football team. We watched the film. We are not fooled. We know Chiawana is a good team. They could win every game from here on out and win the state championship.”

Key matchup: Most interesting to me is Kamiakin’s offensive line against that vaunted Chiawana defense.

The Braves have the most experienced line in the MCC, with many of these seniors have been playing together since they were sophomores. That includes Biglin’s son, Landon, who will likely be playing football in college.

When Landon was a sophomore, he and his line mates would come over to the Biglin household and eat everything.

“The grocery bill is still high now,” said Biglin. “But they take turns now at each other’s house. One player has a self-serve ice cream machine at their house, and the guys seem to spend a lot more time there.”

It’ll be that line’s job to pick up Chiawana’s blitzes.

Riverhawks defensive coordinator Don Hogue created this scheme last season in which blitzes came from various spots and never were the same. It resulted in a number of defensive touchdowns.

“When there is big pressure in high school, you can make that high school quarterback make mistakes,” said Bond.

Biglin says it best.

“They like to cause chaos,” he said. “In practice, you can’t make up their speed and awareness.”

Offensively, Chiawana will have to move the football. Bond will look to get the ball to Feldmann and MacPherson.

Martinez will also have to handle Kamiakin’s pressure.

“But it all starts up front with our line,” said Bond. “They’ve got to make the jump this week to be better.”

This could be the game of the year — although Kennewick, Richland, and perhaps Southridge — might have something to say about that.

Friday’s MCC games

KENNEWICK (1-0) at SOUTHRIDGE (1-0), 7 p.m., Lampson Stadium: Lions played a great all-around game last week against Hanford. Host Suns, though, looked outstanding running the Wing-T offense in a win over Pasco.

RICHLAND (1-0) at HANFORD (0-1), 7 p.m., Fran Rish Stadium: Another Woodard at quarterback, this one Jackson, could mean more fireworks on offense this season for the visiting Bombers. Joe Powers gets his first game as Falcons head coach against Richland.

WALLA WALLA (0-1) at HERMISTON (0-1), 7 p.m.: Neither team was able to score in losses to Kamiakin and Richland, respectively. With a week of practice, both squads get a chance to improve on things.

WEST VALLEY-YAKIMA (0-1) at PASCO (0-1), Edgar Brown Stadium, 7 p.m.: Yakima school fell 31-19 on the road last week at North Creek in Bothell. Elijah Henderson gives Bulldogs a strong running game and a chance to improve in a non-league situation.