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WEDNESDAy, SEpTEMbER 18, 2019
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Richland holds off Hermiston for MCC win
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
H
ermiston
stopped
Richland three times
on fourth down Fri-
day — twice in the red zone.
There also was a recovered
onside kick and a fumble
recovery, but it just wasn’t
enough.
Richland scored two
quick touchdowns in the
first quarter and held on for
a 28-14 Mid-Columbia Con-
ference win Friday over the
Bulldogs at Kennison Field.
“We make mistakes,
that’s part of life,” Hermis-
ton coach David Faaeteete
said. “I am so proud of you
guys for fighting to the end.”
The Bulldogs (0-2 MCC)
had the ball the last 3 1/2
minutes of the game.
They drove down into
Richland territory, where a
pass interference call by the
Bombers put the ball on the
3-yard line. Two plays later,
Trevor Wagner ran the ball
in from 2 yards out with 13.8
seconds remaining to pull
Hermiston within 28-14.
On the ensuing kickoff,
Wagner chipped the ball,
then recovered it himself at
the Hermiston 49.
The Bulldogs made it to
the Richland 26, but ran out
of time.
“They are a good team,”
Richland coach Mike Nei-
dhold said of the Bulldogs.
“They run a good program
— there is no quit in those
kids. We needed to play a
good team to get back on
track, and we did.”
Richland led 21-0 at the
half, then came out and
scored less than 2 minutes
into the third quarter, but
that would be it.
Hermiston’s first touch-
down came with 3:03 left in
the third as Sam Schwirse
connected with Wagner for
a 7-yard score and a 28-7
game.
“I was happy with how
I did on offense, but I need
to work on defense,” Wag-
ner said. “We did do some
good things. We are a bet-
ter team than we were last
week. Eventually, it will all
come together.”
The Bulldogs had a new
look Friday with Schwirse
under center, and senior
guard Dustyn Coughlin
moving to center.
“I think coach Faaeteete
put me there to take con-
trol of the offensive line,”
Coughlin said. “The guards
know I trust them to do their
jobs. I was a little nervous,
I’m not going to lie. I’ve
only been doing it for three
days.”
Coughlin also stepped in
on defense.
“He’s a good defensive
player and made some good
plays,” Faaeteete said.
Ryan Arnold led the Bull-
dogs defensively with 11
solo tackles and five assisted
Staff photo by ben Lonergan
Richland quarterback Harrison Westover (16) hurdles a member of the Hermiston defense. The Richland Bombers defeated the Hermiston Bulldogs 28-14 at
Kennison Field in Hermiston, Ore. Friday night.
Staff photos by ben Lonergan
BOTTOM LEFT: Hermiston quarterback Sam Schwirse (15) attempts to get ahold of a loose
snap late in the first half. The Richland Bombers defeated the Hermiston Bulldogs 28-14 at
Kennison Field in Hermiston, Ore. Friday night. BOTTOM RIGHT: Hermiston wide receiver
Garrett Walchli (5) breaks free of the Richland defense. The Richland Bombers defeated the
Hermiston Bulldogs 28-14 at Kennison Field in Hermiston, Ore. Friday night.
tackles.
The first half was all
Richland.
The Bombers drove 87
yards on their first posses-
sion of the game in five
plays, finishing with a
66-yard pass play from Har-
rison Westover to Ben Fewel
for a 7-0 lead just 2:04 into
the contest. Fewel caught 11
passes for 233 yards on the
night.
After the Bulldogs were
forced to punt, Richland
once again started deep in its
own half.
A holding call against the
Bombers put them back at
their own 21, but Westover
launched the ball to Dawson
Palm, who reeled it in for
a 79 yard touchdown and a
14-0 game that would stand
at the end of the first.
Hermiston drove into
Bomber territory early in the
second, and had first-and-10
at the 48, but a high snap
sailed over Schwirse’s head
and pinned the Bulldogs
back at their own 38.
Hermiston twice stopped
Richland on fourth down in
the second quarter, but with
1:18 remaining, Westover
hit Kayden Roxburgh with a
10-yard TD pass for a 21-0
lead after Joseph Weissen-
fels kicked the PAT.
An on-side kick by Rich-
land was recovered by the
Bombers at the Hermiston
36 with 13 seconds to play.
Garrett Walchli picked off
Westover and returned the
ball 65 yards before he ran
out of real estate and time.
“We shot ourselves in the
foot a little bit,” Faaeteete
said. “I challenged the kids
at half to keep fighting, and
they did.”
Richland 14 7 7 0 — 28
Hermiston 0 0 7 7 — 14
Scoring plays
R — ben Fewel 66 pass from Harrison
Westover (Joseph Weissenfels kick)
R — Dawson palm 79 pass from Westo-
ver (Weissenfels kick)
R — Kayden Roxburgh 10 pass from
Westover (Weissenfels kick)
R — Fewel 11 pass from Westover
(Weissenfels kick)
H — Trevor Wagner 7 pass from Sam
Schwirse (Wagner kick)
H — Wagner 2 run (Wagner kick)
Individual Statistics
passing: H, Sam Schwirse 20-27-0-139;
R, Harrison Westover 25-32-1-379.
Rushing: H, Daniel Faaeteete 15-71,
Garrett Walchli 3-15, Sam Schwirse
6-(minus-32), Trevor
Wagner 1-3, Nathan Wheeler 2-1; R,
Marshawn Davis Copeland 11-34,
Kainoa Steward 8-53,
Kade brons 3-16, ben Fewel 1-(minus-5),
Harrison Westover 1-(minus-8).
Receiving: H, Trevor Wagner 9-42, broc
Remmer 4-45, Trent pitney 2-31, Gar-
rett Walchli
3-26, Daniel Faeeteete 2-(minus-5); R,
ben Fewel 11-233, Marshawn Davis
Copeland 5-22, Dawson palm 2-90, Matt
Robinson 2-12, Kayden Roxburgh 1-10,
ben Kostorowski 1-6, Grady Kriskovich
1-(minus 4).
Dawgs look to upend Lions on Friday night
Hermiston will play
Kennewick at Lampson Field
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
W
ith just two 3A playoff
spots to share between
four teams in the
Mid-Columbia Conference, every
game is must win for Hermiston
when it plays Kennewick, Kami-
akin and Southridge.
The Bulldogs missed out on
a playoff spot last year, dropping
games to Kennewick (26-25) and
Kamiakin (34-27).
Friday night, Hermiston (0-2
MCC) will start again, playing
Kennewick at 7 p.m. at Lampson
Stadium.
“We have some work to do,”
Bulldogs coach David Faaeteete
said. “We need to execute and get
better. That was a big game here
last year (against Kennewick), and
HH file photo
Hermiston’s Wyatt Noland gets wrapped up by Kennewick’s Brady Benton
in 2018’s 26-25 loss to the Lions in Hermiston.
part of the reason we didn’t go to
the playoffs. We have to stop the
run and defend the pass.”
The Lions (1-1) are coming
off a 37-0 loss to Chiawana last
week. The Riverhawks shut down
the Lions’ big running back Myles
Mayovsky, limiting the 6-foot-2,
195-pound sophomore to just 18
yards on 14 carries.
Mayovsky is just one concern
for the Bulldogs. Their size and
their athletic ability are others.
“Like most Tri-City schools,
they are bigger than us,” Faae-
teete said. “They are a tough foot-
ball team with a tough mentality.
They run two tight ends and they
punned the ball. We matchup well
with them in certain spots.”
The Bulldogs, who lost start-
ing quarterback Chase Elliott to a
broken leg in the first game of the
season against Pasco, turned to
junior Sam Schwirse last week, and
moved big guard Dustyn Coughlin
to center.
“His stat line (20-27 for 139
yards) shows he was able to man-
age the game,” Faaeteete said of his
quarterback. “He wants to get out
there and gain confidence.”
Hermiston also saw senior run-
ning back Guiomar Garay go down
with an ankle injury against Pasco.
He missed last week’s game against
Richland, and is listed day to day
this week.
Daniel Faaeteete came in last
week and rolled up 71 yards on 15
carries, but coach Faaeteete could
like to have both backs available.
“We would like to have another
option,” coach Faaeteete said. “I
expect Daniel to play better. There
are big expectations from the older
brother.”
While the Bulldogs were the
new kid on the block last year in
the MCC, Kennewick coach Randy
Affholter is in his first year with the
Lions after coaching at Ellensburg
for 22 years. He replaced Bill Tem-
pleton, who stepped down after last
season.
“I have heard a lot of good
things about him,” Faaeteete said
of Affholter. “Coming in and taking
control of a storied program like
the Lions, he has done a good job.”