The Bombers Bully the Bulldogs - By Alec Ammerman
Tuesday night, the Richland Bombers took on the Pasco Bulldogs at Art Dewald Gymnasium. Richland is coming off a tough loss in an out-of-conference game against the Eastside Catholic Crusaders, the Bombers falling by just one point. The Crusaders are ranked 2nd in the state for 3A. On the other side of the river, the Pasco Bulldogs are 0-13, looking to get their first win of the season, and the Bombers are looking to keep an undefeated conference play record. Although they can't come away with the win, the Bombers take this one with a final score of 84-21.
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| Photo: Madison Maxwell (@madimaxx.photography ) |
Tonight's match marks the halfway point of the Bomber season. The Richland boys have had an extremely successful first half of the conference schedule with a 0-7 record. The start the Bombers were looking for with a slam dunk immediately set the tone for this game. The Bulldogs had trouble defending that quick Bomber offense. Sophomore Landon Northrop had a hot start, with multiple shots from beyond the arc that he sank. With the help of Luke Westerfield down by the rim, putting up some easy baskets followed by a couple slams.
At the end of the 1st quarter, the bombers led 27-4. As we saw after the first quarter, Richland already had this game sealed away. Richland had most of the possessions and shot well, with a few rebounds and put-backs. This game was a long shot early for this Bulldog team. The dogs have had trouble this season, not just in the Mid-Columbia Conference but multiple out-of-conference losses.
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| Photo: Madison Maxwell (@madimaxx.photography ) |
Just like that, Richland leads 57-11 at the half, with some non-starters contributing to this huge lead. The leading scorer at the half is Landon Northrop, with 16 points, and Luke Westerfield, right behind him with 15. Northrop coming off a big game last night against the Crusaders with a total of 24 points. Looking for another great second half.
As we expected, there is much more great shooting from the Richland boys. Utilizing the guys, we don't get to see very often, who are getting a chance to prove themself. By the end of the third quarter, the five main starters are now on the bench, with Jackson Woodard leading this offense. Woodard is a freshman whose older brother Josh has been a 4-year varsity player for this team. Both of them are great shooters from all around the court. With the chance to get to talk to Josh Woodard, I asked what the game plan was for the game after a loss the day before, “the game plan was to get back on track with a win and get better every time we step on the court.” said Woodard.
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| Photo: Madison Maxwell (@madimaxx.photography ) |
With the fourth quarter starting up, the Bombers lead 69-16. The Bombers dominate the game even with all 5 starters taking a seat. Some of the younger players were able to show what they could do during this game.
Richland took this one home with a final score of 84-21, remaining undefeated in conference play with a game against the crosstown rival this Friday at Hanford. After the game, with a chance to speak with a fan, they said, “This team is going to be special; they are starting to click, and it's very fun to watch.” As we saw early in the season, this team struggled with coming together as a whole and getting that trust in each other. This same team has been playing top teams all over the state and battling hard in all these games that all go down to the last few shots. With this team starting to assemble the pieces, they will be tough to beat as the momentum builds in the MCC.
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| Photo: Madison Maxwell (@madimaxx.photography ) |
With a look into the Bulldogs program, we have seen in the past few years the athletic programs have been struggling for athletes. With Chiawana opening in 2009, it began taking the stellar athletes from Pasco High to the new Chiawana. Ever since that opening, we have seen this Pasco athletic program hurting. Which is something new within the last decade. Pasco High was a tough battle with many state championships in football and other sports back in the early 2000s.
After this win, the Bombers are now 9-3 on the season, all three losses to teams out of conference. Just under halfway through conference play, this Bomber team is on their way to another very successful season and a hopeful trip to the state tournament.
