The Rivals? - By Alex Billings

    The definition of the word “Rivalry” is competition for the same objective or for superiority in the same field. Hanford High School and Richland High School have been known to have a well-known rivalry since the day they started competing against one another. 

Photo: Kim Mayer (HHS)

    This competition runs through not only sports but also student spirit and alumni. But are these two schools really sports adversaries? Or, just two schools in the same small town? When people begin to stack up the two schools against each other, their minds wind up on the topic of sports. And when it comes to sports, Richland has always had the upper hand. 

Photo: Jon Dean

    In football alone, the Bombers have defeated the Falcons with a 17-2 overall record since 1977, when the two teams competed. The overall scores between these two teams, with the bombers in the lead, being 627-231. The only two losses to the Falcons happened in 2012 and 2019. I spoke with Head Coach Mike Niedhold about the history of the two schools, “The Richland/Hanford game is kind of a big deal to our town, not so much Richland High School.” The rivalry runs extremely deep through the roots of our town, but whose town is it? The Bombers? Or the Falcons? While Niedhold acknowledges the fact that the Birds have beaten them before, he also mentions that “The games are usually one-sided in our favor.” When asking Neidhold about the rivalry between these two teams, he brings up that “Rivalry teams usually bring out the best in each other. That’s not always the case when we play Hanford.” In high school programs, there are usually schools that find themselves in the top of the league in at least one of the sports. However, Hanford has failed to finish in the top three of any of the largest sports. They have had decent cross-country and girl’s bowling teams, but it sure to say that the competition stops about there. Which brings many to wonder…are these two teams really at war or just two teams competing for the same win? 

    Rivalries are ruthless. But when Richland plays Hanford, the bombers have been forced to be less harsh against their “rivals.” The district continues to try and keep the falcons from the bottom of the barrel, but it's all worthless. The Bombers are forced to turn off the lights that illuminate the big BOMBER sign that looks over Fran Rish Stadium. They cannot run flags when they are forced to be the away team at their own stadium. The Bombers every year are told they cannot do this and cannot do that to ensure that Hanford does not get buried. This year though, the bomber bowl was different. This year like many others, the Bombers were involuntarily the away team at their own Fran Rish Stadium. The Falcons highlighted them being the home team by shooting off fireworks as they ran out onto the Bomber turf.  As the bombers took the field, it was hard not to notice that the scoreboard read Falcons and not Bombers, but Visitors-- clear signs of disrespect from the Falcons, which only fueled the Bombers' fire. Not only players but also students and staff. 

   Not only in football but in other major Richland sports, the Bombers have stayed on top of the Falcons. The last time Girls soccer took losses to Hanford was in the 2015 and 2016 seasons. The girls' volleyball team has only ever taken one loss to Hanford in the 2022 season– as far back as our records show (early 2000s). The Bomber baseball team split with Hanford multiple times between the 2015 and 2019 seasons. I spoke with a Richland athlete about this so-called rivalry in sports, “To make it a rivalry, it just can’t be one team winning all the time.”

   When it comes to sports, the rivalry is strong, but the Bombers have many rivels with different schools. Hanford and Richland always want to beat each other, but when they compete against each other, the Bombers almost always come out on top. So, are those other teams in the MCC that give Richland a tough time more rivalry-worthy? Is Hanford really Richland’s biggest rivalry if Richland is on a higher level? 

    This notorious feuding goes deeper than just sports. It digs deep into conflict with students and Bomber and Falcon alumni. Growing up in Richland, you are either a Falcon or a Bomber. There’s no in-between. If you’re wearing the green and gold, you detest anyone wearing the Falcon purple. When you ask someone what high school they attended, and they did not attend the school you side with, it creates an immediate divide. Many rivalries exist in the Tri-Cities: Kennewick High School and Kamiakin High School, Pasco High School and Chiawana High School. Still, anyone living in Richland knows that the Bomber versus Falcon battle is most contiguous. But competitive?

Photo: RHS Yearbook

    This dispute doesn’t stop at the school alumni but extends to students. The tension between Bomber and Falcon students can be extreme. I asked a Hanford senior what she thought about the supposed Rivalry, “Yes, we are rivals, we live in the same town, and we are all friends and very competitive.”