Last week was another slate of blowouts in the Mid-Columbia Conference football wars.
This Friday, though, maybe change the weekly habit of fans seeing non-competitive games.
At least, that is what may happen at Fran Rish Stadium, when Kennewick (4-0) visits Richland (4-0) with a 7 p.m. kickoff.
The contest matches up two state-ranked teams: Kennewick is the No. 2 team in Class 3A in this week’s latest Associated Press poll; Richland sits in fifth place in the Class 4A poll.
The question for Friday night is can either team’s defensive unit stop its opponent’s high-octane offense?
Richland has the best MCC offense right now, averaging 393 yards a game.
The Bombers will go up against the MCC’s No. 1 defense: The Lions only surrender 124 yards per game.
Meanwhile, the Lions average 361 yards of offense (third in the MCC), while the Bombers D surrender just 181 yards per game also third in the MCC).
Here are four things to watch in this game:
1. Richland sophomore quarterback Jackson Woodard, who has taken over the reins of new head coach Josh Jelinek’s offense — and stepped in for his brother, Josh Woodard, who graduated last June.
The younger Woodard has tossed 20 TD passes already to just one interception.
The Lions’ front seven must find a way to put pressure on the sophomore.
2. Alex Roberts and Canaan Hays.
These two seniors share the football at running back — although Roberts sometimes takes the snap out of the Wildcat formation.
They’re a nasty 1-2 punch — Roberts has 358 rushing yards (10.2 yards a carry), while Hays is at 304 (8.0).
That means the Richland linebacking duo of Sylen Kiesel-Kauhane and Cannon Weikum must shoot into the gaps to stop Roberts and Weikum. Both LBs have a lot of tackles this season, with the majority being assists. That means Richland is good a gang-tackling.
3. Richland’s star trio of receivers.
Preston Bryant (21 catches for 294 yards), Colson Mackey (21-237) and junior Brody Bocek (13-224) were all MCC first-team wide receivers last season as underclassmen. Bryant played at Hanford in 2023.
They are great at running sharp, crisp patterns, and will be hard for any secondary to contain.
That’s why the Lions defense must get pressure on Woodard.
4. Special teams.
Both teams have game-breaking players.
Roberts returns kickoffs for Kennewick and has had some long returns.
Bocek does the same for Richland, and he found the end zone a few weeks ago against Southridge.
Last week
CHIAWANA 68, HANFORD 0: The Riverhawks’ tough defensive unit did it again with another dominating performance, holding the Falcons’ rushing game to minus-31 yards and grabbing four interceptions.
Cooper MacPherson scored three touchdowns for Chiawana, and teammate and quarterback Julian Martinez had three TD passes.
KAMIAKIN 42, HERMISTON 7: Trent Woodhouse stayed hot for the visiting Braves, passing for 300 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 46 more. Kamiakin wideout Micheal Kori caught 4 passes for 125 yards and two scores.
KENNEWICK 41, LEWISTON 7: The Lions stepped out of MCC play last week by winning at Lewiston.
Alex Roberts had 163 total yards of offense, while Canaan Hays added 101 yards rushing. Both seniors scored two touchdowns each.
RICHLAND 56, PASCO 7: Sophomore Jackson Woodard tossed six touchdown passes — three to Colson Mackey and two to Preston Bryant. … Pasco’s Max Valencia had 8 catches for 129 yards and a touchdown.
SOUTHRIDGE 42, WALLA WALLA 20: Gabe Borisch and Koven Burke each scored two touchdowns to lead the Suns to another win. Southridge QB Coppin Hunkapiller had three TD passes. Wa-HI’s Evan King scored two TD’s.
MCC football standings
Richland 4-0 MCC, 4-0 overall
Kennewick 3-0, 4-0
Chiawana 3-0, 3-1
Kamiakin 2-1, 2-2
Southridge 2-2, 2-2
Hanford 1-3, 1-3
Walla Walla 1-3, 1-3
Pasco 0-3, 0-4
Hermiston 0-4, 0-4
Last week’s scores
Chiawana 68, Hanford 0
Kamiakin 41, Hermiston 7
Kennewick 41, Lewiston 7
Richland 56, Pasco 7
Southridge 42, Walla Walla 20
Thursday, Oct. 3
Southridge at Chiawana, Edgar Brown Stadium, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 4
Hanford at Kamiakin, Lampson Stadium, 7 p.m.
Hermiston at Lewiston, 7 p.m.
Kennewick at Richland, 7 p.m.
Pasco at Walla Walla, Borleske Stadium, 7 p.m.
4A CBBN: Sunnyside fell to 0-2 in Columbia Basin Big Nine play (0-4) overall when the Grizzlies lost a heartbreaker at Eastmont, 28-27. … Moses Lake rolled over Wenatchee 46-25 to keep pace with Eastmont atop the standings.
Standings
Eastmont 2-0 CBBN, 3-1 overall
Moses Lake 2-0, 3-1
West Valley-Yakima 1-0, 3-1
Wenatchee 1-1, 1-3
Eisenhower 0-1, 1-3
Davis 0-2, 0-4
Sunnyside 0-2, 0-4
Last week’s scores
Eastmont 28, Sunnyside 27
Lake City, Idaho, 14, Eisenhower 0
Moses Lake 46, Wenatchee 25
West Valley-Yakima 47, Davis 42
Friday, Oct. 4
Davis at Ephrata, 7 p.m.
Moses Lake at Eisenhower, 7 p.m.
West Valley-Yakima at Sunnyside, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 5
Eastmont at Wenatchee, 6 p.m.
Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.
Local News
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