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Game Recap September 5, 2022
By Jeff Morrow
September 5, 2022
Mike Neidhold said the 17-16 win his Richland Bombers football team pulled off Saturday afternoon was the perfect example of a good team playing bad, but still finding a way to win.
“This is the 87th year of Richland High School football,” said Neidhold while standing on the floor of the newly remodeled Fran Rish Stadium. “This place has had some of the most epic games in my life.”
Count Saturday’s win among them.
The Bombers never had the lead until there was just 57.4 seconds left in the game.
That’s when kicker Jason Slack hammered through a 23-yard field goal for the victory.
Meanwhile, Southridge head coach Matt Johnson and his Suns will be thinking about how they let this one get away.
Johnson, the second-year head coach at the south Kennewick school, had tinkered a bit last year with his team’s offense in slowly bringing in the Wing-T offense.
Now? “It’s all in there now,” said Johnson. “I told the guys I was super proud of them. We have worked hard all off-season.”
That Suns offense ran 57 plays to the Bombers’ 43. Southridge also had the ball for 28 minutes and 8 seconds, compared to Richland’s 19:52.
That meant the Bombers defense spent a lot of time on the field. And it showed in the first half, as the Suns led 9-0 at intermission, thanks to a James Rush 6-yard TD run, and a Brady Bostic 21-yard field goal near the end of the second quarter.
“That’s a credit to Matt and his staff,” said Neidhold. “He’s doing great work over there.” But being down two scores means Richland was still in the game.
And less than two minutes into the third quarter, the Bombers defense found the end zone. Suns quarterback Austin Guier lost the football during a bad handoff, and Landon Charlton picked the football up and ran it back for a 23-yard TD.
Southridge stayed the course, though. And the Suns would march downfield on a 15-play, 80-yard scoring drive — capped off by Rush’s 2-yard TD dive.
Now trailing 16-7, Richland needed to find the end zone again. It happened with 6:18 to play, when Bombers QB Josh Woodard found Rayce Reeves streaking down the field for a 40-yard touchdown pass.
“They had a one-high safety,” said Neidhold. “So we ran four verticals. Josh got the safety to move and then threw the ball to the right guy.” Now knocking on the door, Richland’s defense forced a 3-and-out on the Suns.
The Bombers had the ball with 4:24 to play at the Suns’ 45. Using the clock to its advantage, Richland moved 39 yards in seven plays, with Slack kicking the game-winner.
Richland senior Tanner Schuster then clinched the win when he intercepted a pass.
Woodard finished with 144 yards passing, while Charlton rushed 16 times for 60 yards. Rush ended the day with 124 yards rushing on 27 carries, while Lucien Cone added 85 yards rushing on 12 carries.
Defensively, linebacker Kalani Steward had a monster game for the Bombers with 17 tackles, two for loss. Charlton had 4 tackles and a fumble recovery, while Isaya Galvez added 5 tackles and a cover; and Zane Weikum had 5 tackles (1 for loss).
Bryan Beardsley led the Suns defense with 5 tackles, 2 covers and an interception; AJ Hendrickson added 5 tackles (1 for loss), and Gunnar Beauchamp had 4 tackles, a pass breakup and a cover.
- Atomic TV Bomber Bowl Reopens Sept. 2nd
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September 3, 20221234Final
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Southridge Suns637016
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Richland Bombers0071017
- 1st Quarter
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Touchdown: James Rush 5 Yd Run (6:34)
Southridge 6, Richland 0 - 2nd Quarter
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Field Goal: Brady Bostic 20 Yd Field Goal (0:05.7)
Southridge 9, Richland 0 - 3rd Quarter
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Touchdown: Landon Charlton Fumble Return (10:19)
Southridge 9, Richland 7 - 4th Quarter
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Touchdown: James Rush 3 Yd Run (9:21)
Southridge 16, Richland 7 -
Touchdown: Rayce Reeves 40 Yd Pass from Josh Woodard (6:18)
Southridge 16, Richland 14 -
Field Goal: Jason Slack 20 Yd Field Goal (0:57.4)
Richland 17, Southridge 16
