Bombers Fall to the Braves in Heartbreak Fashion - By Bradley Beck
The Bombers and the Braves, a match-up deemed by many as the best rivalry in the Mid-Columbia Conference. Tensions between the teams loomed for weeks before they met, as for both teams, October 20th had been circled on their calendars. No matter the sport, both Richland and Kamiakin students and athletes take the hype of the match-up very seriously. On their way to class last week, Richland students could not help but notice the red and yellow graffiti spread around the campus. The Bombers found a way to turn this heated rivalry into a more creative outlet with the birth of AtomicTV High School Gameday. A group of Bombers took inspiration from ESPN’s “College Gameday” and created an hour-long pre-game broadcast that consisted of an analysis of last week's highlights from all MCC games, an interview with Richland’s Head Coach Mike Niedhold, guest appearances from Bomber football alumni, and a segment in which the panelists picked the winners of a dozen games from around the state and how they may shape the playoff picture.
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| Photo: Metcalf Media (@metcalfmedia_ ) |
If the Richland students could, many would’ve walked straight from their last class at 2:30 p.m. into the front row of the student section. As the gates finally opened at 4:00pm, three hours before kick-off, a massive influx of Bombers arrived to claim their seat to stand upon for the entirety of the game. Kamiakin students followed, setting up the banner across the front of their student section that read: “Bomb the Bombers.” As kick-off time approached, thousands of fans joined the lively pre-game atmosphere of Fran Rish Stadium. It was a special night for the Bombers, Senior Night. For many of the key players like QB Josh Woodard, RB John Simons, and OL Nathan McClelland, it was time to hand their loved ones a rose and take their picture in front of the barrage of cheerleaders. Each team returned to their locker room to emerge once more to take the field for the national anthem.
Kamiakin received the kick-off and - wasting no time - found the endzone after a quick handful of plays led by RB Camden Schmidt. Woodard and the Bomber offense were able to march down the field with carries from John Simons and Jake Brannon, supplemented by a beautiful up-top grab by Nate Ruelas between two defenders that picked up 26 yards. On 3rd and long from Kamiakin’s 13-yard line, senior QB Josh Woodard was able to lay a dot on his number one target, Colson Mackey, in the endzone. Robert Julima of the Braves answered with a 68-yard kick return taken to the house, untying the game.
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| Photo: Metcalf Media (@metcalfmedia_ ) |
Once again, the Richland offense marched down the field, setting up a 30-yard pass from Woodard to sophomore Brody Bocek on a seam up the middle of the field. This pattern repeated with an answer from Kamiakin QB Trent Woodhouse and RB Camden Schmidt in the form of seven points. Before halftime, Woodhouse scrambled out of the pocket in the red zone and threw an interception in the endzone, which the Bombers would later capitalize on. The Bombers led the Braves going into halftime 27 - 21.
On Friday night, Woodhouse was solid behind center, throwing for three touchdown passes on 209 yards with one interception. But the real threat to the Bombers was the backup running back, Camden Schmidt, who - every time he touched the ball - was able to break through Richland’s defensive line and into the secondary for an easy 10 to 15 yards each time. Schmidt ended the game with an outstanding 275 yards on 28 carries, averaging nearly 10 yards per rush, with two touchdowns.
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| Photo: Metcalf Media (@metcalfmedia_ ) |
After halftime, the battle continued with back-and-forth action. However, Kamiakin was able to take a two-touchdown lead after multiple interceptions and missed opportunities by the Bomber offense. Kamiakin added 14 points to their side of the scoreboard in the third quarter, while Richland put up a zero. The Bombers headed into the fourth quarter down 35 - 27. Earlier in the game, Richland’s kicker was unable to convert on one of the extra points, so Richland now faced a 15-point deficit. Woodard was able to lead the Bombers down the field with limited time on the clock and find the endzone. The two-point conversion was pushed back to the 12-yard line from a penalty after the last play. Coach Niedhold kept his offense out on the field. His trust paid off as Woodard found Bocek on a slant route on the right side of the endzone. The game is now within seven points. The Kamiakin offense answers once again and scores a touchdown with the clock bleeding out. Richland got the ball back, and on just a couple quick plays, the field had been cut down to about 30 yards on throws to Mackey and Bocek. The Bombers struggled to find that groove again. On third down, the ball slipped from Woodard’s hand as he cocked back to throw it, the fumble was recovered by Richland, but now it all came down to fourth down. The pocket collapsed on Woodard as he hucked it into double coverage. The Braves intercepted the jump-ball and sealed the game. The final score from Fran Rish was 42 - 35.
Although the Bombers were handed the loss, Woodard and his receivers had themselves quite a game. Josh Woodard, who leads the MCC in touchdowns and passing yards, ended the game with a phenomenal 384 passing yards and five touchdowns through the air, unfortunately paired with two interceptions. Colson Mackey was dominant again with 156 yards on eight receptions with two touchdowns. He leads the league in receiving yards. Brody Bocek was impressive, adding two touchdowns on 46 yards. Another touchdown pass was caught by Zachary Rose. Chris Daniels was also able to tally 90 yards on six receptions. The Richland defense was led by Cannon Weikum, who amassed a staggering 16 tackles on Friday night. As for Kamiakin, their three touchdown passes landed in the hands of Dom Powell once and Gavyn Buchanan on two occasions.
In terms of the playoff picture, it looks like Richland will take on the 2-5 Central Valley Bears in Spokane on Tuesday after they play Mountain View in Vancouver this Friday. The Braves will have a tall task as they are lined up to play the number one team in the state, the undefeated Eastmont Wildcats of Wenatchee.
