Game Recap September 26, 2023
René Ferrán; Herald staff writer
In the battle between No. 1 and No. 2 on Friday night at Fran Rish Stadium, No. 2 won out.
That would be Wenatchee's Tyce Thomas, who wears No. 2 and came into the CBL 4A matchup as the No. 2 rusher in the league behind Richland's Marcelino Morales (jersey No. 1).
Thomas ran for 217 yards and two touchdowns, and Wenatchee overcame a pair of first-quarter special-teams touchdowns by the Bombers to pull out a 35-28 victory.
"I'm exhausted, and I'll feel it even more tomorrow," said Thomas, who touched the ball on 41 of Wenatchee's 71 plays (36 carries, four catches for 43 yards and an incomplete halfback pass).
Morales, meanwhile, ran for 148 yards and two TDs on 27 carries, but Richland struggled to establish a passing game as sophomore Hayden Hilty made his first career start in place of the injured Brett Jacobs (ankle).
Hilty attempted only eight passes in the first 45 minutes despite the Panthers stacking seven or eight players on the line to stop Morales and daring the Bombers to throw.
"We felt good about our offensive line play the last two games, and we thought we could establish the run with Marcelino and eventually open up the passing game," said Richland coach Rick Redden. "But we didn't covert some third downs, had some three-and-outs."
The Bombers jumped out to a 21-3 lead early in the second quarter before the Panthers began grinding down the Richland defense.
Jamison Rowe returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, and later in the first, Morales returned a punt 85 yards for a score.
Richland then forced another punt and put together its best drive of the half, going 59 yards in six plays with Morales capping the drive with a 23-yard run, bouncing it outside and slipping an ankle tackle to get into the end zone.
After that, it was all Wenatchee for the next 2 1/2 quarters. The Panthers scored 32 unanswered points, outgained Richland 335-86 during that stretch and took advantage of some special-teams mistakes by the Bombers.
They harassed punter Cody Shepherd into a 14-yard punt that set Wenatchee up at the Richland 31 midway through the third quarter. The Panthers scored on the next play, with Derek Johnson hitting Kris Carlson on a 31-yard strike to tie the game at 21.
Richland went three-and-out on its next drive, and this time Ricky Esquivel was on top of Shepherd almost before the junior could get his foot on the ball. Esquivel raced after the blocked kick, scooped it up at the 2 and gave Wenatchee a 28-21 lead with 4:53 left in the third.
"They came into our stadium, had two big plays go against them, and they responded," Redden said. "We didn't take the step to put the game away. The momentum turned on us."
Thomas then put the game away almost single-handedly after Wenatchee forced a three-and-out with 6:48 left. He ran the ball seven times and gained all 52 yards on a game-clinching drive, rumbling in from 2 yards out with 3:11 to play.
"Tyce was a warrior tonight," said Wenatchee coach Scott Devereaux.
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September 28, 20071234Final
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Wenatchee Panthers35
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Richland Bombers28
