Game Recap September 25, 2023
René Ferrán; Herald staff writer
The only blemish the Kamiakin football team suffered last season came in its season opener against Richland.
While the Braves went on to win 11 straight, capture the inaugural Columbia Basin 3A League title and reach the state semifinals, they hadn't forgotten that defeat.
Twelve months later, they got their chance at revenge Friday night at Fran Rish Stadium, and they got it in dominant fashion, rolling past the Bombers 34-0 in both teams' season opener.
"It was in the back of all of our minds," said Kamiakin senior quarterback Carson Meyer, who was 9-of-15 for 215 yards and a career-high three touchdowns. "It's been haunting us. I remember it like it was yesterday."
This loss could haunt the Bombers for a while. They gave up two touchdowns in the final 31/2 minutes of the first half to fall behind 20-0, and they never mounted a challenge in the final 16 minutes.
Richland finished with only 172 yards total offense - 60 after halftime - and had four turnovers.
"Momentum played a big part of that," said Bombers coach Rick Redden. "But I thought we'd answer the bell tonight. We didn't do what we needed to do from the outset."
Kamiakin's defense graduated seven starters off a unit that posted seven shutouts a year ago, but it hardly skipped a beat Friday.
"We want to keep up our honor," said senior linebacker Maxx Garrett, who led the charge with eight tackles (21/2 for loss), a sack and a pass deflection. "The young guys knew they had some big shoes to fill, and they came out here, their first time under the Friday night lights, and they put their hearts out there."
Although Meyer started all of last season, in some ways this was a debut for him as well. The Braves coaches kept him pretty well under wraps in 2006 - he attempted only 110 passes in 13 games - but Friday night he showed some scrambling ability and a deft touch.
Those traits were best exemplified on Kamiakin's first touchdown play.
Richland's Hunter Olveda blitzed from the outside and had a free shot at Meyer, but he eluded the sack, took a few steps to the right and floated an 18-yard pass to Micah Butler in the back-right corner of the end zone with 1:11 left in the opening quarter.
"Coach has put more trust in me to throw the football," Meyer said. "It feels good, that's all I can say."
The Braves took control late in the first half. Stephen Gilbert's 48-yard punt backed Richland to its 1, and after a three-and-out, Kamiakin got the ball at the Bombers 39.
The Braves needed only five plays to score, with Mitch Larson capping the drive with a 2-yard plunge over the left side with 3:34 left before halftime.
A minute later, Evan Anglesey picked off a Brett Jacobs pass to give Kamiakin the ball at the Richland 43, and Anglesey then caught a 9-yard bullet from Meyer with 25.9 seconds left to give the Braves a 20-0 lead.
"I can't thank the defense enough," Meyer said. "They just kick butt. They get the ball in the offense's hands and allow us to score."
Larson added a 1-yard TD run midway through the third quarter to end his night. He finished with 81 yards on 16 carries.
Alex Stratton capped the scoring with 3:22 to play, taking a Meyer pass in the right flat and scampering 75 yards for a touchdown.
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August 31, 20071234Final
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Kamiakin Braves34
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Richland Bombers0
