Craig Lukins, the head coach for 8-man Liberty Christian of Richland, knows he has a good team.
But he wasn’t sure how the Patriots compare with teams around the state.
On Saturday, Lukins and the Patriots got an answer when they traveled to Everett to take on Neah Bay in a non-league contest.
Turns out Liberty Christian is pretty good, beating Neah Bay 60-14 at Everett Memorial Stadium.
Neah Bay had eliminated LC in the 1B state quarterfinals last season, winning 52-30 at Fran Rish Stadium in Richland. The Red Devils would be eliminated the following week in the state semifinals, falling to eventual state champion Liberty Bell 64-34.
Lukins said Saturday’s game was a great situation, as both teams had to travel an equal amount of time to play the game: 4 hours. Both teams return a lot of lettermen.
But in the end, the Patriots had more firepower.
Joey Isley had 125 yards of offense — rushing 10 times for 72 yards, catching 3 passes for 53 more yards.
Charlie Branning added 11 carries for 75 yards rushing and three touchdowns.
And quarterback Perry Pottle was 6-for-14 passing for 138 yards and three TD passes.
Levi Idler (18 tackles) and Addison Lyle (13) led the Patriots D.
Other notes: Royal continued its winning ways, beating SCAC foe College Place 69-6 last Friday. Lance Allred had 170 yards of passing with five TDs. Santana Luna continues to be a special teams standout, returning punts of 77 and 90 yards for scores. … Meanwhile, new SCAC member Cashmere continues to meet Royal step for step, winning 68-0 over Kiona-Benton. Both Royal and Cashmere meet Oct. 4 in Cashmere. … Othello rolled past Connell 42-17 in a non-league neighborhood battle last Thursday. The Huskies, considered one of the teams to beat in the 2A CWAC, earned 359 yards of offense against 1A Connell. What catches the eye is the balance. Othello had 173 yards through the air, and 186 on the ground. Connell, by the way, is 0-2. But Scott Forsyth’s Eagles aren’t just giving up. Against the Huskies, Connell quarterback Carson Lloyd had 248 yards of offense — 197 passing, and 51 rushing. Teammate Jackson Price caught 7 passes for 104 yards. …
Prosser lost another heartbreaker on Friday in CWAC play, falling 23-21 to Toppenish for the Wildcats’ first victory over the Mustangs in 18 years. In that game, Kiyanno Zuniga and Jason Sanchez each rushed for 105 yards for Toppenish. The Mustangs are now 0-2, losing both games by a total of 3 — THREE! — points. Ephrata rallied late in Week 1 to beat Prosser 15-14. … Ethan Avalos had another good week for Sunnyside, but the Grizzlies lost for the second consecutive week, falling 34-14 to visiting Coeur d’Alene on Friday. Avalos had 214 passing yards and two TD strikes. Cody Diddins was his favorite target, catching 10 passes for 79 yards. … If anyone would have told me that Columbia-Burbank, River View and Tri-Cities Prep would be a combined 0-6 after the first two weeks of the season, I would tell them they were crazy. But here we are. All three teams have gotten off to slow starts. The good news: none of these games count in the 2B EWAC East standings. League play has yet to begin.
2A CWAC football standings
Ephrata 2-0 CWAC, 2-0 overall
Selah 2-0, 2-0
Toppenish 2-0, 2-0
East Valley-Yakima 1-0, 2-0
Othello 1-0, 2-0
Ellensburg 0-2, 0-2
Grandview 0-2, 0-2
Prosser 0-2, 0-2
Quincy 0-2, 0-2
Last week’s scores
East Valley-Yakima 44, Grandview 14
Ephrata 33, Quincy 0
Othello 42, Connell 17
Selah 7, Ellensburg 3
Toppenish 23, Prosser 21
Thursday, Sept. 19
East Valley-Yakima at Prosser, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 20
Ephrata at Ellensburg, 7 p.m.
Grandview at Othello, 7 p.m.
Selah at West Valley-Yakima, 7 p.m.
Toppenish at Quincy, 7 p.m.
1A SCAC football standings
Cashmere 2-0 SCAC, 2-0 overall
Royal 2-0, 2-0
Wahluke 2-0, 2-0
Zillah 2-0, 2-0
College Place 0-1, 1-1
Connell 0-1, 0-2
Kiona-Benton 0-2, 0-2
Naches Valley 0-2, 0-2
Wapato 0-2, 0-2
Last week’s scores
Cashmere 68, Kiona-Benton 0
Othello 42, Connell 17
Royal 69, College Place 6
Wahluke 31, Wapato 6
Zillah 48, Naches Valley 0
Friday, Sept. 20
Cashmere at College Place, 6 p.m.
Naches Valley at Cascade-Leavenworth, 7 p.m.
Wahluke at Kiona-Benton, 7 p.m.
Zillah at Wapato, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 21
Royal at Connell, 7 p.m.
2B EWAC East
Granger 0-0 EWAC, 2-0 overall
Warden 0-0, 2-0
Columbia-Burbank 0-0, 0-2
River View 0-0, 0-2
Tri-Cities Prep 0-0, 0-2
Last week’s scores
Asotin 63, River View 47
Granger 47, Highland 0
Kittitas 19, Columbia-Burbank 12
La Salle 28, Tri-Cities Prep 20
Warden 33, Mossyrock 16
Thursday, Sept. 19
La Salle at Columbia-Burbank, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 20
River View at Goldendale, 7 p.m.
White Swan vs. Tri-Cities Prep at Chiawana High, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 21
Liberty-Spangle at Granger, 1 p.m.
Warden at Tonasket, 5 p.m.
Southeast 1B Grape Division
DeSales 0-0 SE1B, 2-0 overall
Liberty Christian 0-0, 2-0
Sunnyside Christian 0-0, 2-0
Mabton 0-0, 0-1
Touchet 0-0, 0-2
Yakama Tribal 0-0, 0-2
Last week’s scores
DeSales 72, Moses Lake Christian/Covenant Christian 12
Entiat 86, Yakama Tribal 6
Liberty Christian 60, Neah Bay 16
Pomeroy 58, Mabton 14
Sunnyside Christian 26, Dayton 12
Waitsburg 56, Touchet 0
Friday, Sept. 20
Almira-Coulee-Hartline vs. Liberty Christian, Kamiakin High, 7 p.m.
Highland at Mabton, 7 p.m.
Pomeroy at Sunnyside Christian, 7 p.m.
Sherman County at DeSales, 7 p.m.
Tekoa-Rosalia at Yakama Tribal, 4 p.m.
Touchet at Entiat, 6 p.m.
Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.
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