The Bombers found that old familiar feeling again, although maybe not quite in the way everyone would have liked. After dropping two games to start the season, Richland traveled west to face the Sunnyside Grizzlies and came away with a dramatic 28-27 win. Although the Bombers possessed a clear advantage in physical talent, the tenacious Grizzlies wouldn't quit and made a game of it.

The first quarter started out much like the week before, with a big kickoff return by Cody Sanderson that was painfully close to going all the way. The excellent blocking on the return was worthy of note. Eventually Sanderson and his return squad will take one all the way if they continue on that level. Following an attempt to pass the ball, returning QB Josh Fonner changed things up and handed the ball to Dhaunye Guice (rhymes with ice), whose spinning, slicing, and dicing style gained three straight first downs to get to well inside the red zone. Fonner then zipped a touchdown pass to a diving Ben Fewel, who had just cut an angle from the left side to split two defenders. This only served to raise the ire of the Grizzlies. 

Their first play from scrimmage went right up the middle for a 55 yard touchdown, but Richland got lucky when a ref flagged a block in the back at the goal line, bringing the play back to the 20. The Bomber D stood tough from there despite having two brand new linebackers on the field but couldn't get the passing game going and were forced to punt. Sunnyside then used a big run by their slippery quarterback to get down to the one, where the QB took it in to even the score.

The ensuing drive by the Bombers consisted of 18 and 13 yard runs by Guice, and a 30 yard catch-and-run by Sanderson, complete with brutal stiff arm at the end, which set up a 10 yard touchdown charge by junior running back Sam Stanfield. The massive hole opened up by center Caden Glaze and right guard Joe Hawkins was big enough for three or four of the 225 pound Stanfields, and only one Grizzly was available to make a futile diving attempt at his ankles. 14-7, Bombers. The Grizzlies again used their evasive QB to extend the next drive. As Defensive ends Daniel vanGorkum and Kade Powell, Glaze, and Stanfield collapsed the pocket and gave pursuit, the QB threw down the right side line to an unintended receiver, Sanderson.

After trading punts twice, Fonner threw a screen pass to Sanderson on the right side, a play that had been getting decent yardage all night. This time Sanderson pulled the classic paso doble behind an excellent block by Geoff Robinson, ran a few yards, side-stepped another diving defender, ran left behind a Brian Dean block, and then sprinted down the left side line for another touchdown, which Fonner was already celebrating as he ran along the opposite side line with raised arms. Up 21-7 with momentum on their side, it seemed like the Bombers might be getting into the offensive swing of things.

After the half, Sunnyside used a 15 play drive to get within 7 points when their quick wideout dodged Kriskovich to get into the end zone. 

21-14 coming up on the fourth isn't bad, but it's unfamiliar territory for the Bombers. Mixing it up on a 12 play drive by throwing multiple passes to newcomer and senior Jack Schuster, a great leaping catch by Sanderson on the left sideline, and good runs by Guice, the Bombers found themselves on the Sunnyside 3 yard line. It was an easy decision to let Guice follow Glaze and Dean as they bulldozed their counterparts well into the end zone. 28-14 is a more comfortable, but still not safe with an entire quarter left to play. Switching over to the fourth quarter, the same speedy wideout got Kriskovich to hesitate and then ran under a prayer heaved by the QB way back at their own 35, caught it at the 20, and cruised the rest of the way to make it 28-21. The following offensive series looked like it would out the game away for good, peppering a running series with a couple of passes to get to the Grizzly 5 yard line. An errant pitch to Guice ended up in the hands of the defense, and Sunnyside had another chance. 

Stuck at their own 5, they immediately went to ground and used their running back to weave their way to the 35. The defense eventually forced a turnover on downs, but penalties forced a Bomber punt, and Sunnyside had one more chance to tie the game. A 14 play drive that looked mostly like defensive dominance by Richland had enough miracle runs for the Grizzlies to get themselves to the one yard line. Any decent movie will have a QB sneak take it in to make the score 28-27 with seconds left, and that's exactly what happened. A script that wanted to draw the movie out would have a PAT kicked and go into a dramatic overtime. A script that wanted maximum guts and glory would have Sunnyside go for the win instead, and that's exactly what happened. The Grizzly running back took the pitch and followed his line as they flooded to the right. The flood was met by a wave of white jerseys, lead by van Gorkum as he dragged the runner down and the rest of the Bombers piled on, stopping the ball just short of the end zone. All that was left was to collect the inevitable onside kick and take a knee to waste the last 13 seconds.

The first victory of the season was similar to the Hermiston game. Richland showed dominance but allowed a few weak spots to show through and let the opponent make a comeback. The Bomber O line continues to show they can support a diverse crew of good runners, as no team yet has completely stopped the running game. The passing attack is improving and continuing to shed some rust, while the defense is starting to mesh, despite the fluctuations at linebacker and the continual shuffling of personnel on the D line. There is enough physical talent on this team to compete with anyone. If they can find the right combinations on defense, keep improving the pass, and use their experienced leadership to cultivate the plethora of younger talent, this team can go far. As for now, they're sitting behind the perennial cellar-dweller Pasco Bulldogs in the conference standings, which is something that doesn't happen very often. 

Pasco happens to be next up at Fran Rish, and is coming off their first win in three seasons, a 48-6 stomping of Southridge. That's the most they've scored in a very long time, and if there was a year they thought they could put an L on the Bombers it's this year. The game should be a good fight with plenty of big plays, so don't miss it.

Go Bombers!