Kennewick, Richland, Chiawana remain unbeaten in MCC football conference games

For the third consecutive week, Kennewick and Richland continued to dominate Mid-Columbia Conference football opponents with overpowering victories last weekend.

Chiawana — which lost a non-league opener in Idaho to Rocky Mountain 42-7 — dominated an MCC foe for the second straight week; while Hanford scored in the final seconds to give first-year head coach Joe Powers his first win for the Falcons.

Finally, in what may have been one of the state’s most exciting games, host Yelm just got by Kamiakin in a non-league contest. Fortunately for the Braves, it doesn’t count against their MCC record.

Here’s a quick look at the games last weekend:

KENNEWICK 44, PASCO 7: Randy Affholter earned his 50th win as the Lions’ head coach in another home victory on Friday.

Alex Roberts had three rushing touchdowns, Canaan Hays added two more, and Dominic Driver fired a 25-yard TD pass to Dierks Chavez to complete the scoring as Kennewick improved to 3-0 in MCC play.

Roberts finished with 140 yards rushing on just 12 carries, while Hays carried 7 times for 95 yards.

Defensively, Erik Larson led the Lions with 7 tackles (3 for loss), two quarterback sacks and a pass breakup.

Junior Olvera led the Bulldogs with 83 yards passing by completing 10 of 17 attempts.

He also fired a touchdown pass to Makana Garza. Garza also rushed four times for 32 yards.

RICHLAND 49, SOUTHRIDGE 21: The host Bombers (3-0), leading by just a touchdown at halftime, 21-14, exploded in the second half with five scores to put away the Suns on a Saturday afternoon MCC game.

Richland quarterback Jackson Woodard was 22-for-30 passing for 220 yards and five TD strikes, including two to Brody Bocek.

Woodard connected with nine different receivers.

Bocek added an 87-yard kickoff return for a score in the first half.

Jake Brannon added 102 yards rushing on 13 carries for the Bombers.

Sylen Kiesel-Kauhane led Richland’s defense with 14 tackles, while fellow linebacker Cannon Weikum added 13 more (1 for loss).

Gabe Borisch led Southridge (1-2) with 146 yards rushing on 29 carries. Borisch also scored all three Southridge touchdowns: an 87-yard interception return; a 5-yard run, and a 74-yard run.

CHIAWANA 56, HERMISTON 0: The visiting Riverhawks held the Bulldogs offense to minus-11 total yards en route to the victory on Friday.

Gage Williams ands Braxton Feldmann each scored two touchdowns for Chiawana. Feldmann rushed 8 times for 82 yards.

Tristan Breier had a pick-6 for the Riverhawks.

HANFORD 25, WALLA WALLA 24: Troy Jensen connected with Asa Perkes on a 4-yard touchdown pass with just 10 seconds remaining, giving the visiting Falcons an MCC win at Borleske Stadium on Friday night.

Perkes finished the game with 9 catches for a school-record 216 yards. The previous record for receiving yards in a game was 195 — a record that stood for 20 years.

Jensen finished the game completing 19 passes against 35 attempts for 388 yards and two touchdowns.

YELM 52, KAMIAKIN 48: A week after his offense had stalled in a 44-0 loss to Chiawana, Scott Biglin’s offense went wild in a shootout loss at Yelm.

Braves quarterback Trent Woodhouse had a monster game, completing 25 of 47 passes for 512 yards and seven touchdown passes. Woodhouse added 28 yards rushing on 9 attempts.

Woodhouse had three making targets: Micheal Kori caught five passes for 151 yards and three touchdowns; Mason Severson added 8 receptions for 161 yards and two TDs; and David Kuku had seven catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns.

The Braves are back in MCC play this week, with a road game at Hermiston on Friday.

MCC football standings

Kennewick 3-0 MCC, 3-0 overall

Richland 3-0, 3-0

Chiawana 2-0, 2-1

Kamiakin 1-1, 1-2

Hanford 1-2, 1-2

Southridge 1-2, 1-2

Walla Walla 1-2, 1-2

Pasco 0-2, 0-3

Hermiston 0-3, 0-3

Last week’s scores

Chiawana 56, Hermiston 0

Hanford 25, Walla Walla 24

Kennewick 44, Pasco 7

Richland 49, Southridge 21

Yelm 52, Kamiakin 48

Friday, Sept. 27

Chiawana at Hanford, Fran Rish Stadium, 7 p.m.

Kamiakin at Hermiston, 7 p.m.

Kennewick at Lewiston, 6 p.m.

Richland at Pasco, Edgar Brown Stadium, 7 p.m.

Walla Walla at Southridge, Lampson Stadium, 7 p.m.

CBBN 4A

MOSES LAKE 35, SUNNYSIDE 21: The host Grizzlies opened Columbia Basin Big Nine play with a loss to the Mavericks.

Cody Diddens caught 9 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns for Sunnyside, now 0-3 on the season.

Grizzlies quarterback Ethan Avalos had 189 yards of passing.

4A CBBN

Eastmont 1-0 CBBN, 2-1 overall

Moses Lake 1-0, 2-1

Wenatchee 1-0, 1-2

West Valley-Yakima 0-0, 2-1

Eisenhower 0-1, 1-2

Davis 0-1, 0-3

Sunnyside 0-1, 0-3

Last week’s scores

Eastmont 22, Davis 20

Moses Lake 35, Sunnyside 21

Wenatchee 42, Eisenhower 21

West Valley-Yakima 28, Selah 7

Friday, Sept. 27

Davis at West Valley-Yakima, 7 p.m.

Lake City, Idaho, at Eisenhower, 6 p.m.

Sunnyside at Eastmont, 7 p.m.

Wenatchee at Moses Lake, Lions Field, 7 p.m.

Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.