A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAy, SEpTEMbER 25, 2019
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Lions fend off Dawgs in MCC showdown
Staff photos by ben Lonergan
ABOVE: Kennewick running back Myles Mayovsky (18) runs the ball in for a touchdown during the first half. The Kennewick Lions defeated the Hermiston Bulldogs 28-17 at Neil F. Lampson
Stadium in Kennewick on Friday night. BOTTOM LEFT: Hermiston wide receiver Trevor Wagner (20) is brought down by a member of the Kennewick defense. BOTTOM RIGHT: Kennewick running
back Myles Mayovsky (18) reaches up to make a catch.
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
T
he Hermiston Bulldogs still
are looking for their groove.
Once they find it, they could
be dangerous.
The Bulldogs kept pace with Kenne-
wick for three quarters on Friday night,
but the Lions hung 14 points on the
board in the fourth quarter to hold on
for a 28-17 Mid-Columbia Conference
victory at Lampson Stadium.
“You can’t win if you don’t take care
of the little things,” Hermiston coach
David Faaeteete said. “If you don’t
sweat the small details, they come back
to get you. We had missed assignments
and missed opportunities. We just
dropped the ball.”
It was a key 3A game for both teams,
but the Dawgs (0-3) did not make it
easy on the Lions (2-1).
“They play hard,” Kennewick coach
Randy Affholter said. “I thought we
controlled the ball and handled the run
game, but we need to make plays and
put the game away.”
The Lions led 14-11 after three
quarters, but used a 2-yard touchdown
by quarterback Blaine Chavez, and a
5-yard scoring pass to Max Mayer to
take a 28-11 lead.
With 3:21 to play, the Dawgs scored
on a 78-yard pass play from Sam
Schwirse to Garrett Walchli to pull
within 28-17.
“We played a lot better than what we
have,” said Walchli, who dedicated the
game to his grandfather Skip Walchli,
who died Friday morning. “It comes
down to discipline. We have to be more
focused. We are right there.”
Schwirse finished the game with
183 yards passing, with Walchli on the
receiving end of six for 108 yards.
Hermiston hung with the Lions in
the first half, trailing 14-3 after two
quarters.
Myles Mayovsky scored both touch-
downs for Kennewick — on an 8-yard
run in the first quarter, and from 11
yards out in the second. The bruising
sophomore running back had 70 yards
on 14 carries. He also had 85 receiving
yards.
Between Mayovsky’s touchdowns,
Trevor Wagner kicked a 25-yard field
goal for the Bulldogs.
Wagner previously missed on a
44-yard field goal, and on a 43-yard try,
the snap was low.
With 1:08 left in the second quar-
ter, the Lions looked to make one last
charge.
Chavez hit Mayovsky with a 38-yard
pass to put the ball at the Hermiston 29.
A holding penalty pushed the Lions
back. Kennewick ran out of time before
they could find the end zone.
Early in the third, the Dawgs punted,
and the ball hit off the chest of May-
ovsky. Trent Pitney recovered the
ball for Hermiston on the Kennewick
18-yard line.
Daniel Faaeteete ran the ball into the
end zone from 4 yards out, and Caden
Fisher ran in the 2-point conversion, as
the Dawgs trimmed the Lions’ lead to
14-11.
“You can’t let people hang around,”
Affholter said. “You have to start play-
ing with a killer instinct.”
HERMISTON 0 3 8 6 — 17
Kennewick 7 7 0 14 — 28
SCORING PLAYS
K — Myles Mayovsky 8 run (Ethan Woolery kick)
H — FG Trevor Wagner 25
K — Mayovsky 11 run (Woolery kick)
H — Daniel Faaeteete 4 run (Caden Fisher run)
K — blaine Chavez 2 run (Woolery kick)
K — Max Mayer 5 pass from Chavez (Woolery kick)
H — Garrett Walchli 78 pass from Sam Schwirse (pass
failed)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
passing: H – Sam Schwirse 18-22-0-183, Trevor Wagner
1-1-0-(-4); K — blaine Chavez 11-17-0-181.
Rushing: H — Daniel Faaeteete 17-51, Trevor Wagner
3-(-5), Sam Schwirse 3-4, Garrett Walchli 2-14, ben Wicks
2-0; K — Myles Mayovsky 13-70, Ethan Wolery 12-74,
blaine Chavez 6-13, Simon Howard 2-13.
Receiving: H — Garrett Walchli 6-108-1, Trevor Wagner
5-47, Trent pitney 2-0, broc Remmer 2-25, Daniel Faae-
teete 2-2, Kaleb Crafton 1-4; K — Myles Mayovsky 3-85,
Max Mayer 2-12, Elijah Tanner 2-52, bryson Knapik 2-32,
Arnaldo Cabrera 1-5, Elijah Tanner 2-52.
Walla Walla up next for Hermiston in MCC action
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
One thing that jumped out at
first-year Walla Walla coach Greg
Lupfer when he saw Hermiston on
film, was the size of its players.
“They are gigantic up front,”
he said. “Their tailback (Daniel
Faaettete) is 6-foot, 220. We are
not that big. The size difference
they have on us, they are well-
coached, and they will give us
some problems.”
The Blue Devils (1-2 MCC)
will be at Hermiston (0-3 MCC)
on Friday for a Mid-Columbia
Conference game.
Lupfer, who has seen the like
of Southridge, Hanford and Chi-
awana this season, still is adjust-
ing to the play of the MCC.
“This is a very competitive
league, for sure,” Lupfer said.
“I didn’t know exactly what to
expect. I knew Chiawana would
be tough, but I didn’t know about
the others. Hermiston is probably
the best 3A team in our league.
They are a good team, regardless
of what their record says.”
The Bulldogs, still looking for
their first win, are hoping to get on
track Friday night.
“In a perfect world, everyone is
healthy and everyone is playing,”
Hermiston coach David Faaeteete
said.
The Bulldogs have been with-
out running back Guiomar Garay,
who was hurt the first week against
Pasco. Faaeteete said he expects
him to play this week. Hermis-
ton also is without defensive line-
man Sean Stewart, who went out
against Richland and missed last
week’s game. He is under concus-
sion protocol.
Injuries aside, Faaeteete likes
the improvements his team has
made over the first three weeks of
the season
“There is improvement,” he
said. “We have made big strides,
we are just coming up short. For
the most part, the kids are compet-
ing, fighting and they don’t quit.
Every possession, tackle, missed
tackle, every inch of the field is
important.”
The Blue Devils are rebuilding
after losing the likes of lineman
Patrick Utschinski, linebacker
Jahmal Mangarero and receiver/
defensive back Jared McAlvey to
graduation.
Walla Walla has junior Ryan
Martuscelli and sophomore Dash
Sirmon sharing duties at quarter-
back. Sirmon placed sixth in the
javelin at state as a freshman with
a throw of 177 feet, 3 inches.
“Ryan is inexperienced, but he
is a good competitor and he gets
what we are trying to do,” Lup-
fer said. “Dash will get a couple
of series here and there. He will
be special, he just needs some
games.”
Jakob Humphrey has been car-
rying the load at running back.
The 5-9, 175-pound transfer from
Idaho Falls, Idaho, has run for
249 yards and one touchdown this
season.
“Jake has done really well and
he is a big part of our offense,”
Lupfer said. “We are young (eight
seniors), but all of our kids are
going to play hard.”
Friday also will be the first time
this season the Blue Devils have
played on turf. They have played
at Fran Rish in Richland and twice
at home. Both venues have a real
grass playing surface.
“This will be our first time on
turf,” Lupfer said. “That will be
different for us. That is beautiful
stadium.”