Game Recap October 30, 2016
There was little suspense leading up to this game, and not much during it. The Richland Bombers were expected to beat the Hanford Falcons and they did. The undefeated and two-time Mid-Columbia Conference champion Bombers didn't have much to fear from the Falcons, having won only two conference games and bringing a run of defensive bad luck into the match up.
To do away with any suspense here, the score was 42-0 at halftime, and it could have been far worse. After a week of rain the field at Fran Rish was a veritable swamp, prohibiting Richland's speed players from making hard cuts and reaching maximum speed. Five different Bombers scored six touchdowns in the first half, and the running clock rule (the clock runs constantly except during timeouts when a team is ahead by 40 or more points in the second half), along with a multitude of reserve players, allowed time for only one more Richland score in the second half.
Hanford gave themselves some hope early in the first half when a linebacker intercepted an ill-advised pass into triple coverage by Paxton Stevens, but that turned out to be more of an annoyance than an obstacle as Alex Chapman took the ball back two plays later, setting up the first touchdown of the game, a catch right up the middle-right past two defensive backs-by Gaven Brasker.
Three minutes later Josh Mendoza caught another on a slant route, followed by a Brasker punt return only 20 seconds into the second quarter, greatly aided by a Mendoza block that took out two would-be tacklers, which freed Brasker to run down the right sideline for a penalty-worthy dive into the endzone. One minute and twenty-six seconds later Ben Stanfield took a hand-off and cruised untouched for 32 yards to make the score 28-0. Another ninety seconds off the clock and it was time for another Bomber score, this time an easy 20 yard catch by the inexplicably uncovered Chapman. Everyone got a breather from the excitement for a while though.
The next touchdown didn't come for another five minutes. Rolling out to the right and sprung free by a thunderous block on a defensive lineman by Stanfield, Stevens tossed a quick dart to Adam Weissenfels, open just in front of the 50 yard line. Cutting left and speeding on a diagonal toward open grass, Weissenfels out sprinted the defense to the endzone to make it 42-0 with 3:39 to go in the half.
Big defensive plays were made throughout the half by Brigham Whitby, Jax Lee, Kyle Kirby, Victor Strasser, Garrett Guffey, Braden Powell, and Jacob Stanfield. Whitby and Lee kept the middle clogged and were constantly in the backfield harassing the quarterback, including a sack by Lee on third down to force a punt and give Richland great field position. Kirby had two batted passes, Strasser a huge hit on the QB on a blitz, Guffey and Strasser both with run stopping tackles near the line of scrimmage, and Powell and Stanfield keeping outside runs contained with pressure on the scrambling quarterback. Powell had several tackles both on the outside and by cutting back to the inside to cover for the double-teamed interior linemen. Jacob Stanfield shed his blocker and chased the quarterback down to pin the Falcons on their own 15 yard line. Colton Michaels, the starting center, recovered a fumble caused by William Harshaw-McDonald.
The defensive backs hardly had a chance to make plays since Hanford couldn't make it past the front seven. The shortened second half saw a 58 yard catch by Ryan Piper followed by a several good runs by Jared Whitby, culminating in a 10 yard touchdown, his second of the year. Sammy Cervantes, normally playing receiver, snagged an interception on a long pass at the 20 and returned it 25 yards to the 45. Hanford eventually marched themselves down the field and put one in the endzone with two minutes left in the game. Stevens ended with 240 yards passing, Stanfield had 119 rushing yards, the majority in the first half, Chapman returned to scoring form with his touchdown, and the offense continued to diversify, finding new ways to get first downs while the defense focused on the well known weapons. As the first place team in the MCC, the Bombers host the Greater Spokane League's number two, the Central Valley Bears. The game is tentatively scheduled for Friday at Fran Rish Stadium, but may be changed to Lampson Stadium due to the boggy conditions at the Bomber Bowl. Regardless, the game will be played at 7:00 PM on Friday, somewhere in the Tri-Cities, in a stadium full of green and gold fans.
Go Bombers!
Highlights from AtomicTV
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October 28, 20161234Final
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Hanford Falcons00077
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Richland Bombers14287049
- 1st Quarter
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Touchdown: Gaven Brasker 27 yard pass from Paxton Stevens (Adam Weissenfels kick) (6:33)
Richland 7, Hanford 0 -
Touchdown: Josh Mendoza 6 yard pass from Stevens (Weissenfels kick) (3:19)
Richland 14, Hanford 0 - 2nd Quarter
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Touchdown: Brasker 64 yard punt return (Weissenfels kick) (11:39)
Richland 21, Hanford 0 -
Touchdown: Ben Stanfield 32 yard run (Weissenfels kick) (10:13)
Richland 28, Hanford 0 -
Touchdown: Alex Chapman 17 yard pass from Stevens (Weissenfels kick) (8:51)
Richland 35, Hanford 0 -
Touchdown: Weissenfels 53 yard pass from Stevens (Weissenfels kick) (3:39)
Richland 42, Hanford 0 - 3rd Quarter
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Touchdown: Jared Whitby 10 yard run (Weissenfels kick) (0:42.9)
Richland 49, Hanford 0 - 4th Quarter
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Touchdown: Drezdyn O'Daol-Lyons 7 yard run (Woody Page kick) (2:03)
Richland 49, Hanford 7
- News/Media
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Prosser, Othello set for CWAC clash
Tri-City Herald: Friday October 28, 2016
Tri-City Herald article from October 28, 2016. Main story written by Dustin Brennan, Richland/Hanford preview in the "Around the Mid-Columbia Conference" section.
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Bombers end regular season unbeaten
Tri-City Herald: Sunday October 30, 2016
Tri-City Herald article from the October 30, 2016 edition.
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