Game Recap October 14, 2017
The Bomber defense flexed its collective muscles once again, this time at a cold, wet Borleske Stadium, holding the Walla Walla Blue Devils to just over 100 yards of offense, 50 of which came on a single scoring run in the fourth quarter against a motley assortment of JV defenders. While the 39-6 final score wasn't as lopsided as many expected, the Bomber still came out with a decisive win.
Spectators witnessed a rare event in the form of a safety on each of Walla Walla's first two offensive series. The formidable Bomber D pushed the offense backward each time, a swarm of white shirts anywhere blue tried to run. Pinned against their own goal line, the Devils were forced to punt from the endzone but were pressured into a safety each time, making the score an odd 4-0.
Meanwhile, Richland's offense, leading the MCC in passing yards per game, was somewhat uninspired to start, giving the Blue Devils a small amount of hope on the first drive by throwing an interception on 4th and 10. Richland running backs Parker McCary and Jared Whitby put up 92 and 72 yards respectively, Whitby with two touchdowns, but Cade Jensen had a relatively slow game, throwing for 189 yards on 13 completions with three interceptions. Among an assortment of variations, tight end Connor Faucheaux caught 4 passes for 41 yards, a rare occurrence in the Richland offense. Three-year starting OL Aric Davison played mostly defense this game, while defensive stalwart Jax Lee could be found on the offensive line for much of the game. Many of the starting offensive linemen also saw time on the defensive side for the first time.
Richland's first offensive points came on the second possession as Ryan Piper hauled in a long pass over his shoulder at the 20 and dragged a defender into the endzone with him. The Bombers gave no ground again on defense, pinning the home team deep in their own territory again. The defensive line gave the rest of the defense a break on this series, storming in to the backfield nearly instantly after each snap, giving the QB no chance to find a receiver.
Davison nearly intercepted one desperate heave as ends Braden Powell and Cubby Stanfield charged in untouched on third down. After Faucheaux made it to the five on his second catch of the series (when was the last time Richland threw to a TE more than once in a series?), Whitby finally ran around the left side behind McCary's block to add to the total score, 18-0 with 1:52 left in the quarter. The following kickoff looked like it might be the start of a run as the Walla Walla returner bobbled the catch, allowing sophomore Sam Stanfield the chance to fall on the ball at the 40, but Jensen threw three straight incompletions (one of which would have been the catch of the year by Josh Mendoza had the DB not put his fingertips on the ball), resulting in a turnover on downs.
Davison reared his head again, putting the Blue Devil QB down for a loss of 15 yards to force a punt, and McCary tore out a long run, complete with a triple dodge move, to get near the endzone again, but the interception bug struck again. Adam Weissenfels made it 25-0 on the punt (from the endzone, of course), catching it at the 30, cutting once to the left, and sprinting down the sideline past a muddled mass of blue. Most of the rest of the second quarter was burned up with big plays called back on penalties and the defense stifling the Walla Walla offense. The offense had a good series with big catches by Sammy Cervantes and Ryan Kriskovich, another big run by McCary to the goal line, and a keeper by Jensen to make the score 32-0 with one minute until the half.
The third quarter went scoreless until the four minute mark, when Casey Perryman zipped in on the right side untouched, assisted by a Cervantes pancake block. That was the final score for Richland with an entire quarter to burn. Walla Walla finally got on the board with five minutes left on a 50 yard run up the middle, but the PAT was blocked by Cody Sanderson.
Defensively, Richland couldn't have been much better. The D line got most of the action simply by the fact that they were the first there. Davison had two near interceptions, Stanfield and Powell sealed off the outside and kept pressure on the passing pocket, Caleb Chapman filled in nicely for Jax Lee at tackle, and the linebackers filled the holes where necessary. Ryan Piper had another good game at safety, coming up to lay hits on ball carriers at the line.
Next Friday Chiawana comes to Fran Rish fresh off an 84 point win against Pasco. In the short history of this heated rivalry, neither school has beat the other in three consecutive years. The 2017 Bombers have an opportunity to make a small piece of school history, along with tying up the MCC title for the third straight year. Come cheer them on as they give it a shot.
Go Bombers!
- Atomic TV Livestream: Walla Walla Blue Devils v. Richland Bombers
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October 13, 20171234Final
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Richland Bombers18147039
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Walla Walla Blue Devils00066
- 1st Quarter
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Safety: Ball out of the end zone on a punt
Richland 2, Walla Walla 0 -
Safety: Ball out of the end zone and a punt
Richland 4, Walla Walla 0 -
Touchdown: Ryan Piper 44 yard pass from Cade Jensen (Adam Weissenfels kick)
Richland 11, Walla Walla 0 -
Touchdown: Jared Whitby 4 yard run (Weissenfels kick)
Richland 18, Walla Walla 0 - 2nd Quarter
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Touchdown: Weissenfels 31 yard punt return (Weissenfels kick)
Richland 25, Walla Walla 0 -
Touchdown: Jensen 1 yard run (Weissenfels kick)
Richland 32, Walla Walla 0 - 3rd Quarter
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Touchdown: Whitby 19 yard run (Casey Perryman kick)
Richland 39, Walla Walla 0 - 4th Quarter
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Touchdown: Edwin Romero 50 yard run (kick blocked)
Richland 39, Walla Walla 6
- News/Media
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MCC Week 7 Football matchups
Tri-City Herald: Friday October 13, 2017
Tri-City Herald article from Friday, October 13, 2017
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Seattle Times Top 10 and State Results
Seattle Times: Saturday October 14, 2017
Seattle Times Top 10 Ranking results and statewide scores.
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Blue Devils fall to Richland, 39-6
Walla Walla Union Bulletin: Sunday October 15, 2017
Wa-Hi forces the Mid-Columbia Conference powerhouse into a battle. Union Bulletin story by Hector del Castillo in the Sunday, October 15, 2017 edition.
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Richland cruises over Walla Walla
Tri-City Herald: Sunday October 15, 2017
Tri-City Herald MCC Football recap from Sunday, October 15, 2017.
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Richland football narrows gap in 4A poll
Tri-City Herald: Thursday October 19, 2017
Washington State AP Football Poll story by Kevin Anthony in the Thursday, October 19, 2017 edition of the Tri-City Herald. Richland sits at No. 3 and Chiawana is catching up at No. 5 with the big matchup due on Friday, October 21, 2017.
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Greater Spokane League Standings - October 19
Spokane Spokesman-Review: Thursday October 19, 2017
GSL and state poll for October 19, 2017.
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Seattle Times high school football rankings - October 19
Seattle Times: Thursday October 19, 2017
Seattle Times and AP football poll. Richland ranked number 2 behind Camas leading into the MCC showdown with number 5 Chiawana. October 19, 2017.
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