Bomber Report Card - By Kage Ballard

 The Richland Bombers have a uniquely strong history of success, and so far this season, that has continued across all fall sports. Now having a good amount of knowledge of Bomber sports, I decided to give each fall sport a grade. Information that affects the grades includes expectations, records, MCC ranking, performance, and observations.

Photo courtesy of Megan DeGraaf (RHS Yearbook).

Football

Record: 5-2

Standings: 3rd (MCC)

Grade: B-

The Richland Bombers football team has had an interesting season so far. They had very high expectations coming into the season, being ranked the 18th-best team in all of Washington by SBLive in their pre-season rankings. The Bombers have played multiple close games with underperforming teams and have also played close games with the best teams in the MCC. Their run defense has also been suspect this season, allowing Southridge and their Wing T offense to compete with the Bombers until the final minute of the game. However, the Bombers have a chance at redemption as they play Kamiakin this Thursday in a battle for the two seed in this year's playoffs. Senior Tanner Schuster commented on the season, "We have two tough losses to Chiawana and Kennewick, both coming down to a few plays. Kamiakin week is an important time in our season, not just for post-season placement, but we have something to prove." If they are able to prevail against Kamiakin, this season has seemingly unlimited potential, although if they are not, the Bombers will probably struggle to make it out of the first round of the playoffs.

Photo courtesy of Megan DeGraaf (RHS Yearbook).

Girls Soccer

Record: 12-1

Standings: 1st (MCC)

Grade: A

The Lady Bombers are coming off a strong 2021-2022 season, where they placed 3rd in the state for the 4a division. Losing multiple prominent seniors, including star Hayden Crowley, left question marks for the 2022-2023 season. The Lady Bombers have prevailed, however, and have only lost one game so far this season. This season has not been as pretty when it comes to goal differential. At this point last year, they had a goal differential of 66, and this season it is only 23. If they want to make another long playoff push this year, they will need to be able to put opposing teams away and be more dominant offensively. Defense and goaltending have not been an issue, as they have only allowed three goals in regulation through 12 games. Senior Sorrel Stratford is optimistic heading towards playoffs saying, "I am really excited going into playoffs… I love my team, and I want to make it as far as possible." Given the success of this season so far and their recent win, which allowed them to pass Kamiakin in the standings, the Lady Bombers should be able to cruise to a one seed in the playoffs and certainly have the potential to make a run at state.

Photo courtesy of Madison Maxwell (RHS Yearbook).

Volleyball

Record: 9-5 (9-3)

Standings: 3rd (MCC)

Grade: B+

The Bomber girls' volleyball team is in a 4-way race for the MCC title, having split games with Kamiakin and Chiawana and losing their first match with Hanford. The Bombers have a chance to split with the three other top teams in the MCC, which is a clear sign of a good season, but it is still tough to tell how the MCC will play out. Despite the competitive play at the top of the MCC, all four can make the district playoffs, which is promising for the Bombers. They have proven to play well in tough situations, being 2-1 in games that have gone to 5 sets. They also have shown that they have a chance to win every game they take part in. A rough performance in an out-of-conference tournament affected their overall ranking. However, the Bombers did not give up on the season. Recently, the Bombers beat Kamiakin 3-1 when all the sets (except the one they lost) were close. Not only can they handle adversity, but they also did not back down after getting swept by Kamiakin early in the season. The mostly senior-player volleyball team has shown to have heart and play with intensity, and they look to carry that mentality as far as they can into the playoffs.

Boys Cross Country

Record: 10-3 (MCC)

Standings: 3rd (MCC)

Grade: A-

The boy's cross country team has had massive improvement over the past year. They stand 3rd in the MCC so far, whereas last year, they finished 2nd to last in the MCC championships. The top 5 boys are Jace Woodard, Crew Martell, Lucas Wakely, Evyn McLellan, and Jackson Booker. In the last meet, Junior Crew Martell led the Bombers with a time of 15:40 and took 4th place overall. The Bombers have the MCC championship meet this Thursday, where they look to make a statement and possibly upset #1 Kamiakin. If the Bombers are to have a chance on Thursday, they will need another big performance from Crew, as well as senior Jace Woodard.

Girls Cross Country

Record: 9-5 (MCC)

Standings: 3rd (MCC)

Grade: B+

The girl's cross country team has been just as impressive as the boy's team this year. However, they had a better season last year, allowing less improvement. The top 5 girls are Tylar Wolff, Abby Duncan, Lily Robertson, Alice Williams, and Bella Thompson. Tylar and Abby are huge factors on how the Bombers will finish their season. In the latest MCC meet, they finished 3rd and 6th, respectively, and they provided the Bombers with huge potential in the MCC championship meet. 

Girls Swim and Dive

Record: 9-0

Standings: 1st (MCC)

Grade: A

The Richland Bomber girl's swim and dive team won the MCC championship this week. They have had a phenomenal season and so far have performed the best out of the fall sports for Richland High. Senior Greta Varga told me, "I love my teammates, and I enjoy swimming… I'm super proud of our team, and I'm excited to see what we can accomplish moving forward." The girl's swim team has districts coming up next weekend and looks to make Richland High proud, coming home with another win.