Game Recap September 6, 2008
The first night of the Mike Neidhold era didn't go as he might have planned it but there is solace in the fact that 1) the game doesn' t count in the standings; 2) three of his most flight-tested Bombers where still in the hangar; and 3) his kids played a good, hard game against a quality Pasco Bulldog squad and never quit.
There are several things to look forward to as the season progresses, especially next week when Brett Jacobs, Cody Shepard, and Jamison Rowe return to the squad after representing us so well at the American Legion World Series. The Bombers unveiled a new spread offense that had Hayden Hilty taking all of the snaps from the shotgun formation. While taking stats from the press box it was a definite change in scenery and crossed me up several times, not knowing if the ball was being carried by Hunter Olveda or Jake McKinney. Now that the first game jitters are over, this is going to be a very fun offense to watch.
As for tonight's game, Pasco had a very solid performance from quarterback Carlin Andrew who threw for one touchdown and ran for two more and was named the SunMart player of the game. Pasco got on the board first after the Bombers first drive fizzled and a rushed punt sailed for only 17 yards. This gave Pasco their first possession on the Richland 37 yard line. A few plays later Andrew found Mitchell Urlacher for a 23 yard touchdown pass and a 7-0 Bulldog lead.
The second Richland drive started out very promising and included a nice 24 yard run by Hunter Olveda. Unfortunately, the Bombers couldn't punch it past the 50 and were forced to punt. Then the wheels came off. The punt snap sailed over Hayden Hilty's head and he was tackled for a 22 yard loss, giving the ball to Pasco on their own 26 yard line. The Bomber defense stiffened up and held the Bulldogs to a 37 yard field goal by Lucas Cash.
At the very end of the first half, Richland got the score within 3 points when Hilty hit Quinn Zorich for a 5-yard touchdown pass with just 15 seconds left on the clock. The boys in green and gold looked like they were starting to put it all together but halftime shunted their progress.
On the first drive of the second half, Pasco was able to give themselves some breathing room with a 73-yard scoring drive that ended with Carlin scampering the final 11 yards for the touchdown. After that, the Bombers just couldn't find the right combination of plays to sustain a drive. The Bulldogs tacked on another Carlin touchdown run, this time 26 yards, at the end of the game to put it on ice.
Next week, the Bombers travel to East Wenatchee to take on the Eastmont Wildcats. The boys in green and gold will be at full strength so it might just be worth the drive to assess their progress and cheer them on.
Good job, boys. We'll get'em next week! Go Bombers!
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September 5, 20081234Final
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Pasco Bulldogs22
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Richland7
