508 days. That’s how long it had been since that night in 2019 when Easton Wise-Hyde connected with Jaxon Farrah on a 13-yard touchdown pass to beat Richland on the last play of the game. 508 days. It’s a long time to revel in victory and even longer to stew in defeat.

It took only two plays for the Bombers to let their Falcon brethren know that tonight would be different.

Luke Richie intercepted an Easton Wise-Hyde pass giving the visiting Bombers the ball on the 50-yard line. Three plays later Cameron Kitchens connected with Ben Fewel on a short pass. Fewel then made a swift move to the outside and outran the Falcon defense for a 38-yard touchdown and a 7-0 Richland lead.

Hanford’s second drive produced a first down but the Bomber defense quickly shut down any further progress and forced a punt.

The Bomber running attack pushed the ball down the field starting with a 12 yard run by Kitchens and then followed by the power of Elijah Rodriguez who finished off the drive rumbling 13 yards into the end zone giving the Bombers a 14-0 advantage.

The Falcons, at this point, were having trouble getting their offense started and quickly delivered a three-and-out.

The Bombers started their third drive of the game on their own 40, this time taking to the air. Kitchens connected with Tanner Schuster for fifteen yards and then targeted Carson Craig for 27-yards to take them deep into Falcon territory. Kainoa Steward bulled his way into the end zone for his first of two touchdown and shades of their 58-0 win over Pasco the week before were dancing in their heads.

This time, though, the Falcons had answers.

Wise-Hyde had some nice runs to push the ball onto the Bomber side for the first time, including a nifty 35 yard run, followed by 13 more by sophomore Kevin Hester. After a holding penalty, Wise-Hyde found Jaxon Farrah open in the middle and he literally raced several Bombers into the end zone and giving the Falcons new hope. Richland 21, Hanford 7.

Richland must have been remembering 508 days before when Hanford held a similar 21-7 lead before they were able to tie the game in the fourth quarter.

With that in mind, the Bombers launched a twelve play drive that consumed over four minutes off the clock. Cameron Kitchens had two nice throws including a 28 yard pass to Kenyon Coleman and 16 more yards to Ben Fewel. Steward, of course, powered his way into the end zone to make the score 28-7, taking a little more wind out of the Falcons wings. Kainoa Steward had a great stat line for the night: two rushes, and two touchdowns.

The Falcons had a couple nice interceptions, though, with Mason Gilmour grabbing a pass on the Hanford 20 to stop another deep Richland drive, and Skylar Williamson taking down one of his own as the first half came to a close. Neither produced any points but it kept the Bomber offense at bay.

Even though Richland received the ball to start the second half, their drive sputtered when  a fourth down and three turned into a 2-yard loss and gave the Falcons the ball and hope on the 43-yard line.

The Falcons quickly got the ball down to the Bomber 2-yard line when Wise-Hyde connected with the dangerous Deshawn Samples for a 38-yard gain. Two plays later, the hope turned to heartache for Hanford when Landon Charlton intercepted Wise-Hyde in the end zone.

The two teams traded turnovers on the next two possessions. Hanford’s Evan Thompson recovered a Richland fumble and three plays later, Richland’s Braden Rew intercepted another Falcon pass.

Kitchens soon found Craig for 16 yards, and Landon Charlton got into the act, running for 11 more, followed by Rodriguez with 13 more yards down to the Hanford 6-yard line. Carson Craig finished off the drive, taking a four-yard pass into the end zone and Richland led 35-7 as the third quarter ended.

Ben Fewel finished the scoring late in the fourth quarter, catching a Kitchens pass and darting around the defenders for a 9-yard touchdown, giving the Bombers their final score in a 41-7 victory.

The Bomber defense was the MVP of this game, though, causing four interceptions and generally harassing Easton Wise-Hyde including four sacks and limiting him to 163 yards on 12 of 25 passing attempts. The star for the Falcons was sophomore Kevin Hester who ran for 124 yards on 16 carries.

The Bomber offense wasn’t shabby. Cameron Kitchens closed the evening connecting on 28 of 35 passing attempts for 305 yards. Carson Craig took receiving honors with eight catches and 95 yards and Ben Fewel also contributing 89 yards on seven catches. Elijah Rodriguez took rushing stud honors with 152 yards on 19 carries. 

The main MCC schedule finishes up on Tuesday, March 30 with the Falcons travelling to Walla Walla while the Bombers stay home to battle Chiawana. The Riverhawks come into Tuesday’s game undefeated at 5-0 but the Bombers are on a hot streak of their own and hope to defend the Fran Rish grass for the last time.

Go Bombers!