Game Recap October 4, 2023
BY CAMRYN REYNOLDS
Read the article in the Atomic Times
The Richland Bombers scored a touchdown on their first play of the game on their way to shut out the Pasco Bulldogs at Fran Rish Stadium on Friday night. The Bombers played their hearts out in front of a ravish crowd with a final score of 41-0. Senior quarterback Josh Woodard, had an outstanding game, going 18/20 with zero interceptions and throwing for 317 yards. Coming off of a loss against Chiawana last week, Richland was on a mission to redeem themselves and play with their all, and that was precisely what they did.
Before the game, I had the opportunity to sit down with the Head Coach of the Bombers, Mike Neidhold. When asked how he felt about the game that night, he said, "I feel good about the game. We had a great week of practice this week, and I know the team was upset about the loss last week, so they are ready to take care of business tonight." I also asked him how he felt about Pasco coming in with a 2-2 record, already more wins than they had last season, and off of a win last week, and all he had to say to that was, "I only care about the Bombers and us doing what we are good at."
Needless to say, Neid was ready for the game and the players were prepared to come back and win the game this week.
The game got off to a tremendous start, with two touchdowns being scored in the first five minutes, making the score 14-0. Even more impressive than that, the first play of the game was a touchdown. Woodard threw the ball to junior wide receiver Colson Mackey, who ran for 57 yards to score the first touchdown with 9:54 left in the first quarter. Senior kicker Jason Slack came in to kick for the extra point, scoring and making the score 7-0. The game's second touchdown was made by senior wide receiver Rayce Reeves, off of a pick-six. Reeves intercepted the ball and ran for 68 yards, scoring an astounding touchdown. The kick was made, and the score became 14-0 with 7:30 left in the quarter. With 1:22 left in the quarter, Mackey scored his second touchdown of the game off of a pass from Woodard. The kick for the extra point was missed, making the score 20-0, which was the score at the end of the first quarter. The Bombers were determined to start strong and come out swinging, and that is exactly what they did in the first quarter.
The Bomber defense came out on top right out of the gate with senior linebacker Colby Whitby, making two stops in a row and John Corbin, deflecting a touchdown pass, preventing the Bulldogs from scoring, making it a turnover on downs. The offense played tough and kept moving the ball up, and with 5:01 left in the quarter, Woodard threw the ball to sophomore Brody Boeck, for his first touchdown of the game and the fourth touchdown overall. The kick was made, increasing the score to 27-0 Bombers. The defense stays extremely solid for the rest of the quarter, with several stops by Whitby, junior Cannon Weikum, and senior Kooper Schmitt. At 1:12 left in the half, Woodard throws a 53-yard pass to senior wide receiver Nate Ruelas for the fifth touchdown of the game. The extra point kick is made, and the score becomes 34-0 at halftime.
I spoke to Ruelas about his touchdown after the game, and he said, "It wasn't an improvised play. We came out of the huddle ready to give it a big shot, and it worked out for us."
At the half, Mackey had four catches for 97 yards, senior John Simons, #2, had seven carries for 23 yards, and Woodard was 16/18 in his throws with no interceptions for 279 yards.
At the start of the third quarter, rain started pouring down, but that did not make the Bombers lead up. They start with the ball with 10:58 left in the quarter. Woodard scores a keeper touchdown, which is the sixth touchdown of the game, and with Slack coming in to kick the extra point, the Bombers lead 41-0 early on in the second half. The clock continues to run, and Pasco makes some decent attempts but ends up having a turnover on downs. Richland gains the ball back with 3:02 left in the quarter, and junior Dylan Dunnum, comes in as quarterback. Bombers make some good progression up the field, with junior Jakob Brannon running the ball well. The quarter ends with the Bombers still up 41-0.
The fourth quarter led off with a slightly rocky start with a penalty on the Bomber offensive and a turnover on downs. Pasco has an injury with Giovanni Bradley, who had done impressive work for the Bulldogs throughout the game. Senior for the Bombers Dorian Chadis plays quarterback for a few plays. Pasco gets the ball back with 3:06 left in the game and suffers another injury of Anthony Lopez with just under a minute left. The Bombers stop the ball for the final time in the game, the horn sounds off, and the Bombers have won 41-0.
The Bombers played an excellent game and did what they set out to do. Pasco made some strong efforts on their offense and had some incredible plays, but in the end, the Bombers took the shutout. Next week, on October 6th, the 4-1 Richland Bombers will face off against the Kennewick Lions, who are 3-1 in the district. I spoke to Rayce Reeves about the plan for the team next week, and he said, "We are all feeling good going into the next game off of a big win. We look to keep our offense and defense rolling without beating ourselves and making mental mistakes." Kennewick beat Kamiakin this year, and their only loss was against Chiawana, whose only loss this year was to Kamiakin. This means that four teams that are competing for the top spot in the MCC will make the matchup with the Lions this Friday an important one.
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- 1st Quarter
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Touchdown: Colson Mackey 57 Yd Pass from Josh Woodard (Jason Slack Kick)
Richland 7, Pasco 0 -
Touchdown: Rayce Reeves 40 Yd Interception Return (Jason Slack Kick)
Richland 14, Pasco 0 -
Touchdown: Colson Mackey 10 Yd Pass From Joshua Woodard (Jason Slack Kick No Good)
Richland 20, Pasco 0 - 2nd Quarter
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Touchdown: Brody Bocek 7 Yd Pass From Joshua Woodard (Jason Slack Kick)
Richland 27, Pasco 0 -
Touchdown: Nathan Ruelas 53 Yd Pass From Joshua Woodard (Jason Slack Kick)
Richland 34, Pasco 0 - 3rd Quarter
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Touchdown: Joshua Woodard 6 Yd Run (Jason Slack Kick)
Richland 41, Pasco 0
